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Flitter Takes the Best of Flirting and Twitter, and Updates Speed Dating

by Ben Deitz on February 20, 2010 at 02:15 PM

For those of us more comfortable with our PDAs than with public displays of affection, it can be difficult to meet people while hiding behind an LCD screen. However, striking up conversations with strangers is easy enough while online, and dating service Flitter attempts to marry the comfort of the computer screen with the immediacy of being able to buy someone a drink (if things go well).

Flitter is speed dating for the technologically inclined, a literal combination of flirting and Twitter. Attendees at Flitter events wear numbered stickers, and flirting is done via tweets that are projected onto a large screen. Flitterers can choose between signing off with their identification number and tweeting anonymously. While some participants found it difficult to tweet while attempting to converse, others, like 23-year-old Halley Trusler, found that it allowed otherwise shy people to "put themselves out there." According to Reuters, Trusler waded through offers of drinks to find a certain someone she fancied by the end of the night.

Flitter was created by Justin Parfitt, CEO of speed dating service Fastlife. Flitter events began in Australia, and the first North American events were recently held in Canada. Parfitt's goal was to socialize the use of work-related devices like BlackBerries and iPhones, incorporating them into a setting that allowed people to meet each other. For those microblogging-friendly, this is an obvious next step for Twitter.

However, if our experience with the internet is any indication, we have a fairly good idea about how a Flitter event would turn out:

#13: A/S/L?
#56: #79 urcute!
#79: only got eyez fr #33
#33: nudez or get out
#8 : whos down for cuddles?
#13: A/S/L?
#79: #33 by the bar let me buy u drink
#79: u like tom collins?
#8 : lotsa hugs over here!
#66: margaritaz on me ladies!
#56: #79 u just lost out on a magical time
#13: A/S/L?
#33: who just pinched my butt?

[From: Reuters]

Tags: dating, flirting, flitter, love, relationships, smartphone, socialnetworking, top, twitter, web

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