Jim Stolze, a writer and researcher involved with the project, says the Internet has become our "new global campfire, " the place where we gather to argue, laugh, talk, learn, love, turn strangers into friends, and to get a sense of belonging.

CNN: Can happiness be found online?

Vienna has a youthful side, too, and is visited yearly by backpackers as much as mainline culture aficionados -- something Richard Linklater celebrated in his 1995 film "Before Sunrise, " which charted two strangers falling in love in the course of one day, with Vienna as the romantic backdrop.

CNN: Luxuriating in 'Old World' Vienna

Even rom-com characters find love, to the applause of strangers.

NEWYORKER: The Disconnect

Light, sweet pop sounds in songs such as "Pieces" and "The Pact (I'll Be Your Fever)" are interwoven with darker, moodier themes of love, loss and death in the title track and "Twenty Seven Strangers, " with affecting and beguiling results.

NPR: First Listen: Villagers, 'Becoming A Jackal'