Speed dating is the latest addition to the many methods of meeting that special someone. Speed dating was invented by Los Angeles Rabbi Yaacov Deyo who was looking to find ways to match up busy Jewish singles. He figured that if you could get them altogether in one place, they could go on multiple short-term dates in one night.

According to Wikipedia, the first speed dating event in America was held in 1998 at Pete� �s Café in Beverly Hills. The idea eventually spread across America and became mainstream. To understand speed dating, think of combining a date and musical chairs. The night starts with people filling out an information sheet. Then the women are seated at tables and each man starts out at a table. He gets five minutes to talk to a woman, and at the end of the period, a bell rings and he moves onto the next table. If the man likes a woman, he puts a check mark by her name, and if she checks his name too, the event coordinator sends the man the woman� �s contact information.

Speed dating has several pros. Firstly, you do get to meet a lot of women in a face to face environment. The advantage speed dating has over online dating is that it adds a personal element. Many people feel they can get a better reading of someone when they spend time with them in person. Speed dating also prevents people from hiding behind fake profiles. Speed dating is also very cost effective. Most speed dating companies like to use the motto � �Where else can you go on a date with 15 women for $30.� � At $30, the price of a speed dating event is about the same cost of a monthly subscription to an online dating

From my experience with a speed dating company in Southern California, I would say that speed dating attracts a more upscale clientele. If you are looking for professional, college educated people, then this is the place to be.

In addition many speed dating events break their events down along age group lines. They have age groups for people 25-35 and groups for people 35-45. This helps because you know which group to enter if you are looking for like minded people. If you are not looking to date women with children, then it is better to stick to the younger group.

However speed dating has several cons. In most speed dating events you get about five minutes to talk to a women, so it� �s a case of first impressions. I don� �t think five minutes is enough of a time to get a feel of that person.

Also in most speed dating events, there are usually about 15 people of the opposite sex. After a night of talking to 15 different women, you begin to ask the same questions, � �What do you do for a living?� � or � �What kind of men do you like?� � I have found that by the time you get to 14th woman your voice has almost gone, you have a headache and the women� �s faces have begun to blur together.

Another problem with speed dating events is the damage it can do to your self esteem. In my experience with speed dating ( I attended four events met about 40 women and only went on one date, which was a bust), the women who participate are often not honest. Many times you will sit down with a woman and have a good rapport, and she will say that she will check your name as a potential date, only to not get any names the next morning. Talking to 20 women in one night and not snagging one date can be very damaging to your ego.

Speed dating is an interesting gimmick, but I think it does not allow enough time for couples to get to know each other. Online dating is a better alternative, because although you don� �t have the face to face experience, you meet more people, and it is easier to screen out women who are not being honest.