Alert Face Off: Google vs Microsoft SharePoint
April 5, 2009
I am not a big fan of search. The main reason is that most users want an information access system to think for the user. The user thrives on alerts, suggested queries, and automatic displays like those generated by Congoo.com. Not me. I like to craft multi term queries, use Boolean operators, and have the luxury of search set querying in order to narrow results. I like other old fashioned search methods, but forward truncation and on the fly set deduplication is not cocktail party chit chat.
The alert method for Google is easy. Navigate to Google News. Run a query. At the bottom of the results page, click the alert link and you are done.
How can one do this in SharePoint? Navigate here and download the code and explanation. The how to was the work of Erwin who explains his method in “How To Create Alerts Programmatically. I know there are other ways around the barn, but I want to contrast the differences between Google and Microsoft. To business: In order to set up an alert, a developer is going to have to do the job. For example, get ready to set switches like this:
Google makes an alert a mouse click and an email address. Microsoft SharePoint requires a script, figuring out a workaround, and insertion of the script into the SharePoint environment.
I am all for keeping developers employed, but what about users? Make work is frustrating to an addled goose like me, annoying to end users who just want an alert which can be turned on and then killed with a click, and to the developers who have to navigate around issues.
Stephen Arnold, April 5, 2009
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3 Responses to “Alert Face Off: Google vs Microsoft SharePoint”
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Or go to a SharePoint search page, execute your query in the search box, click the “alert me” or “RSS” link. No programming involved.
Microsoft needs to apply their market dominating 1-2 punch to make Google sweat.
The first punch is their famous Embrace and Extend. However they need to land punch #2.
See: http://richardsmedianet.blogspot.com/2009/05/search-engine-freak-out-start-quivering.html
to find out what punch #2 is and an analysis of the situation.
Just the story of SharePoint isn’t it? Thats why i prefer online alternatives to Microsoft Sharepoint like HyperOffice, which offer out of the box collaboration functionality. I am not too inclined towards Google, as it doesnt tie too well with widely used existing software like MS office and Outlook.