One of the most integral components of being an advocate for any social cause is to remain up to date and informed on a wide array of topics related to your interests. With the nature of our chapter network, it’s important for chapters to be up to date with current events, legislation, news, or campaigns in your state or communities. With the fast paced nature of the modern media, staying up to date can seem impossible, but it’s not. With millions of articles, blogs, and videos that are posted every day, setting up filters is required. By creating better news filters, you can save yourself from data overload. Work smarter, not harder.

Google News Alerts

Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, videos, etc.) based on your personal queries. These are the most efficient way to get the news alerts you are looking for to come right to your inbox on a daily basis.  Because the Google search is so broad, it allows you to get email alerts with information, articles, blog posts, books, and discussions related to your search queries.

Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:

• monitoring a developing news story
• keeping current legislation in the media
• getting the latest on an elected official or party position on drug policy
• keeping tabs on your favorite drug policy topics

Here’s how it works. Navigate to the Google News page, and click on the news alerts link.

Next, you define a search query, by setting up a series of phrases or keywords included in the news you want to stay updated on. For example, you could enter “drug policy”, “harm reduction”, or any other keywords that may be helpful to your chapter.  You select what type of media you are looking for (News, Blogs, Videos, etc), and then you follow up with how often you want to receive updates, and your email address. That’s about it. Really. You can set up a Google news alert in less than a minute.

Here is a what an alert looks like.  As you can see, it’s short, simple, and easy to read. It really makes staying informed easy by filtering the internet for you. So, go ahead and set up some Google News Alerts today!

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