Open Source Homeland

Similar to the Who Is Sick? database, this Mechanical turk HIT seeks to collect information about disease from the crowd.

Find description of a disease outbreak in China in Chinese

We assume you read one or more Chinese newspapers daily.

If you see any description of an infectious disease outbreak or even individual new cases in China, send an email in English describing in 1-3 sentences what the article says and include a hyperlink to the original article.

Here’s a primary example of Open Source Homeland— private citizens collecting public data to fill information gaps in government data using inexpensive technology and social networking methodology:

Who is Sick? is a Google Maps mashup of illness symptoms:

• Runny nose (Stuffy nose/Sneeze/Allergies)
• Cough (Sore throat)
• Fever (Chills)
• Head ache (Dizzy)
• Muscle ache (Body ache/Tired)
• Stomach ache (Diarrhea/Nausea/Vomit)

And then the ever-popular “other”. You put in the info anonymously, along with your address, and we’ve all got raw data about local disease patterns. Just like any social networking tool, its real value is in the number of people who submit info, so it’s real utility would be in the event of a pandemic (or maybe just flu season).

Who Is Sick? is a user-powered database of illness symptoms near you.