Speed dating at

the 7-35 year old, blind and deaf audience would probably love this movie. Privileged children will think this is a cool movie.

“We were really shocked,” says Ann Machado, CEO of Creative Staffing and chair of the Continue United committee.

“Next event we’ll need a bigger venue or multiple venues. “People are interested in this, really interested,” Machado says.

Admit it--you wish your workshops and conferences were livelier.

Often the most animated interactions and the most valuable learning take place during breaks, meals, and receptions.

At Oregon State University we have begun using variations on the "speed dating" model (just another name for structured networking) in a wide variety of settings. Sessions in conferences and workshops, whether keynote addresses, panels, or town hall meetings, share a common characteristic: one person at a time speaks, and everyone else is expected to listen.

After hours in that role, it is little wonder that participants pour out into breaks, hungry for conversation.

We have added an extra hour to this year’s Speed Dating, split between the same number of attendees, resulting in shorter lines so you can see more agents.

REDs will go in the first hour, BLUEs the second hour, GREENs the third hour, YELLOWs the fourth hour. You may not line up to get into the Room of the Dons before your marked hour. You can meet with as many agents as you can fit into the time period.

Extending these unstructured networking periods provides one way to improve these events.

But another, underutilized means for strengthening them is by carefully integrating structured networking periods into the conference schedule.

Older singles also discover that the dating landscape is vastly different from that of their youth. The movie, Machado said, shows that physical attraction, while still important, is not the end-all be-all of the past.