Google Blog Search

http://blogsearch.google.com/

I discovered this search engine only last week, and it seems that I've had my head in the sand because a girl friend told me that it has been around for about a year already.

Aside from just searching blogs, what makes it different from the regular Google search—and what makes it wonderfully useful to me—is its sort by date function. You can even choose to display posts published only during the last hour, 12 hours, last day, past week, past month, or any range of your choosing. Or even a particular date, if you remember that but not the title or url of the post.

So what's it for?

I don't know about other people, but for me, this is particularly useful for reviews—of shows, movies and performances that I'm thinking of watching, or of books that I'm thinking of reading or buying. Sure, there are experts out there, but I'd also like to know what the blogger-on-the-street thinks. Google Blog Search will also help when I'm looking for the results of a particular game—games too obscure to be televised or written about in the national dailies.

Of course, you can also use it to find out if anyone's been writing about you.

P.S.
I took this screen shot soon after I posted the "Cat's Meow" video. So, of course, it was right on top when I blog-searched for the Philippine Madrigal Singers.