Press Pass:

A few basic tools that every entrepreneur should utilize: Google Alerts and Technorati.

I sign up for Google Alerts to keep up on any time we are talked about on the World Wide Web, and I use Technorati to keep my eye on the blogosphere.

Google Alerts
It’s easy. For Google, just set up an account. Click on My Account, and this will bring you to My Services. Click on Alerts, and enter the search terms you’d like to track. I have alerts sent to me once a day. In addition to tracking my own info, I track competitors and industry keywords to keep up on any interesting trends.

For more on Google Alerts, click here.

Technorati
If you want to see what blogs are saying about you or you want to track your own blogs’ impact, simply type your name, business name, website and blog address in the search field on Technorati and check out your results. You can subscribe to other services, and setting up an account is free.

For more about Technorati, click here.

So I’m participating in this little cyber social trend that most people introduce by saying, “I’ve been tagged.” Well, the truth is, I have been tagged–by David Wescott on the topic of media snackers that Jeremiah Owyang dreamt up. They’re asking if I respect “media snackers,” defined by Owyang as “folks who consume small bits of information, data or entertainment when, where and how they want.”

First let me circle round to PR and say that playing “tag” online can drum up traffic and buzz, thus–I shall participate, and we shall see if we can leverage this game a little (let me also give the disclaimer that I was tagged–ummmmm–a month ago! Sorry!).

Second, let me give you my take on media snacking: I’m a snacker. I don’t have the time or the stamina to get through an entire newspaper. When I read a magazine–I scan, and I rip out the pages that look good for later–just so I can get the rest of the magazine and the annoying inserts that fall out into the recycling bin and out of my subconsious. I have a smart phone to keep me plugged into my business and personal life at all hours. And when I’m not working, taking care of my kids, blogging or scanning the web (quickly) for anything relevant to me–I should be sleeping. I just don’t have the time to digest large amounts of info. I’ve got too much to do in the meantime. So I snack.

Snacking is, after all, the way that fit people digest. The healthiest people snack all day long in six small meals–so I guess I’ll try to maintain that snacking isn’t all too horrible for people like me. I know a little about a lot–and I have Google for the rest.

So what does this mean to you if you are a provider of information to anyone who should care about what you say? Keep it short and relevant. If you are a media snacker–I’ve probably already lost you because I’ve just entered my fifth paragraph.

Happy Snacking!