We created LifeAfter, a 10-episode podcast that explored the potential consequences of sharing so much of our lives online. The thriller imagined what could happen if that information got into the wrong hands – or rather the hands of a sentient computer program that communicates by editing together the voices of people that have died. When that plot becomes a threat to humanity, GE technology is deployed to help protect our virtual and real world lives.

We also created a fictional social media site from the podcast, where fans could unlock additional content and explore backstories on the shows characters.

“LifeAfter” is a science fiction podcast that showcases GE’s new Digital Twin Technology. Listeners tuned in weekly and downloaded the 8-episode podcast 4 million times on Soundcloud and iTunes, but the story didn’t end there. GE hooked listeners by creating an online world for “The Message,” where they brought the people and places from the podcast to life with a complex web presence and backstory. We sprinkled the content with clues and puzzles, creating an alternate reality game that unlocked additional content.

We also created an online film, “Message from Beyond”, which showed an example of how one man’s digital life could be used, edited, and reanimated to tell a singular message. Hidden code in the end sequence of the video led tech-savvy viewers to discover additional content from the podcast.

It got the attention of renowned scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson and enough other sci-fi lovers that it reached 524,350,000 downloaded minutes, making it one of the most downloaded podcasts of the year. It was praised by a number of major media and entertainment publications, calling it one of the best podcasts of the year and announced that it was “reviving a dead art.”