Never tried it and doubt I ever would, at least not without being dragged to it. I'm convinced I give a pretty bad first impression so I doubt it would work well for me.

I'd probably not try it.. or maybe would, who the hell knows! I guess if I did, I'd do it for fun with friends.. not really would anticipate to meet someone.

However, I was searching on meetup the other day and they had a speed friending (I forget how they called it) which I'll probably do. It's to make new friends! I loved the idea. I need some new homies and home girls.

That latter paragraph would interest me too! I just joined meetup a week ago then promptly left for Michigan so haven't really had a chance to try it out yet.

Ugh.. I tried meetup. Apparently the only people in my area are creepy old men. No thanks

In that case it doesn't surprise me at all that the more interesting groups I found were more based in Seacoast NH as opposed to Boston! But then I wasn't looking at singles groups, just general interests groups like Photography, German Language and Outdoor activities.

I love my meet up groups but I didn't join them for singles. Two I am active in are actually sister meetup groups and sometimes intermingle and do dual meetups.

Ugh.. I tried meetup. Apparently the only people in my area are creepy old men. No thanks

Our social group has a lot of older guys hitting on you except I did meet one special guy through meet up that I'm dating but he is older as well. I stick with the ladies group since it is much more fun and no creepers hitting on me.

I've never tried speed dating, but a good friend of mine had a blast with it. She didn't meet anyone special, but she said it was a ton of fun, and would try it again in an instant.

I just don't know if speed dating would be a good option for me, since I can be pretty shy upon first meeting someone. I get the impression that this would be a more interesting option for singles who are more outgoing, or less shy.

As for meetups, there are lots of older gentlemen at the meetup activities in my area as well. That being said, there is also one group that is specifically for people 25-40 (I'm 30), mostly singles, and they tend to do more "active" activities. Earlier this year we went on a massive treasure hunt around the city, and I had a blast running around town taking pictures and completing various quests. Maybe instead of targeting something like speed dating, you might want to find a meetup for singles in your area?

Ugh.. I tried meetup. Apparently the only people in my area are creepy old men. No thanks

Hey, I take offense at the old men comment Just say creepy men LOL

I did a speeddating event with two girl friends last year. It was actually really fun. It was at a nice restaurant on the rooftop overlooking the ocean and they had free appetizers and drinks. I had myself a good buzz going. Met so many guys and ended up with 4 matches. I never really contacted my matches though as afterwards, I realized I was just buzzed and high off the adrenaline and excitement of the whole thing. It was still a great experience though and I've been wanting to try it again. Ok, I'll admit, it was kind of an ego boost too, man after man complimenting you. The only thing was that I was at a table in between my two friends so by the time the guys got to me, they'd just been sitting with my friend and apparently she spent her 5 mins with the guys talking about me so they already knew stuff about me. O_o All very nice, genuine guys....unfortunately no creepers that would have made for a good story!

I did a speeddating event with two girl friends last year. It was actually really fun. It was at a nice restaurant on the rooftop overlooking the ocean and they had free appetizers and drinks. I had myself a good buzz going. Met so many guys and ended up with 4 matches. I never really contacted my matches though as afterwards, I realized I was just buzzed and high off the adrenaline and excitement of the whole thing. It was still a great experience though and I've been wanting to try it again. Ok, I'll admit, it was kind of an ego boost too, man after man complimenting you. The only thing was that I was at a table in between my two friends so by the time the guys got to me, they'd just been sitting with my friend and apparently she spent her 5 mins with the guys talking about me so they already knew stuff about me. O_o All very nice, genuine guys....unfortunately no creepers that would have made for a good story!

Maybe you should go by yourself next time!

I've always wanted to do a speed dating thing and pretend to be a different person each time.

I did a speeddating event with two girl friends last year. It was actually really fun. It was at a nice restaurant on the rooftop overlooking the ocean and they had free appetizers and drinks. I had myself a good buzz going. Met so many guys and ended up with 4 matches. I never really contacted my matches though as afterwards, I realized I was just buzzed and high off the adrenaline and excitement of the whole thing. It was still a great experience though and I've been wanting to try it again. Ok, I'll admit, it was kind of an ego boost too, man after man complimenting you. The only thing was that I was at a table in between my two friends so by the time the guys got to me, they'd just been sitting with my friend and apparently she spent her 5 mins with the guys talking about me so they already knew stuff about me. O_o All very nice, genuine guys....unfortunately no creepers that would have made for a good story!

Maybe you should go by yourself next time!

I've always wanted to do a speed dating thing and pretend to be a different person each time.

Haha, my friends and I were joking about doing that too! Yea...only women do stuff like speed dating in groups, I think. All the men there were alone.

I tried it, this is *kitten*.

Interactions are too short (obviously), too random: you don't select the group of people you're meeting, the only thing that unite you is that you all want to try speed dating. Which is a pretty slim link, trust me.

Some people are pretending they are what they aren't (cf earlier poster who said they would like to try to do that): no trust.
Some girls just come here "with a friend" (cf earlier poster who came but never contacted a "match"): no motivation.
Half the girls, entitled as usual (or maybe just scared), didn't show up.
All men, starving as usual, showed up.

I thought most of the girls were really stupid.

I'm having a blast with meetup:
meeting friends > going out with them > meeting more friends > going out with them...
It's a virtuous circle, and you can sprinkle some "meet woman" here and there (given how much I'm going out) so it's brilliant.

The thing about meetup and duh, that's what meetup is for.. but the thing is you show up by yourself. I hate those first 10 minutes. I'm not sure where to go, who to talk to, etc. It's awkward at first. Once I get to know the group. then it's all good.

But I'm shy. So when going to a meetup when first joining their group is terribly scary.

I look at people's pictures before, so that I can spot them.
Then I try to arrive more or less on time, and ask everyone else who looks as lost as I am: "Hey, are you from the meetup by any chance?" and if they say no or don't understand then I just move on. It sucks a bit, that's true.
Normally, there are a few people who are easy to spot.

I did speed dating once, all the women were cougars, or just not my type at all. I was probably 31 when I did it, I can't remember one woman who wasn't under 35 at the time. And for men at that time, they are mostly looking for the mid 20's girl. There were 0 of them there. And honestly, they were all weird. I had one cougar just sit down and tell me I was too young and gave me her business card in case I was ever in the market for a new property... lol

Maybe you should go by yourself next time!

I've always wanted to do a speed dating thing and pretend to be a different person each time.

Genius!

Ugh.. I tried meetup. Apparently the only people in my area are creepy old men. No thanks

In that case it doesn't surprise me at all that the more interesting groups I found were more based in Seacoast NH as opposed to Boston! But then I wasn't looking at singles groups, just general interests groups like Photography, German Language and Outdoor activities.

Oooohhh the German language one sounds fun! Although, I haven't spoken German in years...I might be a little lost :frown:

Exact same reason why I joined it. It was my minor in school and last year in Germany I was pretty much lost except for numbers and directions. Was going to go to my first event on Sunday but fell behind and needed to pack. The one I found meets in Portsmouth NH most of the time it looks like.

When I lived in Beacon Hill I signed up for refresher classes at the Goethe Institute. Got my application done and that was about as far as it went though.