The Germans have a word for everything
There is a small town in eastern Canada that has a population of 800. It’s an awful place unless you want to film a horror movie or cultivate a proper misanthropic personality. The people are terrible, nepotistic, suspicious, and isolationist. I had the misfortune of living there for a little over a year and I am still scarred by this inhospitable town and its people.
Now safely back in civilization, I’ve made it a hobby to play Schadenfreude games by setting up email alerts through Google about that place. Like many of the worst people on the planet, they love talking about themselves. They have an online community newspaper, a significant Facebook presence and regular scandals reported to the mainstream media. After I left, the town went bankrupt because one of the administrators (related to the town’s only RCMP officer) was stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the people who popped into town hall to pay taxes and fines. That was a great email alert. I made some popcorn and ate it Mayor Gia-style while watching Live At 5 news reports about the whole mess, on YouTube.
But enough about me
None of this, of course, is what ProBlogger author Darren Rowse had in mind when designing today’s activity for the the 31dbbb, but I share my cruel delight with you as an example of the power of email alerts. Results are usually immediate and you can get current information about any subject you like. Read about public disgrace in real time as the people are actually living it! That, friends, is the miracle of the Internet.
Twitter or Google?
Choosing a method of receiving alerts depends on mobility, subject, and detail. For example, if you are monitoring your community for trends, in order to get articles for blog fodder, you might choose Google to do the searching for you and send the information to your inbox. There it can sit comfortably in the folder you set up for just such alerts until you have time to read and write about it.
To simply stay current about day-to-day happenings in your community, Twitter does an excellent brief overview, especially when hashtags are well-employed. Your 31dbbb workbook makes suggestions for applications that allow easy use of either tool. Practice with everything and see what fits best into your online routine. Usually using both in tandem will keep you up-to-date.
Your monitoring checklist:
- be clever and specific with your keywords – play around a bit to see if the returns are effective
- have a place for the alerts to go – email filter, TweetDeck column, whatever works best for you, but stay organized
- have a plan for using the information, like writing posts, networking and edifying yourself on your niche. Don’t just collect stuff for no reason
- give it some time before making adjustments- even errant alerts teach you something about the system
Some of you might be feeling this is too much work for what you are trying to achieve on your blog. Take heart: keeping current with your peers blesses your writing with content, credibility and influence. And really, once the initial set-ups are complete, everything will come to you effortlessly. A few minutes today will make you very pleased with yourself later, I promise. Don’t be like me though. Use your power for good.
The yeah write #117 weekly challenge grid is still open for submissions: giving away a premium WP theme from Elegant Themes and a bundle of books
If you’re on self-hosted WordPress or are planning to move to self-hosted soon, you’re invited to browse the Elegant Themes web site for a new theme and, if you’re on the challenge grid this week following our submission guidelines, we’ll add you to a random drawing for a new premium theme. Just let us know you want in in the comments.
Think we’ll hit 30 or more entries on the challenge grid? Once we do, the invitational grid will unlock, and the jury prize winner will receive the bundle of books mentioned in Chad Simpson’s guest post opening yeah write #117 on Tuesday. Just a few more submissions to go; please continue spreading the word.
Questions, keywords and prize drawings in comments…
The Google alerts that I set up are helping me with the Day 14 project of improving a page. I set them up go directly to an alerts label in Gmail so that I they don’t clutter my inbox and I can deal with them when I have time.
That’s terrific, Cyn! We love to hear how these steps are making practical improvements for people. I love your organization, because it is too easy to be overwhelmed by the alerts to the point of immobility. Good job!
I completely agree with Cindy.
Years ago, I had an alert set for the poor boy who hid in the wheel well of a plane then got dumped in the middle of a Boston street. It was a morbid fascination with the investigation of where he thought he was going then how the residents found his body.
I also set up alerts for my old blog name. It usually popped up after I’d left a comment somewhere. I should try it again with yeah write. See what people are saying about us.
Great tip that I missed: creating alerts about one’s own blog or project. Thank you!
This is the best Google alert post in the history of the internet. The End.
You could not be more correct.