Speed Dating Research Update: I'll show you mine (Nokia N93) if you show me yours

Gorgeous Sasha Manuel over at Datingdames.com picked up my post about my upcoming Speed Dating experience taking place this evening.

She points out that I made a freudian slip and, in the last paragraph of my post, actually called it ‘Speed Networking’. Dear me. It’s not at all speed networking, alas 😉 It’s Speed Dating. I need to sit in front of women and talk to them for, I imagine, 3 minutes a piece.

I wonder if we’ll have to do alternate tables and chairs. Geez. How regimented.

I’ve no issue with this per se, just, that, at the moment, I’m not hunting. I’m far too busy. I mean mega busy. Properly screwed in the wall-to-wall double-booked-meetings context. (I was stuck on the m25 for SIX HOURS this evening which didn’t help the to-do list.)

I am slightly concerned as to what I will say to people because of this non-hunting attitude that I’ve temporarily adopted. I’m going ostensibly to help my friend, Mr X, who, by the way, was extremely relieved to find that I hadn’t outed him here on the blog when I spoke to him this afternoon. So I think a policy of conducting mobile related research during the evening is a good’un.

I am led to believe that the protagonists at this evening’s event are twenty and thirty-somethings (you have to start a mild panic when you eventually realise that being aged 29 is a slight issue in terms of coming to terms with being ‘thirty’) and that they are, to some extent, high flighing city types. It’s 20 smackers to ‘get in’ and I’m pretty sure that doesn’t include mini sausage rolls. That should make the whole affair rather exciting from a geeky mobile perspective.

Firstly, it’ll be interesting to see what chump turns up holding some 4 year old handset. I’m willing to bet no one will. Here we go, here’s a statement: No one will be wielding a phone more than 2 years old tomorrow night. Let’s see if I’m right? I also reckon there will be the following handsets evident, in fact I think Mr X and I should play a ‘spot the Caravans’ game with this list tomorrow night:

– K800 Sony Ericsson
– Some Samsung sliders
– DEFINITELY someone will have an LG Chocolate
– One or two RAZRs
– A smattering of Nokias — possibly an N73

I wonder how many of them will be using bluetooth? I shall find out.

In her post, Sasha wonders if it’s possible to live-blog a speed dating event. I definitely think it is. However I reckon the taking of photos and video and copiously ignoring your 3-minute partners might not be the most constructive way ahead, so I think I shall post-blog it.

Sensual Sasha also went on to recommend her Top Speed Dating Questions to ask during a speed networking event. I had a look..

I’m going to answer them as though Sasha was asking me.

1. If you are to go out with friends or on a date, where will you go?

Carphone Warehouse? The Sony Ericsson Store on Kensington High Street? How about the Apple Store on…. Ok, I lied. I think a coffee of sorts is a good way to begin. Minus the coffee for me. I don’t drink coffee or tea. Irn Bru is fine.

2. What are your hobbies or what do you do for fun?

If there’s one thing I really cannot stand, it’s the word ‘hobby’. It sounds far too much like ‘jobby’ to be used in sensible conversation. It also immediately reminds me of people who make life size Elton John effigies out of milk bottle tops. What are my ‘hobbies’? I really couldn’t tell you off hand. I’ll need to sit down and have a think. I don’t maintain them as a quick fire list ready to shoot out at folk. Cinema. Technology.

3. Have you traveled much? If yes, where? If not, do you plan to?

Yes, I most recently was in Amsterdam for the Nokia World confer.. er yes, yes I do travel.

4. I’ll ask a leading question that can determine his relationship with his parents and the rest of his family. This will depend on the flow of the conversation.

I have the architypical parental units; 2 younger brothers. No estrangement, no issues. One of my brothers runs another industry blog, incidentally (BladeWatch.com) and the other will gladly nail you for a £30 if you drive with your fog lights on when it’s not foggy. Or if you drive a sooped up Vauxhall Nova the wrong way round a roundabout. (He’s a Special Police Officer when he’s not fixing servers for banks).

5. What’s your reason for participating?

Well, see Mr X over there? Yes, the one wearing the floppy shirt. It was his idea. I’m only here to look at your mobile phones and tell the world about it. And, well, I’ve never tried speed dating.

I think Sasha’s questions are pretty nifty. I might use them. I don’t know if there’s an opportunity to just stand at the back and observe proceedings.

It’s being held, just to wind me up a little more, in the bastion of uber-swanky-Londonville, Fulham. The complete opposite side of London for me.

Anyway, standby for updates. If you’ve any suggestions for questions that I should ask, please do post them up.

(Thanks for your suggestions Sasha!)