There's actually a useful Zapier script that already does this [0]. I remember reading about it on Mike Knoop's (Zapier cofounder) blog [1]. I haven't tried it out but you should be able to hook it up to any of the alert services that Zapier integrates with. (Which is a lot!)

[0] https://zapier.com/zapbook/webhook/rss/8249/hacker-news-ment...

[1] http://mikeknoop.com/my-zaps/

And in case there was any doubt, it's one of my favorite Zaps :)

It uses the awesome HNSearch API to poll for new mentions of phrases and triggers a Zap whenever it finds one. (I have it send me an SMS).

Here's a better, more direct Zap Template: http://zpr.io/gsjS

Ok. Would you email me (sillysaurus2 at gmail) so that I can have you beta test it? It's pretty straightforward, but I'd feel better if you look at it before I publicly launch it.

(I know how busy you are, so I'll always be brief.)