Automated Information Tracking on the Internet

I wanted to make you aware of another cool Web-based, free resource that I’ve become aware of and have started using.

It’s called PubSub, and it allows your eyes and ears to be extended greatly on the Internet. The service works somewhat like a search engine, except a “future” or “forward-looking” one.

PubSub is a service that notifies you when new content is created that matches your subscription. The core technology of PubSub is an Engine that matches new information events against stored queries such as yours, at more than three billion matches per second. This allows the PubSub service to constantly monitor millions of information events for you.

It’s very easy to use. You enter a phrase, or a set of phrases in a list box. Simply click “Start Matching Now” and you’re ready to roll. This creates the subscription on PubSub that will continuously search for the chosen phrases across a wide variety of Internet content. PubSub claims to monitor over 2o million Internet sources, including weblogs, Newsgroups and Edgar SEC filings. You can have PubSub monitor all its sources, or narrow it down to specific categories such as “Airport Delays”, “Weblog Entries” or “SEC/Edgar filings”.

PubSub creates an RSS feed containing new matches, which you can read in a browser or have constantly available in a newsreader. I have my PubSub feed linked to my personalized Google Page, which I use as my browser homepage. That way I instantly see any new matches right when I boot up in the morning.

If you think about it, this type of service could be useful monitoring information for many different reasons. You might, for example, tell PubSub to look for “New Plasma display TVs”, if you’re in the market for a TV upgrade in the near future.

You could use it for monitoring reviews and mentions of your software product. Or track the marketing moves and financial results of your competitors.

I use it for monitoring the presence of my high technology management consulting business on the Internet. It’s very useful to know how often your company is being mentioned–and more importantly what’s being said!

This is a tool whose usage is only limited by one’s imagination. How will you use it? Post a comment, or write me an email, and let me know.

Phil Morettini
PJM Consulting
www.pjmconsult.com