Google Alerts - anyone care to share?

[SeattleMel]

A few people have mentioned when something comes up on Google Alerts for them about Jason. I think my settings must be crap as usually mine havent reported the same. Anyone care to share/compare their alert-fu ?

[thunder]

I don't get a lot through Google alerts either. I've found out the best is just to go in and do quick searches in all the categories, and choose last 24 hours/last week. It's very quick...

[SeattleMel]

I'm poking around to see if there are additional similar alerting services that do any better that Google. Some services claim fantastic things but are for pay. Some are platform specific, usually for twitter.

I actually work for a software company that does a specialized kind of web crawling as a service for some industries and have pondered creating/using test data that can do double duty for fan purposes. I imagine saying to a co-worker:

<practiced nonchalant tone>"Oh, that? Yeah, I just grabbed a random set of Harry Potter data off the web for seed data . . . Oh, looks like it was all stuff abut that Malfoy guy, huh . . . " </practiced nonchalant tone>

[ln419]

Well, I've noticed, that since Jason's return (what was it, last week?) I've gotten 1-2 Google Alerts/day re: Jason Isaacs (of course, they're all articles I've already seen thanks to TLGF), but be that as it may, I seem to be getting everything that the guy says and every time he wears a blue shirt to match his eyes. So the thing works for me, and I don't have to search or wonder at all...LN

[ln419]

ok, I got a doozy today: It was for not SAG awards, but um what was the one he lost for State Within? THAT ONE... It listed all the nominees for some award coming up in January...I scanned the list once, twice, thrice, naughty, nice...no Jason or any show he's been afiliated with, I don't get it. I looked again...I type his name in the search bar; they've never heard of the guy...I don't get it. But it IS a google alert for Jason Isaacs, one new report, but nada, color me confused...LN

[wolfsaver]

Was it the Golden Globes? I think those nominations are out today.

[thunder]

I saw it too, he was listed among those that they thought could have been nominated but weren't, I think.

[ln419]

hahahahAHAHAHAAHA YES, it was for the Golden Globes, and really thunder, they just send out an alert b/c JI's name is mentioned in a sentence that someone THOUGHT he MIGHT have been nominated but WASN'T??? Well, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard of (or close to the top anyway). You can still color me confused... LN

[SeattleMel]

they just send out an alert b/c JI's name is mentioned in a sentence that someone THOUGHT he MIGHT have been nominated but WASN'T???

Hi LN, there isnt a "they" behind the alerts; it is a "program that matches text strings on web pages to text strings you've said you care about in Google alerts. So the string "Jason Isaacs" in any context would "trip" the alert to go out if it matches. Of course you can try to customize the string so it gives you less garbage (aka "Jason Isaacs" but NOT when found with "Newcastle singer" *shakes fist at that guy*)

And another subtlety is that matching content is "found" when a page gets indexed by google. So if a page does match your text string you care about, you still might not hear about it until Google crawls and indexes the page some days later.

Alerts has other logic going on too becuase the behavior changed (for the worse, in my opinion) about a year ago.

In my search for better ways to configure google alerts or programs that are just better in general that are still free I've come across trip.it and yahoo alerts.

I am kind of surprised there isnt just a silly un-fancy program that says on "X site(s) run Y search(s) once a day and email me any new results from the previous search" You can set this functionality sometimes on a program by program basis, but why not a third party application that doesnt care what site it is -- mechanically run a search and let me know what new hits you found?

[ln419]

and yet again, here's something for the "I have no idea where to put it: HERE or in WIGS", but it came as a Google Alert (for NOT the singer JI, but the OTHER one, the one with his cutie patutie face plastered all around here). It's about WIGS (which was my conundrum), and it's an interview with Jason about why he did Kendra, why he likes WIGS, WHEN he did it, more of the same, why he gets stitched up so much...but you guys know me, I don't know how to transfer that information to the boards...thunder, do your stuff! (please) and thanks! ellen

*SM: thanks for thinking so highly of my abilities, but really that pm went WAAAY over my head technically. I need a jimney cricket 'puter tutor sitting on my shoulder at ALL times. I don't even know how to copy and paste, and my son taught me once, I wrote it down, and he won't show me again, so I have to type in all those letters, and caps, and numbers...good thing I was a secretary once and learned typing on a manual typewriter in 7/8th grades...BC-before computers!

[thunder]

Thanks, LN.

I'll post the link on the Wigs forum, because it was mostly about that.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4469&p=69142#p69142

Copy/paste? Mark the text, then right-click, and "copy", and then you right-click and "paste" when pasting. Or ctrl+c for copy and ctrl+v when pasting (at least on Norwegian keyboards). Or you can mark the text, hold down ctrl, and then just drag to where you want it with your mouse pointer. On Macs it's Apple+c and Apple+v, not sure. I don't remember how Mac works (Haven't used one in years - and not missing it, believe it or not! I've got an Ipad, though).

[ln419]

WOW! Thanks thunder, a bonifide "puter tutor", I'll write it down and try it. It's one of those things that if (as Jason said once) you do it 3000 times, it's in your memory, but if you only do it once, you'll never remember how to do it, I don't have THAT much occasion to copy and paste so...It's different in medicine, for a proceedure it's "see one, do one, teach one" it works, b/c you're always doing stuff. Not so much with me 'n my 'puter. Thanks again for the tutorial! ellen

[ln419]

Well now, HERES a goodie: Jason Isaacs, gun salesman in CT selling out of assault rifles just as fast as he's getting them in his shop plus ammo. Gosh, hadn't realized he had branched out that far; I didn't even realize he liked guns THAT much...doesn't really seem the type, ya know. Actually, picture didn't look like 'OUR' Jason at ALL...hmmm. Could it possibly be there's a THIRD JI out there??? ellen

[SeattleMel]

Could it possibly be there's a THIRD JI out there??? ellen

Hee hee. There is a Texas state congressman named Jason Isaac (no s on the end) that I've run across. I was rather wanting to get my hands on one of his political run t-shirts and, with a little embroidery on the end of the last name . . . voila! A much more interesting proposition!

[ln419]

Na, I was totally strashing ya'll, there are gazillions of Jason Isaacs out there, it's a really common Jewish name. I know he was moaning about how he couldn't get it for his Twitter acct (especially considering the vast amounts of tweets he sends!! I think the JI who GOT the name is in Louisville, KY or something...). I guess I'm just SO darned gullable that when I DO get an alert I jump to the conclusion that it will be JI the guy whos cutie patutie punim is hanging all over here, OR the singer from New Castle, and NOT Jo Shmoe JI. So when it's Jo Shmoe JI, it just confuses me! I think I'll just smile enigmatically and whistle while I work... ellen