Posts tagged Alerts
Google Maps Adds Emergency Alerts
Jan 27th
If a major storm is headed you way, Google wants to be your information guide. The Google Crisis Response team is looking to be your go to information source on when a storm will strike, how bad will it be, and what resources are available to help.
View full post on Search Engine Watch – Latest
Google Public Alerts: Innovative System Provides the Public with Emergency Alerts
Jan 26th
Yesterday, Google launched its new Public Alerts page, which provides emergency information and warnings related to floods, tornadoes, winter storms, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. The information for this innovative project is provided by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Weather Service, and the US Geological Survey (USGS). A user that [...]
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Google Maps Now With Public Alerts Layer
Jan 25th
Google announced a new layer of data being added to Google Maps for public alerts. If there are emergency alerts in your area, Google will show them to you on the map, with more details on the alert. You can access it over at google.org/publicalerts. The map will load with a layer of data on [...]
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WordPress 3.3 Update Is Slick: Tumblr Importer, iPad Optimization, Co-Editing Alerts
Dec 14th
Yesterday WordPress launched version 3.3, named “Sonny,” in honor of the great jazz saxophonist Sonny Stitt. The release has two goals: To make the editing process easier for return users, and help introduce new bloggers to the platform.
The new toolbar is a combination of the admin bar and the old Dashboard header. There’s now support for drag-and-drop media uploads. The new dropdown menu has become a hover menu. WordPress has also added touch support for iPad. WordPress users who have felt frustrated over the co-editing experience will find this update especially satisfying. Now, the red bar that tells you if someone is editing the post will only pop up if another is actually in the post. The 3.3 version has also added a Tumblr importer so that users can quickly bring their Tumblr blog into the mix.
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WordPress has been updating its platform a ton over the past six months. At the end of March, it announced WordAds, which helps hosted WordPress.com (not .org) blogs make money via ads. WordPress.com also added socially focused photo carousels, complete with notifications that looked a lot like Google+’s. WordPress added a follow button to its blogs, making it feel a bit more Tumblr-esque.
WordPress 3.2, which was released on July 4, has been downloaded 14 million times. The new version 3.3 is available for download now.
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Google Maps Adds Alerts on Public Transit Delays
Jun 8th
Google Maps has made itself an invaluable tool for many users, especially those who have an Android device and use it for directions – and even GPS navigation – on the run. You can get turn-by-turn navigation in your car, GPS directions while walking, and can even tap into public transit data in over 440 cities around the world. The public transit options in Google Maps is now increasing its user value once again, this time by adding alerts and live departure times for any bus or train that’s departing behind schedule.
Previously, the public transit information – including departure data that could be viewed by clicking on a transit stop on your Google Maps and the public transit directions – showed only the publicly available data on the actual schedule for departure. If any line was lagging behind, Maps users could do nothing more than wait patiently for the mode of transportation to arrive. In Boston, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Turin, and Madrid, however, users will now be able to see when their ride will actually show up.
Users can view this improved data in one of two interfaces. First, if you click on the transit station in Google Maps you’ll note a new icon labeled “live departure times,” located directly above the scheduled departures. Second, when getting public transit directions users will be notified of any service alerts, changes in schedule, or other relevant data, and the directions will automatically update to reflect any necessary changes in your plan.
While the feature is initially available in only six cities, Google has made it clear that they’re eager to get more cities on board. Those who want to take a look at the feature simply need to do a transit search in one of the cities listed above using the latest version of Google Maps for Mobile or the live desktop version of Google Maps.
[via the Google LatLong Blog]
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Google Maps Adds Alerts on Public Transit Delays
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How To Avoid SEO Pitfalls With Timely Alerts
May 19th
In the world of SEO, there are big updates like Panda, Mayday, Vincent, Florida, but there are also smaller internal issues that can creep up on you leading to traffic and revenue loss. The ability to identify and prevent self inflicted nicks and cuts along the way is key to a successful SEO…
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View full post on Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
AwayFind Adds On-The-Go Email Alerts That Could Make Life So Much Better
Apr 25th
If you find yourself tethered to your inbox, you’re about two years late to the party that is AwayFind. The service, since its launch back in 2008, has given users a way to set up specific filters so they can receive notifications and make sure only the truly important messages disrupt their day. Last year, the company added notifications by Twitter, Phone and IM and today, it has added to simple features that should truly keep email at bay.
