Speed dating is a formalized matchmaking process or dating system (a variant of a meeting system where the purpose is to enjoy romantic or friendship dates rather than decide anything). Its origins are credited to Rabbi Yaacov Deyo of Aish HaTorah, as a way to ensure that more Jewish singles met each other in large cities where they were outnumbered by non-Jews. It has been made more popular by its use on dating game shows—e.g., The Fifth Wheel—and has recently become popular in the gay community. Supporters argue that speed dating simply saves time, as most people decide if they are romantically compatible very quickly, and first impressions are usually permanent.
In the original idea of speed dating, men and women are rotated to meet each other for only eight minutes each. At the end of each eight minutes, they are forced to the next round no matter how much they are enjoying the interaction (or dread the next one), and this is repeated. At the end, they submit to the organizers a list of who they would like to provide their contact information to. To allow one to meet a good number of people, organizers however often depart from the original idea, and set meeting times as low as one to five minutes per person. If there is a match, the contact information i.e. usually phone numbers are forwarded. Contact information cannot be traded during the initial meeting, in order to reduce pressure (especially on women) to accept or reject a suitor to their face.
Speed dating is considered, due to its low overhead and flexibility, to be akin to an agile method or open space conference. However, what's at stake in dating tends to be very different than the matters decided in an engineering or political conference.
