The two articles in the urls below demonstrate the power of the internet to re-shape the way information is communicated around the globe (Chapter 1: Globalization and the Free Flow of Information, p20; Issues: Internet, p237). This phenomenon will continue to evolve in ways that we have not yet even begun to imagine (at least, those of us who do not work for Google):
“You can Google to get a hotel, find a flight and buy a book. Now you may be able to use Google to avoid the flu.”
The philanthropic arm of the internet search company (http://www.google.org/) has released a new service (http://www.google.org/flutrends/) that will track internet search terms related to the flu nationally (e.g., “cough” or “fever”) and use this information to help identify potential outbreaks of the illness:
“It displays the results on a map of the U.S. and shows a chart of changes in flu activity around the country. The data is meaningful because the Google arm that created Flu Trends found a strong correlation between the number of Internet searches related to the flu and the number of people reporting flu symptoms.”
This information is powerful because of the speed with which it identifies early trends to which government agencies and health providers can then react:
“Tests of the new Web tool from Google.org, the company's philanthropic unit, suggest that it may be able to detect regional outbreaks of the flu a week to 10 days before they are reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
I believe that firms are just beginning to appreciate the ways in which these communication tools will affect their operations and reputations. What seems apparent, however, is that the affect will be dramatic and that firms that are not transparent and accountable to their stakeholders will suffer as a result.
Have a good weekend.
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
Sniffly Surfing: Google Unveils Flu-Bug Tracker
By Robert A. Guth
1070 words
12 November 2008
The Wall Street Journal
D1
http://sec.online.wsj.com/article/SB122644309498518615.html
Aches, a Sneeze, a Google Search
By MIGUEL HELFT
1267 words
12 November 2008
The New York Times
Late Edition - Final
1
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/technology/internet/12flu.html
