From: marv@netcom.com (Marvin Raab)
Newsgroups: ba.singles
Subject: Re: Mingles (Was: Re: Singles Expo in Palo Alto on 01/23)
Date: 28 Jan 93 19:29:51 GMT
Organization: user of Netcom Public Access Unix, SF Bay Area

>>     For the people who want to know, can you give more information about
>>Mingles in this group since I am asking or do you have to send information
>>by email?
>>
>He can do whatever he wants to do.  
>This is Usenet.
>There are no rules.


  Mingles is a small business I tried to start about two years ago as 
a 'dinner club' for singles in the Bay Area. I charged a membership fee
and then fees for each dinner. It didn't go over well and so I refunded
everyone who had joined (fewer than 5 people) and changed the format
to be "Dinner and Dating in the 90s". 

The event consists of dinner for 15-30 people in a private room at
a restaurnat. I hand out a generic questionnaire about dating and
sex. Attendees fill it out anonymously and I collect them. While
everyone is then eating and meeting each other, I tally them up and
use them as a basis for a lively and frank group discussion for the next 
two hours. I put myself into a Phil Donahue-type role. Many of the
topics discussed are the same topics that pop up here. The differences
are vast. The discussions are calm and mature. Face-to-face discussions 
are very diferent in tone from electronic ones. Also, everyone here is
used to using a computer for communication. Mingles attendees are of 
all professions and experiences. Many of them have never heard of email 
let alone the net.

   Before starting Mingles, I had done this for almost two years 
for a non-profit group. It was VERY successful and a number of relationships
formed as a result. Some are still going strong. 

I started Mingles for a number of reasons:
 - I'd always wanted to start a singles business
 - Discussions are my favorite type of group event and I'd only
   heard of religious groups doing them (and they only talk about
   religion)
 - I wanted to meet other singles
 - If I'm potentially going to be single for the rest of my life, I want 
   to be good at it

  There's no membership fee and particpants pay only for the events
which they attend. I've advertised in local papers and there was an
article about Mingles in the Mountain View and Los Altos Town Criers.

While the mailing list is greater than 250, I don't get enough 
of a response for any of the events...until last November. I had 
the first Mingles event with 15 people (including 2 guys from here).
All the feedback I received was very positive. Another interesting 
fact: the mailing list has 2 women for every one man. Also, the ages
seem to be centering in the mid-late 30's. My literature says Mingles
is for professional singles 21-49.

I haven't done much with it, except add to the maillist, since November
because advertising is expensive and it's real embarrasing to
have to call 5-6 people who sent checks for an event only to have
to call them and refund their checks because of canceling the event.
I've lost a lot of money on the venture so far but I think I can
eventually turn it into my dream singles organization and maybe
even earn a small profit with it. 

I will be doing another Mingles event in April or May. Mingles is
a registered fictitious business name and I have a business license.

I also really don't want to dwell on it here on the net. If you're 
interested, email me your name, address, and phone numbers for the
maillist. Optionally, I ask that you include your age. I DO NOT give or 
sell the maillist to anyone. I also currently do not use email for Mingles.

For the cynics out there, I treat Mingles very honorably in every 
sense of the word. 


               -marvin


-- 
Marvin Raab                                  
marv@netcom.com                              Mountain View, CA 94040
apple.com!netcom.com!marv                    415-961-6501 (h)