It wasn't that long ago that MTV actually played music videos was it? I'm not that old, and I remember it. But then again, not only was that before Jersey Shore, but I'm pretty sure that was even before Laguna Beach.

A link recently made the rounds that caught my attention. It was the video for Arcade Fire's "We Used to Wait". I'm not even sure "video" is the right word.

The experience is wholly interactive. From the beginning you are asked to be involved in the end product; the home page prompts you to enter the address of the home where you grew up. (On a side note, this is the one potential flaw. I entered every address of every house I can remember living in. Each and every time I was given the same message: "Your address doesn't contain enough Street-View and/or Google Maps data to 100% enjoy this experience." Undiscouraged, I threw caution to the wind and clicked "continue anyway". Who said I don't live life on the edge, right?)

The video then begins in a small-ish browser window, positioned mid-screen, with an image of a hooded figure running down the road. As it progresses multiple browser windows open and close, coordinated with the music. Shots from Google Earth, presumably the house you grew up in are integrated with the video and 3-d renderings. The windows then interact with each other as the birds fly into the map, moving the focus around the screen. Putting this together was no small task, as evident in the creators notes.

Midway through the video, users are asked to compose a note of advice for their younger self and the second, possibly even more progressive aspect of the project begins to take shape. When a user submits a card it is given a code and a URL for a virtual "post box." The postcard is also submitted to be Visuals for the Arcade Fire Suburbs Tour and to The Wilderness Machine — a special creation that will print the cards and their code on special paper that has birch seeds embedded within — if you plant it, a tree will grow! Fans at concerts can print one of these postcards and reply to the sender's "post box" via the unique code.

This project pushes way beyond the browser. Incorporating a full cross-media promotional campaign that should give it legs far beyond its original release. With apologies to Snooki's gravity defying hair, from now on I want my TV customized to me.