Bedside thoughts

As I've been surfing the web recently, I noticed a few things that interested me. Hopefully you'll find them to be interesting too!

A recent study says that simply by asking people a question about their behavior, they will alter it to what you ask. For example, the study asked people how often they skip class, and the people who were asked the question skipped class an average of more than one more than the control group. This has pretty big ramifications in the advertising world! Maybe those surveys aren't as passive as they once seemed...

Google just took the wrapping paper off a new service called Google Trends. I think this has the potential to best pulse of our culture yet. Trends uses a complicated formula (or as they like to say, algorithm) to sift through all the search results to highlight the ones that have become more popular recently. You can discuss or read discussions on specific terms you don't understand to see if why that term has become so popular recently (unfortunately, most of them have to do with pop culture items such as the bachelor, american idol, dancing with the stars, etc.). Still, I think it's a neat tool.

Another neat tool that has great potential if combined with the right social networks is Who Is Sick. Visit the site, type in your zip code, and it will show you a listing of the people in your area who have annonmyously posted with their recent illnesses. You can even look back to past weeks to see what germs are going around! If enough of the general population did this, doctors could watch diseases spread and/or prepare people appropriately for the latest disease. One of two things need to happen for this to actually be effective:
1. Allow Google or somebody else to somehow strike a deal with doctors to allow them to catalogue their diagnosis of patients' symptoms.
2. Link up with MySpace or Facebook or another popular form of social networking that people use often and would update with their sickness.

Finally, a closing thought. Recent reports have Bloomberg, mayor of New York, considering an independent bid for president. That would make three strong candidates from New York in EACH PARTY! Guliani=former NY mayor, running republican. Bloomberg=current NY mayor, running independent. Clinton=current NY congresswoman, running democrat.

Thinking about running for president in the future? Better head East.