Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have launched their first collaborative product since leaving Facebook, and it's not a social network. The developers launched the resource , which helps track COVID-19 control efforts in every US state.
According to Mr. Krieger, the project takes advantage of Kevin Systrom's open approach to calculating Rt (the average number of people infected by an individual coronavirus case) on a daily basis. This shows how well a state is coping with a pandemic - anything below Rt 1 indicates a successful fight against the disease.
The site also helps to structure the data in a way that is not always possible on similar trackers. You can filter information by region, time, and the use of shelter-in-place practices (ensuring security in an already occupied building, not evacuating infected people from the area - as you might guess, those states that do not have this practice do worse). All of this could provide a clearer picture of how the US is handling the pandemic and could be useful for future research.
To some extent, RT.live is the result of work on Instagram. Mr. Systrom studied the principles of virality when he developed systems that helped the social network to take off. As much as people complain about the disruptive effects of social media, they can be useful in monitoring the dynamics of COVID-19 and quickly developing a strategy to combat it.
Source: 3dnews.ru