Predicting the Flu, Checking the Weather
Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, claims it can predict flu outbreaks about ten days before the CDC can. Through this site, you can determine the severity of flu outbreaks in your area. Google bases their predictions on a spike in search terms such as “flu symptoms” on the Google search engine. [Thanks NYTimes]
Compare this to a tool that came out a few months ago that takes tweets (Twitter messages) about the weather (e.g. “I hate the rain!”) in a given geographic region, and tells you what it looks like outside.
Where else can we go with this?
- Want to see how crowded that destination will be before you book a trip? Just see what others are searching for.
- Does seasonal affective disorder exist? See what times of year people are searching for depressing terms.
- Is wall street practicing what they preach? Compare analyst quotes from the news outlets to search terms to the contrary from people on the ground.
- Your startup idea here…