The lights were dimmed, the music was turned way down and with a couple of drinks providing liquid courage, 18 hopeful singles got down to the business at hand: dating all the members of the opposite sex at the bar for a five minutes each.
Welcome to speed dating, the social networking fad that's all the rage in North America, Australia and Europe and that's finally made its way to Taiwan. With an embedded reporter at the inaugural event at Chocolate and Love Lounge Bar in Taipei, Around Town got to witness this brutally utilitarian form of dating, in which the basic assumption is that first impressions are final ones.
The speed-dating format is simple. Participants rotate chairs every five minutes to begin a conversation with a new person. At the end of each five-minute period, participants discreetly mark a "hit" or "miss" next to the name of the person they've been talking to as a way to indicate whether they would like to see the person again. Organizers then contact participants a couple of days later with the e-mail addresses of mutual "hits" for them to initiate further contact if they choose.
As the 18 guinea pigs for speed dating in Taiwan, the batch of strangers last Thursday was drawn more out of curiosity (my excuse was that it's my job) than a genuine interest to meet that special someone. But the hint of romantic possibility hung heavy in the air, which is why the moderator needed to remind participants to "just relax and be yourselves."
But with only five minutes to leave a favorable impression, some people I was eavesdropping on were in a high gear, trying out pick-up lines and recycling their best jokes. My conversations rarely breached the, "What's your name" and "what do you do" barrier. One of my dates even told me flatly, "I feel like I'm at a job interview." (I marked her a miss.) Rather than blame my social skills, I have to think that the stunted repartees were due to the time restriction and the event's rule on using only English.
The Taipei version of speed dating, operated by organizedflirting.com is an intercultural affair with nights for foreign men and Taiwanese women; Taiwanese men and foreign women; Taiwanese men and women; and finally foreign men and women. Reese Richards, the Canadian expat who is president/CEO of the new company, promises that additional themes, such as gay nights, will be introduced soon.
Just don't expect any free-for-all nights. When the option was raised, Richards looked incredulous. To span the gamut, you'll have to sign up for more than one event.
Richards is also adamant that the five-minute format must remain, despite how impossible it is to engage in meaningful conversation in that time.
"That's not the point. Be honest. You probably knew within 30 seconds if you wanted to see the person again," Richards said.
So the conversation is really just polite filler. In some places where speed dating has taken hold, organizers cut to the chase and restrict date times to three minutes.
We're not quite there yet in Taipei, but there's no reason to think it won't get there.
Performance notes:
To register for speed dating, check ?www.organizedflirting.com. Each session costs about NT$450. The next session, on Thursday, is a Taiwanese men-meet-foreign women event. Love and Chocolate Lounge Bar is located at 148, Xinyi Rd, Sec 4, Taipei (
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