For over a year or more I have been receiving daily google alerts on the subject of "autism". I get links to all stories found online in one handy email. The options are to receive alerts as it happens, daily or once a week.

The subject line in my emails states google alerts - autism. The email is organized with the clickable link to the title of the story, the source and location with a sentence or two from the corresponding article with the keyword you chose for this alert highlighted.

If the subject of the story has more offerings on this topic another clickable link - see all stories on this topic will be displayed at the bottom of that section. This link opens up a new window to a google search with these links.

The actual link to the stories also open to new windows. At the bottom of the email are links to click on for removing the alert, creating another alert or managing your alerts.

Google Alerts is in BETA. Here is the LINK to create a news alert on search terms. Reasons for creating a google alert is to stay on topic of a current news story or to keep abreast of a subject related to your business. Another option is to follow the industry or stay current on a competitor.

I would suggest that non-profit organizations use their company name or logo as a google alert to learn of new stories reflecting on their company and reviews of interest that would benefit their employees, customers, clients or members. This way if you are having a conference in a few months you can monitor the buzz relating to it and get feedback from reading comments in groups and forums.

The four types of google alerts are news, web, news & web and groups. You need to submit an email address and create a password. The email can be sent in text or html format. These can be changed by managing your alerts. If you need to change an email address you will have to re-enter the alerts for the new address and delete current alerts. There is a limit to ten alerts a person can create.

Yahoo! Alerts is available for Breaking News, Keyword News or Daily News Digest. I have the keyword autism set for once a day. There is a tour and sample alerts to consider which one suits your specific needs. The news digest is based on your categories with summaries of the top news stories.

Other alerts in a drop down menu box include for Missing Children, Health News, Auctions, Horoscopes and Weather to name a few. I also get the weather sent by 7 am. The subject line in the email states - Keyword News: [autism] and the sender is Yahoo! Alerts. To sign up for Yahoo! Alerts

This email from Yahoo! Alerts is more detailed. These alerts are also available via messenger, email or mobile device. If you are signed into Yahoo! already the email address you have for these services will be displayed at the sign up page for Yahoo! Alerts. The email has the date and time it is being sent plus the links for Yahoo! News, My alerts and edit alert.

The link is clickable and opens into a new window. The source of the news stories, date and time are included below the link. There is a paragraph from the story. The source is highlighted with no indication of where the keyword is located in the story.

At the end of the email is a link for more news stories on the keyword. This could run into thousands of offerings. The second step is to create your alert by typing in your phrase or keyword. There is a line for include and one for words to not include within your search for Yahoo! Alerts.

I just created a second alert using my name - I think it will be interesting to see what Yahoo! Alerts comes up with. Another resource for those who write on the web and publish articles is to cut and paste your links into the Copyscape.com site to search for your content online.

By using these sites you can monitor the news in the autism community, cut down on duplicate emails and find out how the public views your organization.


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