I love just about anything that will organize my crazy life for me, and I especially love those services that collate and push data, so I don’t have to go chasing after it. A few weeks ago, I wrote about a handy tool that accomplishes this for calendars and schedules, called Sunrise. This week, I have another favorite I’m going to share: Newsle.
Newsle does something that no other tool seems to quite do. It tracks my LinkedIn and Facebook contacts, and let’s me know when they appear in online news. The service’s tagline is “When your friends make the news, we make sure you know.” What makes this particularly useful is that it completely disregards social media (even though it tracks your SM contacts). It’s not a duplicate of Google Alerts; it only sends me emails when my contacts appear in an online newspaper or blog. This makes it very useful, as it cuts down the noise tremendously. It also is looking for information in places where I might not otherwise look.
Now, I hear when my contacts are teaching a new workshop, writing for a publication, or are featured in a story about a new library service. It keeps me apprised of what folks I know are up to, so I can offer congratulations, read their stuff, attend their class, or just “be in the know.” Overall, a very handy little service that doesn’t overwhelm my inbox.
What does this mean to me, Laura?
- You can not only track your Facebook friends & LinkedIn contacts, but also your favorite actors, authors, athletes, or anyone else who interests you. If you’re applying for a job, this is another way to find out more about the organization, as you can search for particular individuals. Check to see if any trustees or the library’s director has made the news recently.
- Newsle also lets you know if you are mentioned online. There’s also a widget you can embed into your personal blog (I have not tried the widget myself, so I can’t speak to how well it works or doesn’t).
- Newsle says that it checks “every major newspaper, news site, and blog for news hourly, as well as most minor ones.” So you are getting very current news.
Is this something you would use? Do you already use it? What do you think? Post your thoughts in the comments!
