Blind dates: They're the butt of comedians' jokes, a nightmare when you're single or perhaps - and we wouldn't hold our breath on this one - how some meet their true love. When friends want to play matchmaker for their single buddies, there are a few rules of thumb that can ensure the dates will be successful...or at least won't completely suck. First, start with the obvious. Don't pair two people who seemingly have nothing at all in common. If you even have the tiniest hunch that things could go really, really bad between the two (perhaps they have very different political or religious views and are both outspoken about them), then be sure that even if you do set them up with the best intentions that they won't run into one another frequently after the date. Be sure you know both of them well enough to know a bit about them - don't set up a friend of a friend who you've never met with your sister, for example.
Base the matchmaking on prior knowledge of the pair. A casual meetup is a better venue than the one-on-one date, so if you can lessen the pressure by inviting the two to the same outing, then you may not need to do any networking among them at all. If things click when they're introduced, your job is done! If not, then perhaps you can revisit the issue with each of them alone later. But don't press the issue - let it go if it seems one of the parties shuts down the idea of going out with the other party each time it's mentioned. Don't put on a full-court press after the date, either. It's courteous to follow up with a casual, "So how did it go?" but pressing for intimate details is a no-no unless they're offered to you. Consider putting yourself in their place when pairing up your buddies, and you should be just fine.