SOCIAL-NETWORK METHOD FOR ANTICIPATING EPIDEMICS AND TRENDS

摘要

In order to anticipate an epidemic or adoption of a trend, individuals are randomly selected from a population and friends of the selected individuals are determined. These friends are then designated as sensors and monitored to predict or anticipate the adoption of a trend or the spread of a contagious outbreak. In one embodiment, online searches performed by these friends are monitored for the use of selected search queries to predict or anticipate the adoption of a trend or the spread of a contagious outbreak.