 |
SpeedDate Review: Online Dating |
| Visit SpeedDate Website | |||||||||||||||||
Rating: |
 |
||||||||||||||||
| Constant stream of speed dates, matchmaking "system" yields poor results, nonstop harassment to subscribe | |||||||||||||||||
|
He Said/She Said Ratings
We took two volunteers, a man and a woman, and had them sign up for each online dating site, fill out a profile, look at their matches, and then give us their impressions. Here's what they thought: 
He said: "... speeddate.com doesn't really seem analogous to real-world speed dating. It's like dating for hyperactive multi-taskers. There was just too much going on here. It's overwhelming. Plus it seems pretty male-dominated. It was surprising how many people were looking for speed dating at 10:00 AM. I guess it's a good way to judge if they really are employed. Most are not. "Also, it seems like there's no real matching, and I wasn't really into anyone I had a speed date with. There seems to be a lot of desperation, and it didn't seem like people were choosing me because they thought I'd be a good match for them, but because I was there. The profiles also seem extremely simplistic. In short, it's not my thing. I felt vaguely dirty even being there." 
She said: "... this site is out of control. Was it called 'SpeedDate' because you have to be on speed to keep up? There appears to be no limit on the number of speed dates you can have at once, and the site frequently ignores you when you tell it to pause speed dates. I was constantly bombarded with so many speed date windows that I wasn't able to respond to all of them before the five minutes allotted for each were up. Whenever I clicked on anything, most of the time I'd see a pop-up window exhorting me to sign up for the paid subscription. "The site's Private Matchmaker is anything but. Despite stipulating that I was interested in 25- to 40-year-old liberals in San Francisco who did not want children, 18-year-old militiamen from Montana who wanted to impregnate somebody ASAP kept popping up for my speed dates. SpeedDate.com left me exhausted, annoyed, and kind of grossed out." Site Details
SpeedDate.com is a fast-paced, chat-focused dating site with nearly 2 million members and has been connecting singles in five-minute, online speed dates since 2007. Profile Creation
When you fill out your profile, you have the option to answer many questions—about your favorite music, movies, television shows, books, and quotes; about your political views, income, weekend activities; even about your "secret." You can be equally detailed regarding what you're looking for, yet SpeedDate's Private Matchmaker system doesn't take much of this into account. Matching & Searching
The SpeedDate interface resembles Facebook quite a bit: You can navigate among blue tabs and red balloons signifying your notifications, and chat windows pop up in a blue toolbar at the bottom of the screen. View different profiles by clicking "next profile" or "previous profile" for each "match" SpeedDate chooses for you, or browse members by age, location, and so on. Communication
If you're a basic member, SpeedDate lets other users initiate with you a five-minute instant messenger chat session, or "online speed date"; subscribers can extend that time. When you view a profile, SpeedDate tells you what preferences your potential date matches, what preferences you match for the other person, and finally what you have in common, even if it's only that you both speak English. These summaries are based on what you've filled out in your profile. The speed dates come fast and furious the instant you log in. But you're somewhat powerless over the number of speed dates you have and the speed with which they pop up; the onslaught often continues even after you've asked the site (nicely) to pause speed dating. Anytime you close a speed date window, the site forces you to select a reason, and then you can either have a speed date with someone else or ask the site to give you a break. But you don't get a break; the site relentlessly bombards you with pop-ups featuring an attractive cartoon woman asking you to share your SpeedDate.com activity with your Facebook friends or, more frequently, to become a paying SpeedDate member. You can't see messages or who's "liked" you or initiate a chat with someone SpeedDate hasn't selected as a match without paying, and the friendly cartoon lady will not let you forget it even for a second. She also desperately wants you to SpeedVerify your profile, which proves that you're a real person for $0.50 a month. One cool feature SpeedDate offers is an "Icebreaker." During a speed date, click on the button, and a random question like "What is your best childhood memory?" or "If you could have any superpower, what would it be?" appears in the chat window. Bottom Line
It's hard to explore SpeedDate.com when you're interrupted by one new speed date after another and constant petitions to upgrade your membership, but if you want to e-meet a large number of diverse strangers in a short time period, SpeedDate could be quite engaging. Discounts
Visit SpeedDate Website | Compare to Other Online Dating Sites |
|||||||||||||||||
| Cost/Month: | 12-Month: $15.95 6-Month: $26.95 |
| Relationship Type: | Casual Daters |
| User Base*: | 1.7+ million singles; more males than females |
| Matching Method: | Private Matchmaker, but more focused on searching/chatting |
| Features: | Site focused on five-minute chats; video chat and multiple chat windows; browsing and searching functions |
NextAdvisor Online Dating Blog Headlines
Is Online Dating Available In My Area?
