No, I do not think Google and public health policy go together:
Has Google been the only party to benefit from the swine flu debacle? A few weeks ago this would be a very unlikely conclusion to make: after all, Google Flu Trends, the company’s flagship flu predicting service based on the frequency of Google searchers for specific flu-related terms proved to be of very little use. By the time the Web-savvy Mexicans took to the Web to search for “tamiflu”, CNN et al were already on the case (not much surprise here: people who are in direct contact with pigs- i.e. farmers – are much less likely to be avid Google users and thus generate some unique insights into the nature of the epidemic).
But even despite these reservations, I do entertain the possibility that Google may have learnt about the increasing prospects of a swine flu epidemic much earlier than the rest of us did, in which case it was, umm, a bit irresponsible for them not to tell us immediately (for once, I would have been able to enjoy pork chops in Cairo where I am at the moment
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So imagine my surprise when I found that Google has managed to turn tables on this debate and claim that one of the main reasons why they have been ineffective at predicting the outbreaks of epidemics like swine flu is the existence of the very tough European Data Retention Directive, which requires telecommunication companies to delete data in a period that can range from 6 to 24 months from the day of the recording.
One of my journalism professors kept telling me to not put so much faith in the internet. After all, the way it aggregates and understands data is not entirely predictable in the ever-changing world of humans and human nature.
And yes, I would rather keep my privacy then follow the illusion of saving the world through Google Flu Trends.