Dearest Patreons, 

You may have noticed that I’ve been bit by the virtual event bug recently. A minimum of two social events per month since October have been bringing together the best of tech + entertainment + people — like YOU! 

I’ve begun modifying the format of this page ever so slightly to continue to grow this community of Pearl’s Party People and invite you to join me on this journey into the future of not only virtual events, but online connection. 

OUT WITH THE OLD:

Some housekeeping to this Patreon page: re-named, tiers reworked and a new cover photo designed to be more consistent with this community-focused vision. Some of the “featured” tags for example free the nipple events have been removed (you can still find them, but they are no longer front & center). Discontinuing further How to Burlesque content, which may be formatted into its own course series eventually.

IN WITH THE NEW:

You’ll still receive some behind-the-scenes-of-my-creation process content, but you’ll also start to receive invitations to Patreon-only “behind the curtain” meetups where you can be a part of that creation process, or have me support you in any of your own creative endeavors.  Tiers are now adjusted as follows:

• Sand Dollar if you just want to follow the stories.
• Cool Clam if you’d like to be a full-fledged card-carrying member and participant of the social club, where you’ll have a chance to bond and form real connections with other members week after week including Patreon-only “behind the curtain” events. Maybe you’ll meet a collaborator or investor for your next project, or your new best friend! You’ll be able to host your own events at Pearl’s Place, get first dibs on open mics, or be a featured artist at one of the bi-weekly events. Receive support of the community in promoting and attending each other’s events.
• Social Club Co-Founder for those wanting to help lead the direction of the social club as an integral voting member and virtual VIP. Receive personal support from me in creating one completely custom event of your dreams every 6 months. I will provide full experience design and production, whether it be a gathering of your friends or professionals — a birthday party, happy hour, interactive class or workshop, performance art or theatrical show, quest or escape room, or something else entirely. What is the experience you’ve always wanted to have? In virtual events, the only limit is your imagination; let’s create a high-end experience for you and your guest list. You’ll soon be the talk of the town!

PEARL’S PLACE is now open 24/7 for you to peruse and link up for casual and spontaneous meet-ups or planned meetings. After you attend your first event, you are welcome to invite your friends as we grow this community organically. Think of Pearl’s Place as the virtual coffee shop or neighborhood lounge: pop in and see what’s happening, meet some new people or run into an old friend.

Bookmark this! Direct link to teleport to Pearl’s Place:
http://spatial.chat/s/pearlsplace

I am so excited for this future that we are creating together, and look forward to seeing you around Pearl’s Place soon.

Cheers,
Pearl

THE FUTURE OF ONLINE SOCIAL EVENTS

A decade ago “social networking” sites like MySpace allowed us to connect to anyone, anywhere. It’s like our world opened up and the possibilities of meeting new people regardless of geography were pretty exciting. Now that we’ve seen the dark side of social networking, it’s time to reinvent what it means to be a community online.

After testing out more than 50 platforms for virtual gatherings — from VR to modified breakout rooms, audio-only communication tools, and everything in between — I decided that there is one technology that’s most promising to build real online connections. The technology has been labeled proximity audio, sometimes known as spatial audio. It effectively recreates the spontaneous social interactions that happen while walking a conference hall, visiting the office water cooler, or hanging out at a cocktail party.

Upon discovering this technology I thought: “Eureka! That’s more like it!” and I have been trying to wean the general public off of Zoom ever since. In fact, you may recall some of the earlier pirate outings that were first created on Zoom, then re-imagined on Bobble Heads, then reverted back to Zoom due to complexities dealing with multiple simultaneous video streams, and finally re-created this fall on a new platform called Spatial.chat that is more stable and pleasant to use than anything I’ve tried before. 

I have been so excited to show this technology to as many people as possible because it feels really…different. And natural. You are no longer confined to a Brady Bunch square, you can walk around inside a shared space that feels like you are truly having an experience with someone. After an hour or two you have less fatigue because the videos aren’t consuming your whole screen. You have complete freedom to move around and talk to people, no more being stuck in a box in a one-to-many communication modality.

Boxes are so 2020.

Bubbles are the new boxes.

With these technical breakthroughs it feels like social networking is back in our hands. No algorithms to control what we see from whom, and what time of day, serving us with ads and demanding our constant attention. No popups, no notifications — no email login or signup, even! A truly private social network that gives the choice back to you. 

Don’t like a conversation? Walk away. Want to tune into the music? Walk closer. Spotted your friend and want to have a conversation? Walk over to them. See someone you don’t know? Approach your friend talking to them, and get an introduction.

Virtual isn’t going anywhere. It will always be a convenient option to quickly connect with a friend during inclement weather, or attend an event in another part of the world that would have been very expensive or required lengthy travel. With better tools now at our disposal, we can begin to build a global community online and evolve it in a way that works for us. A community that’s more connected, less distracted. A community of humans. A community of artists, musicians, healers, and generally fun people you want to hang out with. A community of party people you want to sip champagne with, listen to music with, and sometimes have real meaningful conversations with.

That community is forming right now at Pearl’s Place. You are invited to join me in creating the dream team of Pearl’s Party People that we have all been waiting for!

REGULARLY-SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING

Attend every other Thursday evening (use this invite-only Eventbrite RSVP link)  for an intimate featured experience in this incredible new video chat platform. The events are capped at 25 guests which is the perfect size to feel like a real party while not being overwhelming. 

Attend monthly events by Co-Reality Collective and the Metamorfosize community which regularly have experiences hosted at Pearl’s Place. Check the calendar at pearlpresents.net/events for these community events and more.

Coming soon! Drop in every Sunday evening for a Patreon-only chill “office hours” style hangout where you can ask me anything, see what I’m working on for the week, co-create with me or just meet other Patreons.

Looking forward to connecting in the oyster!