|
David Frucht has tried online dating. He's done JDate, he's dabbled in eHarmony, he met two of his former girlfriends on Matchmaker.com.
And if Internet dating has taught him anything, it's this: You can't find chemistry through a Web page.
"If they match you on paper, that doesn't mean anything," said the blond-haired, blue-eyed Lawndale, Calif., resident. "You know when you meet somebody. You know in the first few seconds."
Frucht, 39, isn't afraid of letting technology play Cupid. So when he stumbled upon a singles-only event in which participants use computer-coded "keys" to find compatible matches - essentially acting as a mix between the online dating world and the real world - he thought, "Why not?"
"If I see a woman I'm really attracted to, I don't necessarily know how to break the ice," said Frucht, who attended a recent "OneKeyAway" party at a Southern California restaurant-bar. "That's really all this provides, an icebreaker."
Icebreaker indeed. Toting plastic keys that look like garage door openers around their necks and approaching each other like police officers with Tasers, OneKeyAwayers must touch keys (think "Wonder Twins ... Activate!") to find out whether they're a match.
Each key contains a microcomputer chip programmed with the wearer's answers to 64 questions addressing topics ranging from exercise habits to sexual preferences (similar to the information compiled for an online profile at a dating site).
When keys touch, an embedded algorithm looks for similarities and reacts accordingly with a flurry of flashing colored lights: Green means compatible, red means conflicting and yellow means something in between.
"Most people are going to be red because of the way they make the algorithm," said OneKeyAway founder Edwin Duterte. "There's a lot of ego involved because some people will get red all night. ... A lot of people think they should be compatible with everybody but they should realize it doesn't really happen that way."
The reality? Most people will land somewhere in the middle.
"People will say, 'How come I'm not compatible with anybody?'" he said. "They'll rant and rave and get upset. They'll think their thing is broken, but sometimes you have to look at it and say, 'There's obviously a reason for that.'"
Duterte, 36, started OneKeyAway about four years ago after seeing the success of "Lock and Key" parties on the East Coast. Those parties didn't use computerized keys or questionnaires, instead giving singles actual locks and keys - the goal was for each participant to find the corresponding lock to his or her key, thereby finding a potential "match."
Duterte and a few friends began throwing Lock and Key meets in Los Angeles County. At first, it was more of a way to meet people than a business venture.
"We figured, we're all single, let's try to figure something out," he said.
Eventually, Duterte veered off on his own with OneKeyAway. He is now the sole owner of the company and holds mixers several times a month throughout the country, primarily in Northern and Southern California.
"I wanted to do something where it would help someone like me out," Duterte said. "Meeting people is tough, especially if you're working all the time."
Duterte should know. He's still single, and after investing more than $40,000 in the company - a sum the $15- and $20-per-person admission fee hasn't yet offset - he must still have his "day job" as a real estate analyst.
Duterte said he is the only person throwing OneKeyAway parties being he has an exclusive contract with MatchLinC, the Utah-based company that makes the keys.
On its Web site, the company touts the device as a way "to make a completely informed decision about your emotional, romantic, or sexual partner choices."
It's a big claim for a little gadget, especially when even Duterte admits there's more to finding love than blinking green lights.
"Every relationship works based on something other than 64 questions," Duterte said. "(The key) is just a gimmick."
Gimmick or not, Duterte said at least two marriages have developed out of the mixers, and he estimated at least 20 percent of participants have gone out on dates with people they met at the parties.
"Some people use it as an in," Duterte said. "Other people use it as an out."
For Frucht - who left the recent mixer at 9 p.m. without having met a suitable match - it was an out.
"No matter what," Frucht said before turning in his key and leaving the bar alone, "it all comes down to the connection."
| 
