"Nextgov reports 'The Homeland Security Department has commissioned Accenture to test technology that mines open social networks for indications of pandemics, according to the vendor.' This will kick off a year-long biosurveillance program, costing $3 million, that will log trends in public health by looking through public posts. This ties back to White House guidelines released in July that ask federal agencies to 'Consider social media as a force multiplier that can empower individuals and communities to provide early warning and global situational awareness.'"
I am not sure why homeland security would look at social media for pandemics. It seems to me this should be the realm of the CDC. Considering that the CDC would be able to detect disease with more accuracy it is a bit odd... Conspiracists please jump in.
That's pretty fascinating; I agree that it's an odd role for homeland security to be taking on since it's very much in the realm of the CDC.
ReplyDeleteOne thing this brings to mind is the growing ability of marketers to take advantage of information posted on social networks, twitter, or in search terms to target customers more effectively. It's fascinating to look at search terms, for example, and see the correlation with events and various social phenomena by geographic area. For example, search for a map of "Weight Loss" queries and the states with the highest obesity rates reveal the highest density searches for this term. Similarly, Twitter searches are mapable (http://mashable.com/2010/08/06/twitter-mapping-tools/), which offers an interesting opportunity to examine location-specific trends and interests. Perhaps not as interesting as possible DHS conspiracy theories though...