We all like to keep up on news and events on the web. Thus the unbelievably long list of sites I pull RSS from, and my ginormous Google Alerts watch list. For some, you may not know of Google Alerts. Simply put, it allows you to monitor every time something, with whatever keyword you put, hits the web. Want to know when someone blogs about you or your brand? Google Alerts will do it.

OK, for those yawning at their screens, here’s some useful info.

While Google Alerts is great, it falls short in truly capturing the value of what people are saying on the web. Enter Radian6. This is a smooth working tool from a small outfit out of New Brunswick, Canada. In a nutshell, it monitors every single point of communication for whatever keyword you tell it. Think Google Alerts built out much like Google Analytics. You can gain easy insight into every blog post, cross link and whatever you could communicationally (not a word) conceive, it monitors it. Like Google Alerts, the true power is in a carefully executed keyword exclusion list, which they’ll setup for you.

Once working, Radian6 provides its users a smooth platform with a slick flash interface. It populates your screen with keyword density thought clouds that finds the connections between consumer feedback and brand perceptions, even able to figure out the value and engagement users have with specific topics regarding whatever you want.

This powerful tool is targeted to PR professionals, although I think it really is something every brand should use on their own. Instead of having staff wasting hours wading through blog posts, you can quickly and easily discern where you should be focusing your communications. Radian6 is as much a monitoring tool as it can be used for SEO purposes. I wouldn’t sell the book on this being any better than the long list of free function specific tools, but if you can afford the base user fee’s with the sliding scale pricing structure, based on links gathered, it is a great thought piece brand managers can wrap their heads around.