Instagram founders launch COVID-19 tracking website.
Instagram founders have launched a new COVID-19 tracking website, which brings live state-by-state updates on the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. However, as of now, the website shows the updates of states in the US only and not from around the globe.
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have launched the website RT.live using a statistic called an effective reproduction number. The stats are calculated by tracking the average number of people who catch the virus from a single infected person.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Systrom said, “If it’s above one, that means it’s growing very quickly, and if it’s below one, that means things are under control. We’re trying to take what is a complex topic and boil it down to a simple number that anyone can view from their home.”
“That’s why this dashboard is so important — because it gives you live insight into the effects of the choices we all make,” he added.
While Instagram was a great success for the founders, they left Facebook in late 2018 after clashing with CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Now, with the new COVID-19 tracking website, they are not sure whether it would turn into a company.
