Alternative to Google Alerts?

I'm still playing catch-up across the web, but one of the items I've run across has been rumors that Google Alerts may soon go the way of Google Reader. Has anyone else heard these rumors? I'm not trying to fan the flames or stir anyone into a panic, but if you are an author who depends on Google Alerts to keep up on your books and author name across the web it's something to keep an eye on.

In that light I'm sharing a link to an article posted by  Carolyn Nicander Mohr on the Wonder of Tech Website regarding an alternative service recently launched called Talkwalker Alerts. Without knowing more about the service I can't say yay or nay, but it appears that you can import your current Google Alerts into this service which is certainly reason enough to take a look. For more info on the service and instructions on how to setup an account and import your Google Alerts you can go ahead and read her article here.

Many thanks to Eliza March  for the tweet that directed me to the article in the first place.

And for those still looking for an alternative to Google Reader - I've heard good things about The Old Reader.