In the last post I talked about using Google Alerts to notify you if someone mentioned your name, business, or specific product. What if you want to spy on the thoughts of other people talking about more broad topics related to what you sell or personal interests?

Try Google Reader.

I use it all the time to read about people’s thoughts and experiences while in waiting rooms. You’d be surprised how many people blog about the discomfort they feel when waiting to see their doctor. Anyhow, I have found Google Reader to be an excellent automated tool that will seek out blog posts with the general terms and words that I specify.

In order to use Google reader, you must sign up for the service (it’s FREE). If you already have a Gmail email address account then it will be added to your other account services. Once your subscription begins, you can enter a term or phrase you want Google to search for in blogs and news feeds. To do this, use the Add Subscription button (on the left). Each “feed” will be listed as a link below, and will also show up every time you start Google Reader.

Google Reader has two presentation modes and can be changed with the two blue tabs on the top right of the interface. I keep my Reader settings in the Expanded view mode since I like to get a brief snippet of what is in the post/article. This is unlike the List view mode where it only shows the Headline.

So what is the difference between Google Reader and Google Alerts? Not much really, but I believe it’s more how you use them. I use Alerts for very specific terms like my name and the division of the business where I work. I also use Alerts for more specific terms because I pay more attention to my email inbox than I do any other application on the computer. In specific term cases, response speed is a factor. I use Reader to corral posts on more general terms because I don’t want to clutter my email inbox with alerts every time someone types the individual phrases/words “waiting room” or “magazine.”

Give it a try! I think you will be pleasantly surprised how much insight you get when you can quickly review the personal thoughts of others all over the world. You may even find some blogs so entertaining that you’ll want to keep reading week after week by adding their RSS feed to your iGoogle account. Reader can also be a helpful resource when you need ideas and/or topics to talk about on your own blog.

As promised, I mentioned in my last post that I would tell you how to use the Internet to see if people were talking about you. If you own a business, this is a great tool to use because you can ask the Search Engines to notify you when someone mentions your name or business name.

I personally use Google’s Alert tool because Google is constantly reviewing the Internet for new information every hour of the day. It is extremely simple to set up a Google Alert, just go to the following link: http://www.google.com/alerts

In the Search terms enter either your name or business name…be sure to put quotes around your name like “Shawn Pearson” or “Dr. Pearson” so that you only receive emails where your full name is mentioned. Otherwise you will receive an email alert every time someone mentions Shawn or Pearson.

Use the “Type” dropdown list to choose how deep a search you want Google to perform to find your search term. I just use Comprehensive, but you can have other settings including just Blogs, News or discussion Groups.

The “How often” dropdown feature is neat because it will tell you once a day, once a week, or as soon as it finds the reference. If you or your product is high profile and you may be worried about bloggers talking negatively about you, chose “as-it-happens” in this field. This will give you an opportunity to respond in their blog comments to defend your turf. I highly recommend this to any business that wants to protect their brand. You’d be surprised at how many businesses don’t do this.

Finally you set the email address to the one you want to send the Alert to…if you have a gmail account, all your Alerts can be managed in one area. If you don’t have or want a gmail account then you will have to manage the alerts by clicking on either the Verify or Cancel links in the initial confirmation email you receive from Google.

You can do a Google Alert for much more than just your name, it could be for specific product you sell, a favorite celebrity, a family member, or whatever you can think that you might want to track. Just make sure you keep the search tight by adding quotes around the search item or else you’ll find yourself getting a ton of email; especially if you set the search for something that is common and choose as-it-happens under How Often.

For more common terms you’ll want to consider using the Google Reader feature, see my next post for more details.