Online dating gone wild

The NY Times discusses a possible new model for Internet dating: websites that use brief real-life encounters to spur an online relationship.

How does it work?

Users get cards to hand people they meet while on the town. Don't want to start a full-fledged conversation with that hot guy drinking coffee? Give him a card saying you'd like to go on a date, then slyly slip out of the room.

If he likes you, he'll send you a message in your online dating mailbox.

Some people still believe that if you spend too long meeting people online, you'll end up entirely devoid of all face-to-face social skills.

The aforementioned model seems like an interesting way to erase some of the stigma still surrounding online dating.

However, I'm not sure if the pre-printed cards do much to build social skills.

It almost seems like a return the seventh-grade meet market, when you'd get friends to hand ambiguous written messages to the object of your affection.

OK, I guess that was actually pretty fun.