Whether or not you have embraced Web 2.0 tools such as blogging, micro-blogging and social networking, it is quite likely you already have a presence in the blogosphere. What or who is the blogosphere? The term is used to describe the ecosystem of interconnected communities of bloggers and readers at the convergence of journalism and conversation.

With more than 133 million blogs indexed by Technorati between 2002 and 2008, and the number only continuing to grow, you would do well to check and see what people are saying about you. According to Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2008 report, 80% of bloggers post brand or product reviews and 90% of bloggers say they post about the brands, music, movies, and books they are fond of (or not so fond of).

Free, easy to use tools that facilitate searching the blogosphere and tools pertaining to Web 2.0 technologies are constantly emerging and evolving. Three options for finding what has been said about you are:

Google Alerts (Google) http://www.google.com/alerts

BlogPulse (Nielsen) http://www.blogpulse.com/

Technorati (Technorati) http://technorati.com/

Rather than recommending you use a single best source of the tools available, it is suggested that you peruse all three of these options to ensure you aren’t missing something one tool didn’t catch. And don’t forget you can search to find what people are saying about related publications, too.