I missed the app dating by a whisker, but had a decent run on the dating sites before the apps came in. Plenty of Fish was just an online knocking shop, full of folks who just wanted a quick lay, but OK Cupid was way better and I had a few very positive dates off the back of that.
Speed dating was really fun, though, would absolutely recommend people in the dating game give it a go. Had a blast the few times I went, and sure, you'll meet a few dickheads, but mostly it's an interesting experience and you can end up talking about anything and everything.
Weirdly, my girlfriend of 8 years now was dating at the same time as me, in the same area, on the same sites, but we never crossed paths.