What if we could track the spread of the flu by what people were searching for on the internet?
Google has found a way to do just that—Google Flu Trends uses Google search data to track and estimate flu activity world-wide.
When the Google flu estimates based on flu-related searches were compared to actual surveillance data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the results looked extremely similar. With the flu season in full force, Google Flu Trends is an interesting way to look at information in real-time and is updated on a daily basis.
You can check out the full project here.