EXCERPT

When scores of attendees at a Playboy Mansion function last February came down with a mysterious respiratory illness, Los Angeles health officials scrambled to find its provenance — and found it on Facebook.

DomainFest, an Internet conference which drew over 700 attendees globally earlier this year, took place at various locations throughout the L.A. area, including the famed Playboy Mansion, from February 1 to 3.

The L.A. Times reported that an attendee wrote on his Facebook page,: “Domainerflu count: Who else caught the disease at DFG?” Three dozen names appeared in the comments section of the post.

Facebook allowed investigators to readily identify the outbreak due to speedy responses from those stricken. Researchers also used online polls, sending them to all of the conference goers; out of 715 that received the surveys, over 400 responded.

I guess several of the Playboy Mansion guests parted with a gift they certainly did not expect to receive. It seems Facebook postings and the open discussions about who was stricken with an illness actually wound up saving the day by becoming a useful tracking system.