Arcade Fire’s ‘We used to wait’ video was recently the subject of many talks all over the blogosphere because of its use of google maps and satellite images to personalize it.
First you need google chrome to experiment the whole thing, then you have to go there:
After entering the address of the house where you grew up, google will automatically upload pictures from google map (mine did not contain enough street views so they warned me the experience would not be at its best), then you will get your personalized little movie with a runner and satellite pictures of your old suburb.
They will even ask you to write or draw (the drawing is an amazing experience, everybody is an artist with that thing!) something to the young person who once lived there, and the birds will steal your message and carry it to your old neighborhood.
Quite poetic and creative,… so enjoy the interactive experience.
And you can even send the postcard you have created ‘downtown’, as the website says ‘It could go to the Wilderness Machine [?], the Arcade Fire tour visuals, or another Wilderness Downtown user.’ So mysterious!
One last thing, I have sent a postcard with ‘rock nyc live and recorded’ written on it.