30 Apr 2009, Posted by Matthew Reinbold in Design, Tools, UT, 2 Comments

Infovis Puts Flying Pigs into Perspective

With newspapers proclaiming that swine flu is in Park City, UT what was a weekend curiosity of media hysterics is now local. I see three courses of action.

When faced with global pandemic of questionable outcome we, as software developers, could:

1. “Keep Calm and Carry On” – the cheeky, British equivalent of “we’re screwed and just have to ride this out” implies one is powerless
2. Panic! – Face masks are sold out in Utah. This despite the fact that medical experts claim they aren’t effective at prevention (watch the in-depth video at the bottom of this post for more – scroll to the 5:30 mark) – sure, taking this action may make the person feel like they’re empowered but its a false comfort
3. “Get Excited and Make Things” – hopefully the default impulse for those looking for meaningful impact

The idea that people are powerless when facing an approaching flu is ridiculous. And fear driven runs on ineffective deterrents (the masks) is wasted effort. Are you concerned about what a pandemic might mean to you? For crap’s sake, stop passively observing and begin participating: making, doing, and – at the very least – asking questions.

For example, there is the Google Map plotting of known outbreaks for plain geographical perspective:

Going one better is the New York Time Interactive map. Not only can you hover and get detailed information on each epicenter but the sizing puts each pocket in context. TechCrunch has more on the various visualizations that are circulating. There’s also an iPhone app for that too.

Of course, just putting information in context is not enough. A quick scan of YouTube shows that there really hasn’t been that much user-generated creativity in promoting workable solutions. And I’m not talking about lame PSA-quality snooze-fests. Where are the extreme hand-washing videos (complete with monster truck overdubs)? UStream synchronized hand washing competitions? Public shaming of non-hygienic coworkers on twitter, complete with centralized website hashtag collector?

Or is everybody content with being a Michael Jackson look-alike? Because, after all, he’s been a fount of sage lifestyle advice.