Google Flu Trends
November 18, 2008 by davidebowman · 1 Comment
I saw this story last week, and meant to put up a post about it, but alas it was lost in the shuffle. Having sorted through said shuffle this morning, I thought I would go ahead and put up a brief “better late than never” post anyhow.
Google.org has now added the ability to track search patterns on the Flu. This is extremely useful, as in the internet enabled age in which we live, many people who have flu-like symptoms turn to Google to see what is wrong. If an area has a large increase in search for specific search terms that are associated with the flu, Google can assert that there might be an outbreak taking place.
According to the site, this method of tracking flu outbreaks can save weeks in determining that an epidemic is in process. While this can’t eliminate the risk of catching the flu, it can inform citizens and medical professionals to be more cautious and better prepared. Who would have dreamed that search could actually save lives?
We live in amazing times.
Whatcha Talkin Bout Willis?
July 16, 2008 by davidebowman · Leave a Comment
By this time you have probably heard about Twitter. If not, here is a quick summary. Twitter is a site where you, and the rest of the world get 140 characters to answer one question “what are you doing?”
Now the common first reaction by someone who discovers Twitter is to scrunch up their face, tilt their head to the side and scratch it, sigh, tilt their head back again, shrug their shoulders and say “huh?” “What is the big deal?”
Well shortly thereafter you begin to discover that on Twitter people are sharing thoughts and opinions on everything under the sun in a very concise and easy to understand format. Better yet the format is constantly evolving. Twitter also makes it possible to follow brilliant thinkers like John Moore, Pete Blackshaw, and Guy Kawaski, as you follow “what they do.”
Still, the whole thing can seem a bit overwhelming and disjointed. That is where the new Twitter Search (formerly Summize.com) comes into play. Simply type in a term and you can search in real time what people are talking about. Search Dayton, or Obama, or McCain, Pizza, Reds, Apple, whatever - Twitter search will aggregate the results so that you can begin to make sense of it all. Better yet, it is equipped with an RSS feed so that you can track the conversation as it evolves. Track mentions of your name, your employer, your friends, and on and on.
So do you wonder what Willis is talking about? Well I am not sure if Willis (Todd Bridges) uses Twitter, but you can find a whole bunch of people talking about him and darn near anything else by using Twitter Search. Give it a try, and share the interesting things you find with your comments.
