There are several techniques to help you discover relevant information more quickly in your daily work as a watchdog.
The basics
- First of all, it's important to use an aggregator. Without this tool, it becomes almost impossible to effectively sort the information gathered through alerts, keywords, etc.
- Each aggregator can be parameterized through filters (Boolean approach, linguistic selection, etc.) facilitating monitoring activity and speeding up the discovery of the data with the most value for you.
A time tag
- A few days, 1 week, 1 month,... you need to set yourself a time tag so as not to consider too much data and potentially avoid analyzing outdated information.
- This time tag should obviously be adapted according to the field/sector you're tracking (seasonal industry, conservative industry in terms of new technologies and production techniques, etc.).
A geographic tag
- A geographic tag can also help you consider only what's most relevant to you.
- For example, if you're targeting the construction industry, tracking changes in standards is only relevant in the territory or territories within which your products and services are marketed. A filter can then greatly help you to select only the most relevant data.
References share data
- Many aggregators allow you to prioritize data that is re-shared more by other watchers and/or specialists in a field.
- This aspect allows you to sort, again in another way, the data gathered in your watch system.
Finally, every watchdog must also regularly review their sources and alerts. The pandemic has meant that many sources ( trade magazines) have gone out of business or declined in relevance. A regular review of your monitoring system is also your guarantee of protection against infobesity.
