{"id":2062,"date":"2013-01-14T12:12:13","date_gmt":"2013-01-14T20:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.surfnetkids.com\/tech\/?p=2062"},"modified":"2013-01-14T12:16:54","modified_gmt":"2013-01-14T20:16:54","slug":"how-google-tracks-the-flu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.surfnetkids.com\/tech\/2062\/how-google-tracks-the-flu\/","title":{"rendered":"How Google Tracks the Flu"},"content":{"rendered":"

Google Flu Trends<\/a> tracks flu season internationally and down to the city. To drill down on the data, just click the map for your country, then your state. The city data is available on its own tab. It’s looking scary out there. Be sure to wash your hands frequently through out the day.<\/p>\n

But is the Google view accurate? And how do they do it? According to Google scientists<\/a>, certain search words increase during flu season. And although not everyone who searches for a flu-related keyword has the flu, tracking the increase in these keywords and then comparing them to historical data provided by “traditional flu surveillance systems” has shown the Google data to be accurate. <\/p>\n