Good morning, Tuesday. Thanks for being sunny. Much appreciated.
I admit I am somewhat of a technology agnostic- slow to embrace some of theamazing things that are happening in the interactive world as I have been
gaga for the still image for ages, and still am. But to move forward these
days, it's simply not possible to not embrace some form of technology in the
vast playing field we all find ourselves in these days. Yes I have embraced
blogging, Facebooking, even a bit of Twittering. But in terms of a lot of
other interactive stuff, I've been waiting for something to completely blow
me away, which has not as yet happened in spades. It's probably happened for
you already, but I am a late bloomer. I was looking for something to believe
in. And then yesterday came, and I saw the light. Yesterday was the day I checked out Arcade Fire's new video for the song "We
Used to Wait", as I'm sure many of you did as well. The site was created
with some insane Google technology that allows you to be a participant in
the video, by typing in the address of the house/apartment/trailer you grew
up in. You are then taken on a very emotional journey through your past,
accompanied by a killer song by very much THE band of today. What's even
more clever is that you end up wanting to do more than just type in the
house of your youth- you end up watching again and again as you key in the
address of your first apartment, the first house you shared with a partner,
the first place you moved after college. And because you're doing all of
this, you're listening to the song a whole bunch. And then you realize how
sick the song is too. Genius. Been reading much on Arcade Fire of late and
can't help but think they are simply one of the coolest bands able to cross
over from indie into mainstream in a transcendent fashion. Anyway, the site had me in shock and awe and told one of the most compelling
stories I've ever seen- by allowing us to interact with the video it speaks
to our obsession with personalization and customization coupled with a heap
of nostalgia for simpler times, all to a killer soundtrack and birds flying
overhead. That's where the crossover happened I reference in the title of
this post- I was finally able to see how cool technology enables us to tell
more complete stories- it was a watershed moment for me- one you all have
probably already had, but it was a powerful reminder of all we can do now.
I'm excited to see what happens next. I actually can't wait. If you are one of the few that have not checked out this incredible
video/web experience- the link is below. Only works on Safari and make sure
you close all other windows to get the optimal effect. I am certain you too
will have you mouth wide open as you watch this, glued to your screen and
not really caring that you have shut down your IM for a few moments.
So. Damn. Great. I am a believer. Chris Milk is an amazing director and the
Google team knocked it out of the stratosphere with some techy magic. Link
below- enjoy if you have not seen and watch again if you have: http://thewildernessdowntown.com/ And that, my friendly friends, is what's up this 2.0 Tuesday in the MIA. XO