The first time around I missed the importance of Google News, though I figured it had to be doing something right given how Dave Winer was trumpeting RSS news feeds as superior. The other day, though, someone explained exactly why I should be using Google News and after a few days of playing around with it, I am extremely impressed.
As an information junkie, one of the benefits I like the best about my current job is that I have free access to Lexis/Nexis. For what I am interested in, however, I’m having more success keeping up with important news by using Google News than I am with Lexis/Nexis and certainly much better than with existing Internet resources (including RSS feeds).
For example, a quick search for all news related to animal rights keeps me on top of 90 percent of the stories I’m trying to track on that topic.
Depending on whether or not they charge for this after it leaves beta, and of course how much they charge for the service, Google could make a lot of money as a sort of poor man’s Lexis/Nexis.
Color me impressed.