If you’ve ever found yourself consistently checking your email in case that one important message comes in, check no more – AwayFind will let you know. And even better, you can set up the alert from the AwayFind iPhone app, while you’re out and about.
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AwayFind added two new features to its iPhone app today that let you keep up to date with the important messages of the day.
First, the app now has a feature that lets you set up quick alerts on the go, in case a message comes in from a particular email address during a certain amount of time. Normally, you set up filters for specific people that are always considered important, but not everybody is that lucky. If, however, you’re waiting on that one email and don’t want to keep checking, this feature is for you.
The next app, once you hear about it, is another no-brainer that should make life exponentially easier. Say you have a meeting with someone this afternoon but are going to be out and about the whole time before then. If they email you to move the time just a little bit or change any little thing, you might miss it. If you sync AwayFind with your Google Calendar, however, it will let you know when anyone on your calendar emails you within a certain amount of time around that event.
Like we said when we wrote about AwayFind last year, it’s "one of those ideas that seems so obvious, you’re left wondering ‘why didn’t someone think of this already?’" Thankfully, we didn’t have to, because AwayFind founder Jared Goralnick did it for us.
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SongKick Raises Nearly $2m More for Concert Alerts, Music History & More
Feb 14th
There are many different services that let you sign up to get an email alert when your favorite band is coming to town, but UK-born SongKick keeps innovating and keeps finding more support for its efforts. A 2007 graduate of tech incubator program YCombinator, SongKick has raised $1.8 million in its 4th round of funding, according to an SEC filing posted online tonight.
SongKick lets users collaborate to create a shared memory of all the live music shows they’ve attended, complete with multimedia and set lists. The company has said it wants to build something like IMDB for the musical history of musicians. Beyond alerts, ticket sales and a historical resource, SongKick’s biggest ticket to success has probably been its Application Programming Interface, which allows other partner websites to automatically display upcoming concert dates on artist pages. The biggest partner? Music industry approved YouTube sister-site Vevo, which started using SongKick to power its concert listings this summer.
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This latest round of funding puts SongKick’s fundraising total at just under $7.5 million.
The service’s basic concert alerts feature is something that a number of other companies provide. BandsInTown.com is often discussed as a SongKick competitor and offers an API as well as a Facebook app. Looking at that site’s design, though, makes me wonder whether it’s been acquired by SongKick, whether there’s a lazy web designer jumping from music company to music company, or some other explanation for the two sites to look remarkably similar.
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Amber Alerts Come to Facebook
Jan 14th
Social media presents both challenges and opportunity for those concerned with getting the word out about disasters and crime. The Emergency Broadcast System, for instance, has recently made the leap into mobile. Now, the latest innovation in crisis communications is the sharing of Amber Alerts on Facebook.
Amber Alert is an international system to broadcast child abduction notices via television, radio, email, mobile and other media. Extending it to the most popular social network in the world makes sense.
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To get Amber Alerts via Facebook, go to the Amber Alert Facebook page and “like” the Alert for your state. It is also available for Puerto Rico, D.C. and the Virgin Islands, as well as the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Ontario and Newfoundland.
Information in an Amber Alert includes descriptions of the victim and, if available, the abductor, description and license plate of vehicle involved, and time and place of abduction.
The penetration of Facebook well past early and even secondary adopters, to your parents and grandparents, make it a powerful tool for such outreach. Almost 28,000 people like the main page but only about 1,500 like the Oregon Amber Alert page, as an example. So it needs to build some to become truly effective.
Amber Alert is named after Amber Hagerman, a Texas girl whose abduction and murder remain unsolved.
Additional sources: Lost Remote
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