I think Trent Reznor is crazy. The kind of crazy that stems from brilliance…or maybe he’s just a neo-hippie of sorts…I’m not sure. I’ve never really gotten into his music, but I think I might after reading this Wired article about how he created an ARG to help promote the album Year Zero.

As defined by Wikipedia: An alternate reality game (ARG) is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants’ ideas or actions.

Reznor’s game saw USB drives of unreleased music planted in washrooms, concert tees with ‘misprints’ that held clues and eventually ended with a surprise concert and a fake SWAT team bust. (They couldn’t blow up the building they wanted to) It gets me jumpy just thinking about how much fun it would have been to see the reaction of their fans as they cracked the clues and unravelled the story.

I would love to be involved in the creation of an ARG- especially one for kids. One that doesn’t blow up buildings, direct market to kids or result in lawsuits, of course. Think…scavenger hunt. Kids can do amazing things when they are exposed to and contribute to a narrative. I know everyone always talks about what kind of trouble kids can get into online. But credit where credit is due: it amazes me how much suspension of disbelief they hold, how hungry they are for more back-story in gaming and how much collaboration and respect they can exhibit in an online community.

I like what Reznor did because it was less about marketing a product and more about selling an experience. You know, entertainment. If you have the time, read the full Wired transcript for more details on how he started the ARG and his amusing tangents into what’s wrong with the music business.