Innovation: How Google Caught the Flu
How did Google come to accurately track flu activity more quickly than the CDC (Center for Disease Control)? Well Google found that when people get sick with the flu they tend to use the internet to conduct flu related research. Google then aggregated this search activity to estimate flu activity around the United Sates. Not only did the numbers prove to be quite accurate, they were available two weeks sooner than those published in CDC reports.
So why would an internet search company be interested in tracking flu activity. Well, they probably aren’t. But what they are interested in is creating an environment of innovation at the company. Google Flu Trends is just one of many products created by Google employees during their “20% Time”. “20% Time” means that each Google employee is allowed to devote 20% of their working time towards a project of their choice. Google understands that although many of the products developed during this “20% Time” will not directly create any revenue, what is learnt during the process will eventually provide an excellent ROI.
