Google Can Predict the Flu

An anonymous reader mentions Google Flu Trends, a newly unveiled initiative of Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm. The claim is that this Web service, which aggregates search data to track outbreaks of influenza, can spot disease trends up to 2 weeks before Centers for Disease Control data can. The NYTimes writeup begins: "What if Google knew before anyone else that a fast-spreading flu outbreak was putting you at heightened risk of getting sick? And what if it could alert you, your doctor and your local public health officials before the muscle aches and chills kicked in? That, in essence, is the promise of Google Flu Trends, a new Web tool ... unveiled on Tuesday, right at the start of flu season in the US. Google Flu Trends is based on the simple idea that people who are feeling sick will tend to turn to the Web for information, typing things like 'flu symptoms; or 'muscle aches' into Google. The service tracks such queries and charts their ebb and flow, broken down by regions and states."

Comments

Googleganda

[syousef]

Every time I say it I get modded down, but I won't let that deter me because this is just a message board.

Google does 2 things really well:
- Search (including getting advertising revenue from search, and specialized search tools and engines like scholar)
- Maps - Google Earth and Google Maps

I haven't seen another product or service from Google that I like. That includes Chrome, Picasa, Mail, Apps, Web Toolkit. It's all just buggy junk and typically it collects information about your usage of the product (sometimes in shady ways such as installing an update app that's hard to get rid of even if you uninstall)which raises privacy concerns).

Yet everything I hear, here and elsewhere is propaganda about how Google is revolutionizing this or that, or how it's such strong competition to Microsoft etc. That's just plain bullshit. I'm getting very tired of the Google propaganda, and even more tired of the attitude here that criticising Google means you should be modded into oblivion as a troll.

Look at how ridiculous this latest claim is. It should be reported as nonsense but instead it gets put on the front page as if it was a credible news story. I think Google could claim to cure cancer, find God and have a chat with him, end poverty and achieve world peace and there would still be people defending the claims. Google is just a company with a funky motto and a decent search engine that happened to appear at the right time. All you fan boys just get over it already.