Google is a mighty beast and has brought some very useful tools to the Internet public by way of Google Labs. In this article I want to make you aware of the “Google Alerts” tool and show you how it can be used to create your own information “grape vine” while also providing you will a first rate early warning system.

In a nutshell, Google Alerts (currently in beta) is a tool that searches the Internet for information on a subject, company or person of your choice. There are many other things you can use as the search criteria and this is pretty much only limited by your imagination.

Here is how Google Alerts works.

Probably the easiest way to get to the Google Alerts screen is to simply enter “Google Alerts” into your chosen browser and that should provide you will the location of the application. If you are determined to find it without searching for it then go to the main Google.com site and look for the “more” link at the top. Next, look for the “even more” link and that should land you in the main tool area. Google Alerts should be right at the top of the list.

The Google Alert main window is simplicity itself. Enter your search term then choose, from the drop-down menu, how detailed you want your search to be (comprehensive will return everything it finds rather than limiting by category). If you are in a rush to get your information then you can choose to be notified as the information is found (or reported), but you will probably get bored with the email sounding off at regular intervals, so setting your alerts to “once a day” is a wise move – you can always play with this and change the setting later. Next choose your “email length”. This determines how many results from your search will feature in the notification email. You may be happy trawling through a huge list or you may want to limit the results to only the most relevant. Finally enter your email address so the alerts can be delivered successfully.

Now that you have an idea of how to create your alert let me explain why this is such a powerful tool.

By way of a real world example, let us say you are hunting for a new job. You have decided that you are very keen to work for a particular company but do not have the time to keep checking back with the site for news of vacancies. Your answer is to set up a Google Alert for the company. By creating a dedicated alert you can get an email as soon as the company publish new vacancies and thereby be among the first to submit your portfolio. You will have to do a little homework in order to tailor your alert correctly, just entering the company name by itself may lead to a sea of email alerts which bear little relevance to your particular area of interest. Suppose the company is Google or Microsoft, or any one of the other most sought after companies people might want to work for. These companies issue press releases with a frightening regularity and your inbox would get pretty full, pretty quick!

In another example, let us say that you have just created a new product and want to see what people are saying about it. For the sake of this example we will assume that you have produced an electronic product such as an ebook or a software application, perhaps you have published your first application for the iPhone and you want to see what people are saying about it.

Simply create a new Google Alert (there does not seem to be a limit on how many you can create) and use the name of your product as the search term. Once news of your new release goes onto the Internet your Google Alert will keep you up to speed with how well it is being received. This could prove to be vital information if people are complaining about bugs in an application or some other issue that is going to cost you sales.

My last suggestion is one that directly addresses a major source of concern for Internet users, “ID Theft”. It is an unfortunate by-product of the rise of the Internet that crime has made as much use of Internet opportunities as legitimate enterprise. The theft of personal data (with a view to illegal transactions) has become big business and specialist groups make money from selling on other people’s personal information. Usually the first thing an innocent party knows about the unauthorized use of their details, is when they open their monthly bank statement only to find that they are in very deep trouble. This trouble becomes magnified if your details are used as a front for illegal activity and it is not the bank, but the security services who come knocking.

Typically, data generated by ID Theft is collated and sold in large batches and details of these batches are used in selling that information to interested parties. By creating a Google Alert based around your own name (or some detail that identifies you as unique) you can keep track of where your details are appearing and what they are being used for (or associated with).

Hopefully these examples have shown you what a powerful tool Google Alerts is. When configured correctly it can return a wealth of information specifically tailored to your needs and your interests.

Who needs to hear it on the grapevine when you can grown your own?

Brian McClue is an IT Professional with a special interest cross-platform functionality and a keen dislike of bloat-ware (software that takes up huge computer resource for very little tangible benefit). He is the owner http://www.themetopia.net, a personal website dedicated to reviews, photography and other interesting themes.

Author: Brian McClue
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Filed under: Security

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