Q: Do online dating sites cover specific locations? Will I be able to find matches in my area? A: Most online dating sites cover the entire United States, and many operate internationally as well. When you fill out your dating profile, you will indicate roughly where you live (without giving out information that is too [...]
Match.com Takes Online Dating Offline Again
Match.com, the winner of our Guy's Choice award and a five-star rating, recently announced the launch of a new program called "The Stir" that will take online dating back into the offline world. Rolling out in cities across the country over the next few weeks, the Stir will host a series of live events for [...]
Chemistry.com Offers Free Communication For Daters All Weekend Long
From Friday, May 4th through Sunday, May 6th, online dating site Chemistry.com is offering FREE communication to all users. If you've gotten started on the site for free, you can use this opportunity to test out the paid communication features, and if you haven't signed up yet, this is a great introduction to the service. The [...]
Seniors Increasingly Finding Love Online
With the Baby Boomer generation now solidly into their 50's and 60's, seniors have become one of the fastest-growing demographics for online dating. Men and women who have divorced, lost a partner to death, or just never married are flocking to sites like Match.com, eHarmony, and Chemistry.com in record numbers. In a 2010 survey, eHarmony [...]
Five Signs You Should Try Online Dating
If you've been considering joining an online dating site but haven't been quite ready to take the plunge, here are a few signs that now's the time: 1. You're looking for a matchmaker: Online dating sites, particularly those with matching algorithms and questionnaires like Match.com, Chemistry.com, and eHarmony can serve a lot like a matchmaker, highlighting which singles [...]
Illinois Senate Passes Online Dating Background Check Bill
If the bill that passed through the Illinois State Senate yesterday makes it through the House and becomes law, online dating sites will have to clean up their acts when it comes to sharing information with their users about background checks. The bill proposes that online dating sites doing business in Illinois be required to [...]
How to Write a Great Online Dating Profile
After signing up with an online dating service, like our top picks, Match.com, Chemistry.com and eHarmony, most daters find that their first task is to write a profile that will draw in interesting people and weed out those they won't match well with. Though many of the sites we've liked the best use matching algorithms to pair [...]
10 First Date Tips for Online Daters
Our editors here at NextAdvisor have tested lots of dating sites, from our favorites, Match.com, Chemistry.com, and eHarmony, to some we weren't such big fans of. Some of us have even met significant others online. With all that experience, we've picked up a few first date tips for making the move from online flirting to something [...]
Take Advantage of eHarmony's Free Communication Weekend
If you've been considering online dating, now is a great time to get started, since eHarmony is offering free communication for users all weekend long. From March 16th to March 19th, users can talk, flirt and set up dates with their matches for free, no credit card needed. Our testers recommended eHarmony for daters looking [...]
Chemistry.com Offering 3-for-1 Pricing This Weekend
Thinking about giving online dating a try? This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Chemistry.com, the top-rated dating site in our tests, is offering a special 3 for 1 promotion for NextAdvisor visitors. Just click through any NextAdvisor link to sign up with Chemistry.com and receive a three month membership for the price of one month. Chemistry.com got [...]
Free Communication on eHarmony This Weekend
If your Valentine's Day date didn't go so well, this weekend is the perfect time to meet someone new with eHarmony. From Friday, February 17th through Monday, February 20th, eHarmony is offering new users free communication, no credit card necessary. Take advantage of the long weekend to talk, flirt, and date for four full days without [...]
Be Mine Online: What's the Best Dating Site for You?
If you are looking for a fun date for Valentine's Day, try something new with an online dating site that is perfect for you. But with the hundreds of dating sites that seem to be available these days, how do you pick the one that's right for you? We can help. We've researched and tested [...]
Chemistry.com Offers Free Weekend Just in Time for Valentine's Day
It's that time of year again, and Chemistry.com is gearing up for Valentine's day with a Free Communication Weekend! That means for this weekend, February 10th through February 12th, all users can flirt, communicate, and get in the Valentine's Day mood for free. You don't need a promotion code to take advantage of this deal, [...]
New Zoosk Offer: Social Networking Meets Online Dating
If you like a lot of features and avenues of communication with your online dating site, you should check out Zoosk. It takes the best parts of Facebook, Zynga and other social networking companies and incorporates them into a robust online dating experience. It includes a news feed, coins you can use to upgrade services [...]
Take Advantage of Chemistry.com's FREE Weekend!
Friday the 13th doesn't have to be all about bad luck, especially if you're still looking for that special someone. Starting today you can take advantage of Chemistry.com?s Free Weekend! From today, Friday, January 13 to Sunday, January 15 you can use all of Chemistry.com's subscriber services for free, getting a taste of their personalized matching services. [...]
