If you're trying to beat the sniffles and sneezes of cold season, Sickweather is looking for you.
The new illness mapping social networking site offers users the opportunity to see maps of
local illness “hot spots” based on data collected from users, Facebook status updates and
Twitter streams.
“With Sickweather, we hope to offer a new and useful resource to help people stay healthy. It
really is baffling to me that people check the weather report every day before they leave the
house or before they go on a trip, but health related symptoms go ignored. If people prepare
for the weather by bringing their umbrella with them, why don't they do a similar thing by
drinking an extra glass of orange juice in the morning to boost their immune system?” asks
Sickweather COO James Sajor.
The Baltimore based start-up behind Sickweather is preparing to launch the social networking
site , which is currently in its final Beta testing phase. The brainchild of entrepreneur
Graham Dodge, formerly involved with Crime Map, and marketing expert James Sajor,
Sickweather aims to not only help healthy people avoid virulent spots, but also allow people
with compromised immune systems and their families a resource to help them avoid exposure
to a potentially life threatening germ.
“I had recently moved back to Baltimore to take care of my mother, who was diagnosed
with an advanced stage of cancer. She was going through a variety of treatments, and her
immune system was severely compromised. That meant that I could not get sick. It would
actually have been a life-and-death situation if I caught a common cold. I was extra careful
when I left the house. So when Graham approached me, I immediately saw the value in the
idea,” says Sajor.
In addition to the final beta testing of the site, Sickweather is also developing a mobile app
version for Android and iPhone.
Writer: Amy McNeal
Source: James Sajor, Sickweather
http://sickweather.com/