Flu season is in full swing and with widespread reports of mass sicknesses, it's useful to start tracking the flu. This infographic uses Twitter to accomplish this.
The graph shows a map of the United States divided into small sections and color coded to reflect the level of sickness in each area. The sections in purple have low illness levels. Those areas in pink are below the mean level of illness. When the color shifts to peach that means those areas are above the mean level of illness. And to top it off, the highest level of illness is found in sections colored in red.
These numbers are based on hashtags (#flu #sick) sent from all over the United States to @flutracker.
Social Media Sickness Trackers
This Infographic Uses Twitter for Tracking the Flu
Trend Themes
1. Social Media Sickness Trackers - Using social media to track the spread of illnesses presents an opportunity for data analysis and informed decision-making in public health.
2. Real-time Disease Monitoring - Developing tools that can monitor the outbreak of diseases in real time can lead to more accurate and timely interventions.
3. Crowdsourced Health Surveillance - Incorporating social media data into disease surveillance systems can provide a more comprehensive and up-to-date picture of public health trends.
Industry Implications
1. Public Health - The use of social media for disease monitoring and surveillance may significantly enhance the predictive and preventive capacity of public health systems.
2. Data Analytics - The integration of social media data with conventional health data could open up new opportunities for data analysis and insights in the healthcare industry.
3. Social Media Platforms - Social media companies could collaborate with public health agencies to develop platforms for disease surveillance and monitoring using user-generated data.