never thought i’d say this but i recently went to a Zoom shindig that was actually kind of enjoyable – an Alice in Wonderland themed party with 12 eclectic rooms

when you join, you get an interactive map that let’s you wander around. each section links to a different experience

the journey begins in a room with the white rabbit, who serves as your guide and gives you a mini orientation

game studies ppl call this a ”magic circle” — the invisible perimeter between every day life and an experience where different rules of engagement are at play

each room of the party had its own theme and schedule of events. my favorites:

- the improv stage where people were putting on skits and using snapchat’s AR filters as masks

- the fire dancing room where a guy was literally spinning fire while an person DJ’ed

the clickable map was a really clever way to wrap Zoom’s bland functionality in a fun interface layer. a relatively low tech solution that gave the whole thing a lot more personality

reminds me of @allthingsmarco’s virtual mall and @noturswamp’s figma town

disclaimer: i don’t want to live in the pod but i do appreciate a good internet social experiment

these digital spaces have me thinking about @kneelingbus’ observation that it’s easier to modify our subjective experience of the environment than to modify the environment itself

i’m always oscillating between excitement about new digital experiences and fear that they’ll enable dystopian escapism + infrastructural neglect