

Typically accurate algorithm may need tweaking to deal with new trends


I. Flu Trends' Bad Forecast



Google Flu Trends miss

So what happened?




II. Self-Tracking Efforts Also Miss



Flu Virus




III. What About Twitter Tracking?



Some are turning to Twitter for flu tracking.



Source: Nature Magazine

Comments     Threshold


Why should Google be wrong, and not the others?
By UpSpin on 2/18/2013 1:16:44 PM , Rating: 5
I also had flu this year, but no medical institution knows it, except Google because I did a few searchs on it. I was one week at home, ill. Just because you're ill, doesn't mean you need medicine or visit the doctor. There's no easy 'medicine' against flu, you have to give your body time and rest, and keep an eye on your temperature and the other signals your body gives you and the flu is gone in about one, up to two, weeks.
But many people also tend to, if they start to cough, to take common painkillers which also lower fever, like Ibuprofen, and don't really get that they have flu. They're just dizzy several weeks and think they 'just' have a persistent cold, yet had, or still have, flu.
And then there are people who run to the doctor because of every cough.

So maybe Google's data are the most accurate ones, at least in my case, Google would know that I had flu, a medical institution not.

By ChronoReverse on 2/18/2013 2:17:15 PM , Rating: 2
That's an interesting thought. I've been recovering from a bit of the flu this weekend but I didn't see a doctor for it since I wasn't running a serious fever or anything that could be dangerous. This wouldn't be recorded by the medical community but I'd wager that my comments in social media would have given it away to the aggregators.

By Mitch101 on 2/18/2013 4:33:44 PM , Rating: 2
Same here I knew I was sick but didn't want to be in the doctors office waiting room with other sickos and non-sickos and lose the co-pay to what I already knew. Why subject myself and others to it and possibly get other sicknesses from a weaken immune system.

By chripuck on 2/19/2013 12:52:37 PM , Rating: 1
Not to disagree with your point, but if you get the flu no amount of OTC pain killers will keep you ambulatory. If you can take two Advil and get on with your day then you don't have the flu.


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