January 7th, 2009

On Alert

There is nothing like the vertigo you experience when someone says, “Hey, I read that thing about you,” and not only do you not know the thing they are referring to, the information is in some tiny way incorrect.

Most people will twitch violently if they see their name misspelled on *anything*, including a *TV Guide* subscription sticker–any representation of self ought to be as accurate as possible. Of course, that way lies madness–how long, exactly, are you willing to stay on hold with the *TV Guide* people? But one likes to at least keep track of what’s being said.

Hence the incredibly self-absorbed step of setting up a Google Alert for my own name–I just like to know. Mainly, the alerts contain my Rose-coloured posts, articles and reviews I would’ve heard about in other ways, and the occasional negative thing that no one wanted to mention to me. I also see the odd gem that I actually wouldn’t have seen sans alert. Love it!

A random bonus to the whole alert thing is that I set it up wrong, for only my last name rather than first-n-last, so I get notices when *any* Rosenblum does anything. I’m not innundated, there aren’t that many of us, but actually, I didn’t know about *any* of these folks before the Alerts, so it’s kind of fascinating and impressive to see what others are up to:

—Michael Rosenblum is an innovator in TV news.
—Mort Rosenblum is a journalist who wants to save the world.
—Matthew Rosenblum is a composor and professor of music
—Walter and Naomi Rosenblum are photographers
—Mary Rosenblum writes mysteries and science fiction novels.
—a whole bunch of Rosenblums make wine (I’d actually heard of those guys before–it’s a pretty respected winery, I’m told)

I’m not related to any of these folks, or at all familiar with their work, but it is nice to know that they are out there, doing the name proud.

I wonder if this post will turn up on *their* Google Alerts, and what they’ll think about that?

Except for the drilling in the wall
RR