Tech people in Silicon Valley work hard and party even harder to the point of dabbling on the wild side – like swapping sex partners that a new report said is an old practice that benefits from technology.

In a report by Laurie Segall of CNN Money, San Francisco couples – many are professionals and tech talents – are picking up on the latest party craze where they get to dance, drink and perhaps temporarily switch partners for one-time sexual encounter.

The Bronze Party

The Bronze Party, according to Segall, is driven by technology. The man behind it is tech entrepreneur Ben Fuller, who runs the Bronze Club – a Facebook-like application that facilitates meet ups that could lead to intimate moments.

Fuller also maintains the lucrative Modern Lifestyle online platform that provides alerts and sell tickets for 50 sex clubs spread across the United States, CNN said.

In one party held in San Francisco, party-goers are typically couples that mingle with other. As the fun continues, “many take off garments,” and will likely end up in a Play Room provided for in Fuller’s Bronze Party.

Play Room is “where couples tend to gravitate later in the evening. They may have sex with each other. They may switch partners. Some just watch,” Segall said on her report.

Experimenting

Fuller’s party is attracting tech couples like Greg and Stella – both engineers and married for 10 years. The two are into swapping sex partners and told CNN that attending The Bronze Party makes it easier for them to do what they want.

“Whereas you might go to a bar, pick up somebody and take them home for the evening if you're single, here it wouldn't be unheard of to do that even if you're married,” Greg, the husband, told CNN.

A touch of tech

His parties, according to Fuller, clicked because tech people appreciate high-tech approach. His business is recipient of improvements – better website user experience design and efficient contact management – that were suggested by highly-skilled tech professionals, Fuller added.

Swapping partners is not exactly new but the present version is characterised by less risk and some amount of certainty. In the 1970s, CNN said, the so-called Key Parties would gather couples who switched partners randomly by dropping house keys in a bowl.

Like a lottery, women would then fish out a key from the lot and get to take home the man connected to that key.

Today, chance does not play a central role anymore in the swapping process.

“In the old days, you never knew where you were going … Now you get a really good sense. The event details … even the pictures of the people that are going to be attending the party,” Fuller said.