Google Flu?

Google is now tracking the flu. Yep, I am not kidding. They use their tracking capabilities of web searches to determine how many people in a given area are beginning to feel flu like symptoms. Here is a NY Times article on it. And here is Google explaining it themselves. In fact, Google even puts the data out there that you can download. Right now the flu activity in Kentucky is moderate. Monday my wife had the flu so perhaps I will be typing in "flu remedies" into Google later this week myself.

If this technology gets better and can be tracked at the county level, I could see this helping schools in being able to predict high flu risks and take addition steps such as hand washing to prevent outbreaks. We'll see, but sometimes you just have to be amazed what is possible with technology.