#78a - Into the Burning Man Multiverse | Damian Madray (PRESENCE)

Today’s episode of Life is a Festival unfolds through two different audio experiences and much like Burning Man’s Multiverse, I invite you, dear listener to enjoy one or both of these diverging moments. The first podcast takes place in the traditional Life is a Festival format, the second is a conversation recorded from the new audio social network Clubhouse (currently in beta). My guest for both experiences is my friend Damian Madray, the founder of PRESENCE, which is part of the infrastructure behind Infinite Playa, one of Burning Man’s multiverses. In this iteration we we get to know Damian, from his parties and salons in San Francisco to his recent naturalization as a US citizen. We go deep on the distinction between multiverse and metaverse, we chat about type 1 and type 2 fun, and Damian provides a preview of what we can expect from Infinite Playa. Damian is passionate about scaling human connection. An alum of Singularity University, and long time congregator through his Glint Salons in San Francisco, Damian is the perfect person to speak of the power of Burning Man’s Multiverse as a portal to the broader metaverse that is unfolding in digital space everywhere at once. He founded PRESENCE to help creators to bring people into experiences that connect in meaningful ways. His work has been featured in the New York Times, The Bold Italic, Huffington Post, Slate, WSJ, and the Financial Times. Through Burning Man’s Multiverse, we will witness human connection unfolding in the virtual through time and space, but it’s up to us to participate in this unfolding. As you step into any of the 8 official multiverse realms, we invite you, “Ask not what burn the multiverse can give to you, but how you can burn in the Multiverse.” LINKS Enter the Multiverse: https://kindling.burningman.org/multiverse/ PRESENCE: https://withpresence.com/ Damian Madray: https://medium.com/@themadray/about-damian-f3b1fda29dda TIMESTAMPS :15 - Damian’s background and recent naturalization as a US citizen :20 - Experience is how consciousness unfolds through space and time :22 - From throwing underground parties, to attending Singularity University, Damian’s background in experience design :29 - The multiverse and the metaverse :35 - Talking about Infinite Playa :42 - How do we navigate the difference realms of the Multiverse? :49 - Can people still participate as creators? :53 - The biggest challenges facing Burning Man’s Multiverse :59 - Type 1 and Type 2 Fun 1:06 - How will connecting with Burning Man’s multiverse impact the broader metaverse?