Speed dating is cool?

Here's an interesting Associated Press article about efforts to re-brand speed dating and make it a hipster-friendly event.

Speed dating is a funny thing.

I frequently hear from people requesting more speed dating events in Columbus. But when those events actually happen, they usually have a hard time drawing participants.

I think many Columbus-area daters are leery of speed dating because we live in a relatively small town. The people who will show up at a speed dating event are likely the same people you've already met, or at least spotted, on the nightlife scene.

However, the aforementioned article -- set in places like New York -- suggests a broader reluctance toward speed dating that isn't confined to the perils of small-town life.

Maybe the thought of a five-minute instant connection is good in theory, but bad in practice.

Maybe we prefer the comfort of a one-on-one blind date, where our social blunders and insecurities aren't exacerbated by a stopwatch's interference.