WooMe is a new way to speed date. It's an online network that lets you schedule times to hold a meeting, where you'll get to chat with them in live 1-minute conversations. I got a chance to check it out while it was still in private beta, and I only wish I'd been prepared with my webcam for the session I had with WooMe co-founder and CEO Stephen Stokols! Needless to say, it's a fun, easy and painless experience.

You schedule an event, and let people join up. You can also invite others to join your event. If you're logged onto WooMe, the session will automatically begin, so make sure your webcam and microphone are ready. After each conversation, the next one will proceed. At the end, you'll see the profile pictures of everyone you've spoken with, and then you make a final decision on which ones you liked, and which ones you'd like to dump.

During your speed session, you'll also be asked to write one word that describes the person you're conversing with. These tag words will be used on their personal profiles, and sort of build reputations for users on the site. Mutual connections get to know each other on a more personal level, though unlike SpeedDate, there's already a good amount of information you can find about a person by checking out their profiles on WooMe.

I should add that sessions don't have to revolve around speed dating. Stokols gave me an example of how one person had used WooMe to interview potential roommates. And WooMe will actually use its speed sessions to screen potential employees before bringing them in for an in-person interview. What makes WooMe different from other speed dating services is that it's not just about dating, so that makes its format far more flexible to be used for other situations. That also means that speed sessions don't have to be contrived or organized by WooMe, and you don't have to wait around for an even number of boys and girls.

Interestingly enough, Stokols mentioned an advertising opportunity that arises from these unevenly paired speed sessions. Once you've got a person with no one left to chat with, you have their attention for another 60 seconds or so before the session is over. I noticed that WooMe already has some fun music playing to keep you from being too bored, but Stokols would also like to use this for ads, of varied nature. Any type of mutlimedia ads would work here, from widgets to games, to videos. I'll be keeping an eye on this to see how ad options play out, and how appealing they are to marketers.