Google Alerts – A Free Research Assistant

What if you could keep track on news/information on whatever you are interested in? What if you could receive updates whenever new information regardng your subject of choice was mentioned anywhere on the internet? Would you like that? Well, then you will love Google Alerts.

Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic. This means that whenever any website mentions your topic of interest, you get a Google Alert. For instance, if you want to keep track of news/information on Safaricom, simply type “safaricom” as your search term on the Google Alerts home page and you will receive information on all new Google search results that mention Safaricom.

Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:

  • Monitoring a developing news story
  • Online reputation management
  • Keeping current on a competitor or industry
  • Getting the latest on a celebrity or event
  • Keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams

Google Alerts will automatically and reliably deliver your updates. It’s like having a research assistant!

‘White People Stole My Car’

Who really stole your car?

Who really stole your car?




‘White people stole my car’ became one of the most searched topics in Google over the past few days. If you are thinking it’s the new hot rock band, you are wrong. So what made this phrase so popular? The result generated by Google on the search was ‘Did you mean: Black people stole my car.’

I know, I know, right now you are probably like ‘whaaaaaat???’ Well, if you spent sometime on Google more than a week ago trying to figure out why this phrase became one of the most searched phrases, you probably came across a lot of unsatisfactory results and got a whole lot of bugs and viruses while at it. I have tried the search severally but haven’t been lucky enough to get the said results either because Google has already fixed it, or it simply never happened. There isn’t really anything out there that fully explains this.

Some say it was just another Internet scheme, some say it really did happen. Either way it has been all over the Internet and generated comments from readers all over the world expressing their disapproval, shaming Google and demanding a public apology. While others have just taken it with a light touch and laughed it off. Weather it was a mistake by Google or some schemer’s plot, it sure has caught a lot of attention.

Here are some comments I came across:

Kevin: Try to Google black people shoot up school or black man chops up his wife and see what the results are smh. LOL
Jay: How is it racist? The search engine generates results based on popularity. More websites have the content “black people stole my car” than “white people stole my car”. Statistics are the truth….not racism.
Flagburner: All black people are criminals, some just hide it better than others.
Brandon: After nosing around a bit, I discovered that devilish lil’ spammers made this oh-too-popular phrase appear on Google Trends and from there, folks were led to Web sites filled with spam and viruses.
Joe: How about this: WET(White Entertainment Television)
now how would that go over? Will blacks be upset? Will you watch?
Mandy: Honestly? Come up to where I live and you’ll see all the blackies acting like we owe them something…
From Canada: Racism is alive and real… Blacks are suffering internationally, even in Africa.. slavery has been replaced by debt and prison systems…It’s worse than the Martin Luther King days, because it’s hidden…I am a successful black, but why did I have to work 3 times harder and be 10 times more aware???
Anon: relax everyone. It’s hilarious! I laughed so hard when I read that… and black people DID probably steal your car. Ha ha ha funny though!
Brik: So you are saying that white folks ain’t thieves? That’s just Bull!!
Jolenr: Ok this is racist but really funny. Like if I Googled “black people can’t dance” and it said “did you mean “white people can’t dance?” we need not to take ourselves so serious and laugh!
Heidi: a joke is something that all or most people can laugh @…even as a white woman this makes me upset. I think to just say “oh its a joke” should not make it okay.

There is also a whole website whitepeoplestolemycar dedicated to helping all our brothers out there find their stolen cars.
So to laugh or frown upon it is up to you.