Open source data tracking

We would rather like to see a definite cure for the disease, but all help that can help to stop the dissemination is welcome. One of the crucial factors is to share all data that becomes available while the flu spreads the world. It is interesting to see that data is shared through mashups so we all can see and check for ourselves the latest status. Rhiza Labs and Google made a mashup that uses data from official and unofficial sources that acts as a tracker to be used by the public and researcher. As a next step, WebXells, took this mashup and made it into an iPhone application, the FluRadar. With this application you can compare your current location to all known H1N1 events and calculate the distance to the nearest location. It is even possible to enter data if you have new information. Think of what it means if many of these data sources can be accessed through your iPhone and you would get an automatic warning about possible dangers in your environment. By sharing data and providing additional input, emergency situations can be identified and localized with much more ease (or if you think negatively: it can attract also a lot of attention in unwanted situations). Open source data tracking is much more actionable than a paper flyer or a radio message. Your phone or computer can access and analyse many data sources and compute if it is necessary to warn you. The key is: will you trust the data sources? It won't be long before some companies will think of subscription models to these kind of data sources while other businesses will focus on creating applications that people want to use. An interesting new field!