As someone who is obviously interested int the goings-on of the world around you (unless you just accidentally stumbled into this site in which case you should definitely be interested in the goings-on of the world around you) you, you may be interested in a few great tools offered by our friends at Google.

1. Google Alerts: this is an awesome tool designed for those of us who want to stay abreast of what’s happening but already have so much happening that taking the time to go to your homepage, do a search for your pet topic(s) and then sort through the results is about as likely to happen as the “down time” you’re always promising yourself.  Enter Google Alerts.  Just point your browser to google.com/alerts and type in your key phrase (for example, “International Children’s Network,” and then set the frequency of updates, and voila! you’ll receive an email in your inbox that contains a linked title to each story as well as a brief summary.  Now you can quickly scan for the articles that you want to read and skip over the rest, all stemming from the comfort of your own inbox.
2. Personalized homepage: what’s your current homepage?  is it your work page?  Is it your myspace or facebook signin page?  Don’t tell me it’s still the default and you’ve just never gotten around to changing it.  Well now there’s no excuse for a lifeless homepage.  Navigate yourself to google.com and click on the link on the top right of the page that says “personalized homepage,” or “personalize your homepage” or something like that.  you can create a username and password if you don’t already have a google account (which is the same account you can use for the google alerts).  Once you have your personalized homepage basically set up, you can add feeds to that page.  iIf you’ve got the google toolbar in your browser, you’re really set.  Just for a test, go to justinlandis.blogspot.com (a little shameless self promotion never hurt anyone) and click on the “subscribe” button with the orange radar icon.  You’ll be directed to comfirm that you want to subscribe to this page.  Once you confirm, your new subscription will pop up, automatically refreshed with the newest headline, every time you go to your homepage.  you can modify the number of titles to show under each subscription by clicking the edit button next to the title.

These tools are both great ways to stay abreast of the events that are shaping our world.  no longer do you have to hope it makes the cut for the 6 o’clock dinosaur media headlines.  You can get email alerts every day as well as constantly updated feeds from the sources you trust.  Now all that’s left to do is to take all this information at our fingertips and translate knowledge into action.

One in 150 US children suffer autism - reports

Food Consumer - Lisle,IL,USA
Because the ADDM Network screens children who have been evaluated for special education or diagnostic services for multiple reasons, the primary way in …

5 Nations Launch $1.5 Billion Vaccine Program To Save Millions Of …
World Bank Group - Washington,DC,USA
‘The key aim is to ensure there is secure funding for the vaccines urgently needed in the poorest countries, where thousands of children die everyday from …

American International Toy Fair 2007 Exhibitor Profiles
American Digital Networks (press release) - Annapolis,MD,USA
The company has a wide distribution network which includes leading national stores such as Target, Wal-mart, Walgreens, K-mart, Kay-Bee Toys, …

Child porn consumers safe from prosecution in the Czech Republic
Radio Prague - Prague,Czech Republic
Austrian police this week busted a huge international pornography network involving more than 2360 suspects from 77 countries. Sixty-three Czechs were among …
See all stories on this topic

Network of infantile pornography had connections to .
Living in Peru - Lima,Peru
An international network of infantile pornography with ties to Peru was dismantled today, Wednesday, by the Austrian police in an operation directed and …
See all stories on this topic

Sports Legends and Celebrities Come Together for a Cause
PR Newswire (press release) - New York,NY,USA
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, Children’s Miracle Network is an international non-profit organization dedicated to generating funds and awareness …
See all stories on this topic

Public Television Plans a Network for Latinos
New York Times - New York,NY,USA
Mr. Baeza said in an interview that he had become interested in a public broadcasting network for Latinos years ago, when his children were young, …
See all stories on this topic

Elba Garcia announces International DFW Month
TexasGigs - Dallas,TX,USA
The series of global events that is produced by DFW International Community Alliance, a network of 1600 international community organizations. …

Kids TV channels expect rapid expansion in 2007
Indiantelevision.com - Andheri,Mumbai,India
With the entire kid’s landscape changing, the consolidation of Disney with Hungama TV altered the dynamics, so much that the Turner duo (Cartoon Network and …

International students bring more than cash benefits
Stuff.co.nz - Wellington,New Zealand
“If our children are going to be part of the multicultural world and part of a global network they need to get used to the fact that people are different. …

Internationally Renowned Author and Inspirational Speaker Paula …
WDC Newswire (press release) - Los Angeles,CA,USA
Ebony magazine said of her, “You know you’re on to something new and significant when the most popular woman preacher on the Black Entertainment Network is …

(PRN) - Lumeta Launches Network Assurance Partner Program … [+]
Bolsamania.com - Madrid,Madrid,Spain
(PRN) - Children’s Rings Recalled by Shalom International Due to Lead Poisoning Hazard … [+]. (PRN) - Head and Neck Restraint Device Gets the Green Flag . …

Malnutrition ails Indian kids
Times of India - New Delhi,India
“Mortality has declined marginally but our children aren’t healthier,” said Sulabha Parasuram of Indian Institute of Population Sciences. …

Hasbro Rolls Out Wide-Range of TRANSFORMERS Merchandise Around the …
Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco,CA,USA
Accessories makers such as Accessory Network, StyleMark, PeachTree Playthings, Mello Smello, and Basic Fun, are producing a myriad of items such as bags and …

Is Radhika playing footsy with Allan Rock at the UN?
Asian Tribune - Bangkok,Thailand
… the facts of the Tamil Tiger operations not only in Canada but also its international network violating international law and domestic laws of Canada. …