What is "speed networking"

n. The act of creating possible professional relationships through briefly meeting with candidates and giving each other contact information, much akin to speed dating

Speed networking (or speed business meeting) is a meeting format designed to accelerate business contacts, generally with a bell. Primarily, the practice involves multiple people that gather in a single space in order to exchange information. Participants greet each other in a series of brief exchanges during a set period of time. During an interaction, attendees share their professional backgrounds and business goals. Networkers are generally seeking exposure to new markets and/or to expand their pool of vendors.

Speed networking is often referenced as a derivative of speed dating, the round-robin approach to meeting potential suitors first developed by Rabbi Yaacov Deyo in the late 1990s. Speed networking, a more recent concept, arose from the combination of speed dating and business networking and is thought to have started in the United States and, perhaps, simultaneously in the United Kingdom. Speed networking was first utilized during the US economic downturn of the early 2000s and began rising in popularity as the decade drew to a close. Credit for applying speed dating concepts to the corporate world has been attributed to Tom Jaffee, a Columbia MBA alumnus and founder of a speed-dating network. However speed business networking has been operating in Australia from 2003 and was developed by Australian entrepreneur Christine Sutherland as a way of facilitating easier business introductions. Although the techniques for speed dating and speed networking can be similar – individuals paired or grouped together for the purpose of introduction – the practices differ in their end goals. Speed daters are trying to narrow down their choices by eliminating the unsuitable; conversely, speed networkers are trying to broaden their connections by increasing their exposure.