SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

'London Eye' Olympic light show powered by tweets

England's glowing torch of the 2012 Olympic Games, as well as a London Eye light show, are powered by tweets. Cameron Hughes from EDF Energy explains how it works.

london_lightswhow_L_110910_aap_1479828677

1 min read

Published

Updated

By Brian Thomson

Source: SBS


Skip to article content

England's glowing torch of the 2012 Olympic Games, as well as a London Eye light show, are powered by tweets. But how does it all work?

Based on an "intuitive algorithm," real-time tracking of the tweets relating to the Olympics splits comments into positive, negative and neutral categories according to words, phrases, and emoticons, then filter them into the light show.

"We analise the content of the tweets, and then we use that to actually drive a light show on the energy of the night," Cameron Hughes, Head of Brand EDF Energy said.

"So, if you are seeing a yellow colour, it means that there's a lot positive energy in social media. If you are seeing purple, it means that there's negative energy".

Mr Hughes says the amount of yellow lighting up England's glowing torch has been rising during the Games, reaching a peak of 90 percent of positive comments in one instance, and 76 percent yesterday.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Watch this interview on YouTube:


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world