Toronto the good? More like Toronto the cold. But why?

Justin Parfitt, the CEO of a dating company called FastLife, pins it on our history, saying the city still lugs around the social values of its pious, puritanical forefathers. “We put up barriers that seem to come from previous generations,” he says.

He says T.O.’s shyness is the reason his speed-dating events – and online dating – are so successful. People don’t meet each other in the more traditional ways.

Flirting + Twitter = Flitter? Yep, FastLife – the world’s largest “speed dating” service for singles – is throwing Valentine’s Day events in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa on Sat. Feb. 13, and it’s B.Y.O.S. (Bring Your Own Smartphone). Here’s why…

Forget online dating sites. For the ‘Crackberry’ addicts, there’s a new way to meet singles on your smartphone.

FastLife, a speed-dating and singles’ events service, has created Flitter — what the company describes as “micro-flirting in 140 characters or less.”

So, back in May, I tried speed dating for the first time and it was a blast...

Follow Alternavox writer Shamim Ahad's adventures through a night of dating with FastLife...

Justin and Annabelle own FastLife, a speed dating company that operates in Canada, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and China. The couple lives a semi-nomadic existence, bouncing between desks in existing offices and meetings in developing markets. The 13-episode series focuses on the couple's relationship and their business, zeroing in on some of FastLife's 150-200 monthly events. We're privy to speed dating for dog lovers, fitness lovers, wine lovers and men who love women who wear exposed lingerie in public places.

Unlike witnessing the nauseatingly privileged relation ships captured on the Real Housewives of Orange County or the dysfunctional (and now defunct) Jon and Kate, Love Incorporated is relatable, exploring a timeless relationship theme — the good ol’ fashioned battle of the sexes.

I’ve always thought that life is an adventure, so when SDTC asked me to try a speed dating event, I thought it sounded like fun and went for it. Did I meet the man of my dreams? No, but speed dating has experienced a refreshing change for the better with FastLife.

"Yes, Prince Charming may be just a click away, but he's going to be flawed." Toronto Sun's Tanya Enberg discusses excessive choosiness in online and speed dating.

A recent survey done by FastLife, one of the world's largest speed-dating event organizers, compared the attitudes of women aged 19-27 with women 28-48 and 49-60 and found that younger women were more open when it came to challenging these traditional gender roles.