What is Digg?109 Comments
- marv0, on 11/12/2008, -4/+92I SHALL CALL IT.....FLOOGLE!
- MacroDaemon, on 11/12/2008, -4/+54They're trying to figure out how to make Skynet spread as fast as possible.
- moneyries, on 11/11/2008, -3/+31innovative.
- doublefelix, on 11/12/2008, -1/+17I dugg you up because everyone else was touching the thumbs down button and I'm out of Purell.
- shyner, on 11/12/2008, -1/+17Is there anything Google WON'T do?
- chrisduser, on 11/12/2008, -1/+14Google's goal is to do no evil... while taking over the world. A global dictator you can believe in.
- ligyron, on 11/12/2008, -0/+11Watch the flu activity go from Low to Intense overnight as everyone in American starts searching for flu after the launch of this site
- jerrolds, on 11/12/2008, -0/+10What about STD's? I wanna stay ahead of the sexy time diseases.
ahh..who am i kidding.... - yyymilitia, on 11/12/2008, -3/+13Quick everyone type in 'I have the flu what should I do' into Google right now
- jeffvvisoft, on 11/12/2008, -2/+10Can the Digg-effect skew their results?
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=flu+symptoms+ ... - elliotys, on 11/12/2008, -0/+8Very interesting direction they are taking here. Using the internet for something other than digg and porn.
- Nephersir7, on 11/12/2008, -3/+11way more useful than apple's "innovations"
- austang, on 11/12/2008, -0/+7http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/5204/googlebot8 ...
- AshamedAmerican, on 11/12/2008, -3/+9Blend.
- heysuburbia, on 11/12/2008, -0/+6Idaho seems to have nearly year-round
- inactive, on 11/12/2008, -1/+6Google will find a solution for that, too.
- SnottsdaleAz, on 11/12/2008, -0/+5I googled "flu remedies" just to screw with the system but then I got this horrible feeling that I was jinxing myself.
*queasy* - Cabal, on 11/12/2008, -0/+4unlike meatloaf, they would even do that.
- jyaron, on 11/12/2008, -1/+5i give you 100 internets for that response.
- jaredworm, on 11/12/2008, -0/+4this is precisely how i feel about apple.
not to knock their accomplishments, but i think their "innovation" is misdirected - wilf_brim, on 11/12/2008, -0/+4I'm in this field (public health) and this is a very innovative means of tracking influenza like illness. The best thing is that this is a leading indicator: data from other sources (doctor visits, influenza antigen testing, viral cultures) lags behind by days to weeks. Very cool.
- drmobutu, on 11/12/2008, -0/+4Facebook should have thought of this...
- austang, on 11/12/2008, -2/+6Better yet, type "HELP ME GOOGLE THE FLU IS OWNZERING ME"
Beat the system. - krnldmp, on 11/12/2008, -1/+5Too late.
- shadowblade989, on 11/12/2008, -0/+4They use trends on flu-related queries.
Nothing to do with the CDC.
When there's an increase in flu-related searches in an area, google predicts that a flu outbreak is imminent. - chrisduser, on 11/12/2008, -0/+4Think of the children before clicking this link!
- marv0, on 11/12/2008, -0/+3It was a fufilling experience to digg you down you dbag
- austang, on 11/12/2008, -0/+3So google has found a way to make money by selling our user-based content. Great
We created those search requests, we should be compensated! - firelion, on 11/12/2008, -2/+5everyone sick or not should Google "flu symptoms". lets keep their data accurate ;-)
- inactive, on 11/12/2008, -2/+5Damn, Google always finds a way to get creepier. I really need to find another search engine. Seems like there'd be a market out there for a search engine that doesn't store your search queries until the end of time.
- diggum85, on 11/12/2008, -0/+3How about a Google Herpes Map with Street View?
- mlbwebdesign, on 11/12/2008, -0/+3BREAKING NEWS: Google embeds tiny Javascript code in DNA for ease of gene tracking and analytics in human physiology.
