Everyone has most likely used Google in their browser; there’s even probably a google search bar included in the navigation. Have you ever thought of unleashing the power of Google when you’re away from your computer?
Google Alert (www.googlealert.com) monitors your search terms and e-mails you information about new additions to Google’s Web index. (Google Alert is not affiliated with Google; it uses Google’s Web services API to perform its searches.) If you’re more interested in news stories than general Web content, check out the beta version of Google News Alerts (www.google.com/newsalerts). This service will monitor up to 50 news queries per e-mail address and send you information about news stories that match your query. (Hint: Use the intitle: and source: syntax elements with Google News to limit the number of alerts you get.) This can be an indispensable tool if you want regular compact reports on what your competition is up to.
Google API Applications
Staggernation.com offers three tools based on the Google API. The Google API Web Search by Host (GAWSH) lists the Web hosts of the results for a given query (www.staggernation.com/gawsh/). When you click on the triangle next to each host, you get a list of results for that host. The Google API Relation Browsing Outliner (GARBO) is a little more complicated: You enter a URL and choose whether you want pages that related to the URL or linked to the URL (www.staggernation.com/garbo/). Click on the triangle next to an URL to get a list of pages linked or related to that particular URL.
Search on your cell phone without a browser
CapeMail is an e-mail search application that allows you to send an e-mail to google@capeclear.com with the text of your query in the subject line and get the first ten results for that query back. You may not do this every day, but if your cell phone has e-mail and doesn’t do web browsing, then this could be a very handy tool.
Speak your search?
This service is brought to you by the whizkids at Google Labs (http://labs.google.com), a place for experimental Google ideas and features. With Google Voice Search (http://labs1.google.com/gvs.html), you dial the Voice Search phone number (650) 623-6706, speak your keywords, and then click on the indicated link. Every time you say a new search term, the results page will refresh with your new query. How cool is that?
Several years ago, Google released the Google API as a way for programmers to access Google’s search engine results without violating the Google Terms of Service. A lot of people have created useful (and some not-so-useful) independent applications, such as Google Alert. For many applications, you’ll need an API key, which is available free from www.google.com/apis.
Google has many search properties, tools, and other technologies that goes far beyond a regular search engine. I haven’t even touched on some of the cooler aspects of Google, such as Google Earth, Google Maps, Google Office, and some of the other things coming your way. Don’t even get me started on how Google has influenced online advertising (that’s a seperate article in itself).
Alot of this stuff has been “under the radar”, but Google has their hands in just about everything that has to do with the Internet. You’ll be absolutely amazed in how Google improves your life. I, for one, welcome our new Google overlords…
