Fan of the Maurader's Map (aka the Snape-Spotter)... Alphabet has one for the world. The Google parent just released a treasure trove of public health data: Google's COVID-19 Mobility Report tells us how we're all responding to social distancing orders. Here's (semi-creepily) how:
- Smartphone, laptop, tablet, smartwatch: If you've got bars or a Wifi signal, Google knows where you are. Its apps (Gmail, Maps, YouTube, etc), Search, and Android operating system are all geo-tagging machines.
- Anonymized, aggregated data: If you've turned "Location History" on, then you're in this aggregated dataset. But your name and personal deets are not.
We're staying home more - but not all of us... We told our Snackers on Friday in our 1st live video Zoom conference that the pandemic has blown a giant hole in the US economy (slides here). The data shows why:
- We're leaving the house less, especially for non-essential activities — shopping and entertainment visits are down 47% in America. Essential spots like grocery stores/pharmacies are seeing 22% fewer visits while the outdoors (a socially-distant safe space) is also down 19%.
- Work from home is a luxury. Work commuting fell by 38%, meaning 62% of us are still making the trek as of March 29th. Work-from-home's not possible for many low-income jobs, and many are still taking public transit (germ hotspot) to get to essential gigs.
Big Data can be good data... Personal data is usually monetized by tech companies to target you with ads for a product or politician (and it sometimes gets hacked/stolen). Hence... Big Data gives Big Tech its controversial reputation. But this Mobility Report is Google using its data-collection powers to show officials how to improve their COVID-19 response. Big Data ➡️ insights ➡️ better policies ➡️ better lives. Using private data for the public good. This crisis could help tech rebrand.