When creating a web presence every organization should stay on top of what the world is saying about them online. Please use the resources below to listen in and engage your online community.

Understanding what people have already said:

* Google search
- Keywords associated with what you do
- Members in your organization
- Organization name
* Google Blog search
- http://blogsearch.google.com
- Search Blog comments: http://backtype.com
* Google Link search
- Put your search in Google like this: link:grassroots.org (no spaces)
* Technorati search
- www.technorati.com
* Twitter search
- www.search.twitter.com
* Viralheat
- Social Media monitoring and analytics
- www.viralheat.com/
* Facebook
- Search Facebook
- Search your Facebook domain on Google
* Your website referrer log
- Install Google Analytics so that you can see where your web traffic is currently coming from.
* Topic based online communities
- http://boardtracker.com
- http://socialmention.com

Following what they're saying in real time:

* Google Alerts
- You can set up alerts for your Domain Name, Organization Name and Keywords
- www.google.com/alerts
* Twitter Alerts
- www.twilert.com
* RSS feeds to the above
* Email discussion list monitoring tools
* Creating a dashboard to follow all your feeds
- http://friendfeed.com

Getting informal feedback:

* Existing online communities
* Your own blog or community
* Asking a quick question of your list (and dealing with the answers)

Not only do these tools help you manage your brand and better understand the online community you are a part of but it gives you the opportunity for engagement. Use these tools to correct mis-information, talk about what you do, elaborate on mentions you get through media or other people, and be part of the conversation.