Photo by WILL OLIVER/AFP/GettyImages

Following the outrageous laser baptism commemorating the inauguration of the Shard, another London icon has been transformed by lights. Every night from 9pm-9:30pm for the duration of the Olympics, the London Eye will be subsumed in a light show that’s programmed according to what Londoners think of the Games–or, more accurately, how (and what) they tweet about them.

Developed in collaboration with EDF Energy and MIT graduates, the spectacle makes use of an algorithm which analyzes tweets pegged to the Olympic hoopla, checking messages against a library of over 2,700 words and phrases, including emoticons and non-standard slang terms, and distinguishing the positive from the negative comments. The former, more enthusiastic responses will turn the Eye yellow (or “gold”), while the more jaundiced (figuratively-speaking) will cast it a shade of purple.

Distilling 24 hours of action into a 24-minute visual, the light show will also include displays of the Union Flag, as well as gold, silver and bronze lighting to highlight the day’s top sporting moments.

[via gizmag]

by Ashley Wells

posted in Uncategorized

tagged 2012 Olympics, Lasers, light show, lights, live tweeting, london, London Eye, social media, the shard, twitter

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