Talk, Talk, Talk... Listen

Chris Brogan makes the point that companies are fast at picking up the microphone, but slow at standing next to the speaker. Or as he puts it: 'we tend to rush right into the "speaking" side of the toolbox without giving much thought to the "listening" part.'

This is surely more true of media companies which have more microphones than anyone else.

He offers five tools he uses for listening, some of which you'll know, but it's good to see them on one page.

I would add a reminder that Google has some great advanced operators which allow you to refine your searches. e.g. Searching "link:www.mypage.com" quickly shows who's linking to your page.

And while you're at it, a quick glance over the Google's tips on how to do a better search is never time wasted.