Small Talk for Google Chrome
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Client: Google
Partner: Instrument
Project Manager: Phong Ho
Description
The weather affects us every single day. It’s a driving force that connects us all. Furthermore, weather makes an impact on us no matter if we’re inside or out, online or in the real-world. As humans we use weather conditions as reasoning for our current emotions, change in habits, or timing. On any given day, our friends’ Facebook, Twitter, and GTalk status messages consist of the normal daily minutiae of on and offline life. The status message is an opportunity to generate a potential dialogue, grounded in small talk.
The data behind this visualization is acquired from Twitter’s search API, aggregating from a pre-determined set of weather-related statements. When one of the statements is picked up, we determine its location, and mark it on the map using the geocoder functions of Google Maps, as well as Google’s reverse geocoding tools to standardize addresses and locations. We built the visualization in JavaScript, using the HTML5 canvas element and jQuery.