Does anyone have an alternative that behaves closer to Google Alerts, i.e. alerts for when a website or brand is mentioned on HN? Looking for something that's also realtime :)
Not a full solution, but there's the API at https://hnstream.com/ for getting realtime updates of comments, which could be used to build a notification system.
Seconded. I have watch words setup for several keywords. I turn off lobste.rs since I feel HN is already high enough for me in the ivory tower (aka I haven't networked enough to get an in crowd lobsters invite).
"I try to answer questions about Cloudflare, or comments about the company, here when I have the time. I do the same on Twitter (and to a certain extent on Reddit). I have code that monitors HN for mentions of "Cloudflare" and emails me within a couple of minutes."
At one point, I also built a chrome extension with similar news feed functionality for a client through Gigster... (I think it was an Admin for HN). Can’t release that though.