- doublefelix, on 11/12/2008, -1/+3The CDC's main metric is tracking search inquiries into flu related terms? Okay, we're all screwed.
- ceciliaitaly, on 11/12/2008, -7/+9cool! too bad seems i got flu for real :(
- spepin, on 11/12/2008, -1/+3I hope nothing like a "final solution".
Last time somebody tried that, we had QUITE the mess on our hands. - ouzome, on 11/12/2008, -1/+3They've been tracking diseases, with the help of professors, for months now . . . this is nothing new and not very accurate. My friend has a startup that monitors the ingredients purchased in OTC drugs at drug stores and supermarkets. Monitoring the acutal ingredients of drugs that people are purchasing in real time, is tons more effective than this, and for many more types of diseases. It's a start for google though, but I don't think search queries are ever going to be as accurate as actual drugs being purchased.
- beabis, on 11/12/2008, -0/+2What is wrong with you people? Don't you recognize a slippery slope? Haven't you heard the one about the frog in a pot of water? How long until they send the quarantine squad to your house because you searched on ebola, tuberculosis, anthrax, or smallpox? Governments are always duping people into giving up their privacy and freedoms by telling them that it's all for their own protection.
Do diggers suddenly think that government surveillance is good thing now that their Saviour will soon be President? - inactive, on 11/12/2008, -1/+3google sees all
- ouzome, on 11/12/2008, -0/+2Yeah, but stocking up is random, the noticable increase in purchases are all people buying a drug (with certain ingredients) because there is a virus / disease in the area. The numbers don't lie, it works. Good for people, doctors, advertisers and even the government regarding dangerous outbreaks, etc.
- lovek, on 11/12/2008, -0/+2Paranoid much?
It's just data. - PopcornDave, on 11/12/2008, -0/+2Well stop to think about it for just a second. Replace Google with Bush Administration and you'd be seeing bloody murder on Digg with no end in sight. While it's interesting what they're doing, the ramifications of what they're doing by tracking could be less than desirable.
- wassim2k, on 11/12/2008, -0/+1An orgasmic shudder flows across the digg community.
- Vonauda, on 11/12/2008, -0/+1Very sneaky Mr. jeffvvisoft. I take your attempt to skew google and raise you a win....
- kicksave, on 11/12/2008, -0/+1Using their search query data this way, their knowledge base of trends is ridiculous.
- ryanonfire, on 11/12/2008, -0/+1December is death.
- jyaron, on 11/12/2008, -0/+1brilliant. as someone going into the microbial research field, it's astonishing to see innovations like this working so well.
- artinge3, on 11/12/2008, -0/+1that is amaazzing.
- lovek, on 11/12/2008, -3/+4I read Drudge just to see their crazy ass spin on things. For example this story: "SICK SURVEILLANCE: GOOGLE REPORTS FLU SEARCHES, LOCATIONS TO FEDS"
(http://drudgereport.com/flashgof.htm if you care) - vizeroth, on 11/12/2008, -0/+1Actually, in some circumstances it isn't random, but you can counter that if you see the trends in your data. For instance, the company I work for offers a plan where you can have costs deducted from your paycheck for expenses such as over-the-counter medications (many employers do this). In our case, we're issued pre-paid cards in July (the beginning of the fiscal year) for these expenses that are only valid for qualified purchases. This means that in July everyone in the company rushes out and buys their otc meds for the year. Some companies do this on a reimbursement plan, so people spread the purchases out more, but there are probably quite a few companies that use a similar plan, causing spikes in the data at different times of the year.
I tend to buy most of my otc meds at bulk stores like Costco or Sams Club anyway, so I don't have to go back to the store just because I'm sick. I'm also one of those people that will just take something for the symptoms that bother me most, rather than some cold medication that is supposed to take care of everything, which means I keep a lot of allergy (mostly as a decongestant) and headache medicines around, but not much else.
So you end up with the same types of problems that google does, though tracking prescription medications can be helpful since you generally know what doctors commonly prescribe for particular ailments. -
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