What Fun it is to Ride and Sing in a Spatial Chat Tonight
Proximity audio is ready to revolutionize how we socialize online. Here is the #1 app you should consider to bring your family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors together this holiday season.
After more than a decade of Skype, Google Hangouts, FaceTime, and the ever-present Zoom, there are finally some startups that aim to create more connected and engaging virtual social gatherings and meetups. If there can be a positive side to this global pandemic, it’s finally pushing the tech industry to create more human-centered solutions for social events!
There are so many shiny new apps that have come out since this spring. It’s a rabbit hole you can waste a lot of time in. Let me save you the time!
I’ve tested and researched over 40 video conferencing apps in the past few months and I have picked a clear winner. I am in no way affiliated with this company, nor do I earn anything by recommending them. In fact, I am writing a much longer roundup of all of the apps I’ve tested and the unbiased pros and cons to each as well as what types of gatherings they’d be good for right now.
Before I dive into this particular app, I want to give you a quick breakdown of the technology and what makes this new category of apps so special.
Proximity Videoconferencing — Amazing!
This type of app gives the user complete freedom to move about the space: a Google-map type of interface that can be navigated and explored. These apps use something called spatial or proximity-based audio to raise and lower the volume of surrounding audio based on where you are on the map related to others.
As an event host you can now design a space transport your guests somewhere new, similar to VR. But no headset needed. Shared virtual spaces, more so than straight up video conferencing, can provide a sense of togetherness and connection. Not to mention, fun!
Even more incredibly, it allows guests to interact more naturally, mingling more like they would at a cocktail party. It’s this type of natural interaction that most video conferencing platforms and livestreams lack. Without a breakout room, larger group gatherings are often dominated by one person. Combine that with poor audio technology and you’re constantly trying not to talk over each other. Nothing like our fluid in-person conversations.
Add in breakout rooms and now you’re stuck with someone you may or may not want to continue having a conversation with, and you’re not engaged at all with the larger party and energy in the room. No one goes to a dinner party and sits at an assigned table the whole time. I remember that even as a young adult I would find my way to the kids table at Thanksgiving and Christmas. And if I wanted some variety I’d see who was hanging out in the kitchen and maybe grab a second serving of turkey on the way. Spatial audio technology is a very exciting step in recreating that experience.
Pearl’s Pick for Proximity Chat: Spatial.chat
Spatial.chat Basics: Your face is in a bubble and you move around the space with a click+drag on your face, and zoom and pan around like it’s a Google map; very intuitive. So far very stable and free for 25 guests at a time in 3 rooms, so you can try it out for your next happy hour or holiday party. Up to 125 guests are accommodated in the $50/month plan, with 5 rooms.
Pros: The platform is slick. Video bubbles that move is brilliant, compared to other apps with wonky avatar + video combos. By prioritizing everyone’s faces in a circle, it seems to reduce fatigue as well as ugly backgrounds from view. The concern I hear often is that faces are not big enough, and to that I say: “Have you clicked the + to zoom in?” As a user, having the the ability to zoom in and all the way out of the space also makes it much easier to navigate than most of the others I tested. As a creator it’s very easy to swap out the background image of the space with no fuss, and there are plenty of quality options pre-loaded including several new holiday themes. It’s also easy to add video embeds from Twitch, YouTube/Live, or Vimeo. As both a creator and a guest (with permission) you can add .gifs and other images to the space and move them around easily, so the possibilities are open wide for customization as well as interaction.
Cons: One thing that is lacking currently is the ability to hyperlink objects or embed web pages in the space. Compared to some of the other apps, this does limit the creative potential just a bit. I have been able to host many unique events on this platform regardless. One minor note for creators is that you cannot control where a guest enters the space; they are automatically placed wherever the most guests are in that room. Development team is based in Cyprus, and customer support seems to take a few business days.
Other Highlights: My guests love this platform, even the luddites! My favorite little thing about this space is the inline chat / emoji feature. Why confine text chat to a window when you can have little comic text bubbles next to your face? It makes it so much easier for your brain to process who is saying what. Once you try this one out, you’ll think: “Why hasn’t anyone done this before?”
Runner Up Proximity Chat App #2) Gather.town / Online Town
Gather Basics: Launched in April 2020, this app feels very much like a 1980s video game with a bird’s eye 8bit graphic style that will be charming to certain audiences. It uses an avatar separate from the video of your face, which you move with your keyboard arrow keys. There is no zooming in or out.
Pros: Many interactive features and widgets for creators that make it useful for creating puzzles, multi-room experiences, and quests. They are ahead of the curve as of this writing on empowering creators to make their own maps, but the process is more involved than other platforms.
Cons: A little less intuitive for users. Style may not be appealing to everyone; not for “professional” events without major customization. As a creator, it will take a bit of patience to get setup if you’re looking to build a custom environment (their documentation is complete, but there are just more pieces to consider and understand).
Other Highlights: This platform’s capabilities make it my pick for all types of immersive events. After the initial learning curve, the complexities in map-making have the potential to create a more rewarding and interesting environment for guests to experience. Great for a more tech-inclined audience that is ready to try something new and novel.
Runner Up — Proximity Chat App #3) Topia.io
Topia Basics: Uses a cute, solid-colored avatar separate from the video of your face. The avatar has a walking animation and can also sit down and shows when you are typing. There is no ability to zoom in or out. Topia made a splash this summer as one of the Burning Man multiverses and has hosted events with up to 700 guests at a time.
Pros: This app has a gorgeous, hand-drawn aesthetic that sets it apart from others visually. As an editor, you have full capabilities to create your own objects and drop them into a pre-created map, or create yours from scratch. If you are artistically inclined you’d have a nice time building in this world.
Cons: As a guest, the rounded rectangle videos being separated from your avatar, combined with the mainly keyboard-driven navigation takes you out of the feeling of being fully immersed in a world. As a creator, the user interface is complex to master; it’s a bit easier than Gather, but still requiring some patience and finesse.
Other Highlights: The visual style of this platform would make it suitable for an audience that may shy away from the video-game aesthetic of others. Yoga events, festivals and team building come to mind. They have recently added a holiday kit which also makes this appealing for whimsical holiday parties with friends or coworkers.
Worthy of Mention — #4) Sparkle.space
Sparkle (Proximity + Zoom) — A global team behind the Co-Reality Collective’s successful online festivals created the Sparkle platform to host large corporate events and multi-room experiences. They developed this platform to act as a portal to connect guests to various (mostly Zoom-based) experiences. In the Spring, they debuted some very cool interactive map technology which is a must-see for festivals wanting to go online. During the first 100% virtual Burning Man this Summer, they were featured as one of the eight recognized online “universes”… and were certainly one of the most successful. They have since hosted many other multi-day, mega festivals with much success. I got a sneak peek at how this party portal could also include video chatting capabilities, although it’s still in its early stages. On top of being a tech platform, the core competency and magic of the Sparkle team lies in full event design including storyline development, character actors, and unique themes. Sparkle is definitely one to check out, especially if you are in the market for full service event production: their team is constantly evolving the platform, benefitting from their experience gained by producing real events with real guests.
On that note, on New Year’s Eve I will be hosting a Spatial.chat room during New Years Everywhere global celebration of EVERY MIDNIGHT with the Co-Reality Collective. Be sure to come and check it out to see this new technology in action!
