After all, who has time to scour the singles scene searching for Mr. or Ms. Right while sipping a martini and appearing suave and sophisticated? To combat this problem, singles all over the country and those in Campbell and the Bay Area are turning to an alternative to the typical dating scene called "speed dating."

Speed dating is exactly what it sounds like. A group of people get together for a few hours at a local bar or club, and each man gets to meet a certain number of women for a short amount of time. After each "date," both individuals write down whether or not they want to meet the other person again on a date card, and then they both rotate on to the next prospective candidate.

Stoddard's Brewery in Campbell was the site of a recent speed-dating event called CineSingles, sponsored by Cinequest. More than 60 men and women signed up for the opportunity to meet 10 people of the opposite gender during five-minute "dates." The Aug. 22 event required that participants be 21 or over, and people of all ages showed up.

One of the participants was Campbell resident Mary Ann Scrivano, who heard about the event through a friend. The 52-year-old Scrivano, who is also a member of the Christian Singles Fellowship, thought attending a speed-dating event would be a good way to meet people.

"I think five minutes will be no problem, and it'll be safe," Scrivano said a few days before she went to the event. "I always enjoy meeting new people."

After experiencing speed dating for the first time, Scrivano said she would be likely to do it again.

"It was a really fun evening," Scrivano said.

She added that although most of the men she met were around her son's age, she didn't mind.

"I enjoy meeting people of all ages," she said. "You can learn something from everyone."

While Cinequest is not a speed-dating company, and CineSingles was its first foray into the speed-dating scene, there are many companies across the country that deal exclusively in the speed-dating business. It's a business that has developed into one of the hottest ways to meet people on the East Coast, according to industry leaders.

"This is a good option because it addresses a lot of the pitfalls and inefficiencies in dating today," said ImpactDate.com President Jessica Dodin, whose organization coordinates many speed-dating events in the Bay Area.

In today's singles scene, people go out trying to meet others, but usually they leave with the same people they walked in with. And online dating doesn't allow any face-to-face interaction, she added.

But this San Francisco-based speed-dating company guarantees that an individual will meet anywhere from eight to 12 people per event by sitting with them one-on-one at a small table.

"There's no pressure of getting asked out," Dodin said.

ImpactDate.com formats it so the women usually sit at the small table and the men rotate through the tables in a clockwise manner. Everyone also has an event card on which individuals can mark down whether or not they want to see his or her "date" again as a second date, a friend or neither.

Dodin said if people go to two or three events, they could potentially meet 30 members of the opposite sex. Trying to meet that many eligible people on one's own could take years, she said with a laugh.

The company also has some high success numbers.

"We have over 80 percent match per event," Dodin said.

The company offers clients not just a dating experience but also a way to see the hottest places in a particular city.

Another leader in the speed-dating industry is 8minuteDating.com, based in Boston. The company recently put on an event at The Edge—a club in Palo Alto—which drew singles from all over the Bay Area.

One of the individuals at that event was Kevin McKale, identified as Kevin202. It was his third time participating in an 8minuteDating event.

"I haven't met the love of my life yet," McKale said, which was why he was at The Edge that night.

He likes the speed-dating format, because he knows everyone attending is single and is there for the same reason.

"You get a good chance to talk and present yourself," he said. "Some networking also happens."

Tom Jaffee, CEO and founder of 8minuteDating.com, said his speed-dating company is satisfying an unfulfilled need in the community by providing a "fast and comfortable way to meet people."

Online dating doesn't allow the individuals to establish any physical attraction, Jaffee said, and people tend to build up a high expectation. When the two finally meet, often the result is disappointment.

"We're online dating in reverse," Jaffee said.

And then there's the bar scene, which may not be the best environment to meet an eligible individual, Jaffee said.

He said he has gone to different social settings to watch how people interact. He's noticed that people go in groups and that their body language discourages others from approaching. People who do approach are thought of as aggressive or having brazen personalities, he said.

"The setup is very difficult for nice people to engage in a conversation," he added.

So 8minuteDating.com developed a different approach. Every individual who signed up for the event has done so because he or she wants to meet other singles. Everyone will meet eight people in eight minutes. Individuals will then mark whether they want to meet someone for business, friendship, a second date or not at all.

The company's most popular age category is 25- to 35-year-olds. There are also special-interest events available, such as events for gays and lesbians, Jewish singles and vegetarians.

Clients are asked not to give out contact information. And numbers or emails are only given out if people match, allowing privacy and safety.

Of course, there is no guarantee that someone participating in a speed-dating event will meet "the right one." Instead, speed dating is just another alternative for all the singles out there who want something a little different from the typical online romance or club outing.

As Dodin said, "It's a very good way to boost your dating life."