When is monitoring useful?
Monitor a subject when a later development could change a decision you need to make. A one-off search may be enough to learn a definition; an evolving regulation, a competitor's product or a travel project benefits from repeated attention. Decide what would count as a useful update before creating the topic. Otherwise a growing feed can become another inbox to ignore.
Turn a broad subject into a focused topic
Use a short name for scanning and a description for the scope. Describe the subject, the angle that matters, a region or audience where relevant, and the kind of development you want to follow. Plain language is enough; this is not a Boolean query builder. The description guides relevance, but exclusions and precise coverage are not guaranteed.
- Illustrative Work topic: ‘EU AI rules for healthcare’ — follow implementation guidance affecting healthcare providers in the EU, rather than general AI product news.
- Illustrative Personal topic: ‘Alpine trail-running routes’ — follow route guides and seasonal access information for a planned running trip, rather than race results.
- These are example descriptions, not customer outcomes or promises of available results.
Build a review routine around new finds
Open a topic's dashboard and start with the newest discoveries. ‘Found’ is when TopicWeaver discovered the resource; ‘Published’, when available, is the source's publication date. A resource found today may have been published months ago. Ask whether it is a new development, useful older background, or commentary on an existing event before treating it as an update.
Read the original source, not just the tile
Open the source link to check who published it, what evidence it uses and whether the date and geographic scope match your needs. For policy changes, look for an official document; for a product change, compare coverage with the publisher's announcement. TopicWeaver checks link usability before saving a resource, but that does not authenticate the publisher or verify the claims. ‘Verify links’ can re-check pages that later stop working.
Choose how you want to hear about updates
Results remain available in the app. Email digest settings offer Daily, Weekly or Off; digests group topics with new results rather than sending an email for every topic. A manual refresh shows its results in the app and does not send an instant email. If you want to check between automatic runs, a manual refresh costs 1 Credit. Daily research itself is free.
Recognise the limits of monitoring
Research runs about once a day, not in real time. It may find no new resources, miss relevant material or include something you judge unhelpful. A missing update is not proof that nothing happened. Use direct official sources alongside TopicWeaver for time-critical decisions. Research pauses after more than 30 days of account inactivity and resumes when you return to the app.
Keep the topic set manageable
Separate distinct decisions into distinct topics rather than adding every interest to one description. Work and Personal have separate dashboards. Free includes 5 work topics and 5 personal topics with up to 6 visible resources each. Remove unwanted results or delete topics you no longer need; these actions cost no Credits.