Google offers news alert service

1 comment | I like it!
August 8, 2003, 09:47 AM —  IDG News Service — 

Search giant Google Inc. has introduced a free alert feature in its news section, allowing users to monitor a topic and receive e-mail notifications when news stories on that topic appear.

The new Google News Alerts tool is currently in beta at http://www.google.com/newsalerts. Users enter a topic they want to track and can select to receive a daily notification, or bulletins as the news happens.

The alerts can be used to monitor developing news, track an industry, and get the latest information on celebrities, sports and other subjects, Google said. Alerts can be sent to any active e-mail address.

Users can also refine their topic searches through an advanced search feature, allowing them to specify recent articles or specific country news, for example.

User reactions on a Google News Alerts discussion board set up by the company earlier this week appeared mostly positive. One user nicknamed "Freaky" wrote that the service would allow him to deliver news quicker to readers on his news sites. As the service is still in beta, some users had questions on how to manage multiple alerts and fine tune them, however.

The news alert tool builds on other bells and whistles introduced by Google of Mountain View, California, over the past year, as it fights to stay ahead in the search engine race. Competitors like Yahoo Inc. have recently showed their intentions to get a greater share of the market, and have moved through acquisitions and the introduction of new technologies to give Google a run for its money.

Last month, Yahoo said that it was buying paid search service provider Overture Services Inc. for US$1.63 billion.

Earlier this year, the Sunnyvale, California, Internet company also updated its search engine, with extended search capabilities and a sleeker look and feel, mirroring Google's simple interface approach. Yahoo also has a news alert feature, which offers bulletins via e-mail, instant message or mobile device. Additionally, the company just expanded the alert service so users can select a topic by category, individual source or breaking news.

It remains to be seen which search provider will grab more attention with their news alerts. For now, news addicts may want to set up searches on both companies to monitor their progress.

IDG News Service

Sign up for ITworld's Daily newsletter
Follow ITworld on Twitter @IT_world

I like it!
Comments

news

alerts
| reply
peer-to-peer

jfruh
Apple syncing patent can't come soon enough

pasmith
New Twitter features borrow from 3rd party clients

Esther Schindler
Open Source Changes the Software Acquisition Process

mikelgan
How to set up continuous podcast play on the new iTunes

David Strom
Five important Windows 7 mobility features

sjvn
Guard your Wi-Fi for your own sake                        

Sandra Henry-Stocker
Grepping on Whole Words

 

Sidekick: The Good News & the Bad News
Either way you look at it Microsoft Data Center management did not follow standards or best practices in this failure. In which case it makes me wonder more about the outsourcing of corporate data much less personal data.
- mburton325

Join the conversation here

The Daily Tip

The Daily TipQuick, practical advice for IT pros. Made fresh daily.

Hot tips:

Want to cash in on your IT savvy? Send your tip to tips@itworld.com. If we post it, we'll send you a $25 Amazon e-gift card.

Newsletters

Subscribe to ITWORLD TODAY and receive the latest IT news and analysis.

I would like to receive offers via email from ITworld partners.
By clicking submit you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in ITworld's privacy policy.
Featured Sponsor

AISO founders envisioned a Web hosting company that was environmentally friendly. While the company employed energy-efficient innovations like solar panels, its infrastructure produced unacceptable power and cooling requirements. Find out how AISO leveraged AMD technology to overcome their challenge in this case study white paper.

In this whitepaper, Scalar explores the opportunity to change the landscape with respect to mission critical databases built around Oracle. Leveraging technologies such as Linux, high-end commodity processing power and Oracle RAC technology to architect, design, build and maintain database infrastructure that delivers maximum availability, reliability and performance at a fraction of traditional cost.

On a typical day, weather.com, the Web site for The Weather Channel in Atlanta, serves up between 15 million and 20 million page views. But in September 2004, when back-to-back hurricanes ransacked Florida, the peak traffic on one day more than tripled: over 70 million page views by more than 7 million unique visitors. Read the full success story now.

Marketplace