The Ups and Downs of Google Alerts

When I began my acting career in January 2008, I decided to make a Google Alert for myself and some of my other friends in the business. For those who don't know, a Google Alert will send you an email every time something is posted online with the specific words from your google search. We used to do this for my boss, Gene Sperling, when I was in DC as a way to make sure we didn't miss any articles he may be mentioned in on a given news day.

Well, my google alerts rarely produce anything of note except the few times I've been in shows. Usually, my friends Tony Braithwaite and Michael Rady get tons of hits -- and rightly so since they are big names in their respective fields. Sometimes, no matter who the google alert is for, you get random things because it will search for any articles with the given words. Hypothetical Example: If Entertainment Tonight had an interview with Howie Mandel and in the interview he said that he liked the color brown -- I would get a google alert about it.

All to say, sometimes I find out about other interesting "Howie Browns" in the world. For example, there is a Howie Brown who was a former golden glove boxer and race car driver. Plus, he looks like a bad ass which is kinda fun:

However, sometimes there are Google Alerts that put me and especially Howie Brown the tough as nails boxer/race car driver in some interesting company. For example, today I received an alert for a pair of Betsey Johnson shoes. They are called "Howie" and of course, they come in the color brown. Once my mom heard this -- being the mother and wife of a Howie Brown -- she's on a mission to buy a pair.

As for Google Alerts in the future, I'm anxiously awaiting the time I get something really random like "Musician Howie Day releases a cover of Bobby Brown's It's My Prerogative." That would make my day.