Google Alerts can be very useful and effective for personal assistants.
http://alerts.google.comThis is what Google says it can do:
Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.
Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:
- monitoring a developing news story
- keeping current on a competitor or industry
- getting the latest on a celebrity or event
- keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams
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I have used it for tracking what is said about my clients and used it for tracking patented products and names for one of my clients.