The tech industry is notorious for moving quickly and abruptly. If you want to stay relevant in the field, you’ll have to be able to identify and adapt to changes and new trends.
Keeping up is a daunting task, however, even for the most seasoned tech professionals. For newcomers, building up a collection of reliable resources to help maintain industry knowledge is even more vital.
For guidance on where to start, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members shared their favorite platforms and resources to help you stay up to date with industry changes.
14 Resources for Keeping Up With the Tech Industry
- Stratechery
- The Wall Street Journal
- Industry Blogs
- Facebook Groups
- Clubhouse
- Niche Social Media Groups
- Search Engine Land
- Hacker News
- Virtual Events and Webinars
- Slack
- Google Alerts
1. Stratechery
I’m a huge fan of the Stratechery newsletter. It is extremely current and the writers are really smart, offering surprising and perceptive points of view. Plus, it often incorporates fun illustrations to help make the content more digestible. —Ryan D Matzner, Fueled
2. The Wall Street Journal
If you want an overview of what’s going on in business, it helps to follow the latest financial news on sites such as the Wall Street Journal. The latest trends always impact financial markets, so you often see the first signs of what’s coming by watching market activity. —Kalin Kassabov, ProTexting
3. Industry Blogs
Relevant blogs related to your industry can keep you at the top of the news game, especially for those who like to read. There are many business blogs out there with real-time updates that will keep you informed about the recent trends in the markets, breaking news and any other information. Still, it’s imperative not to make any managerial or business decisions by only reading blogs. —Kelly Richardson, Infobrandz
4. Facebook Groups
I find Facebook groups to be a great way of staying up to date with industry news and changes that actually impact my business. General tech news isn’t always that relevant, but you can usually find a Facebook Group specific to your industry or location. Many are private, so you might need a referral. More often than not, though, that just means you need to request to join the group. —Jordan Conrad, Writing Explained
5. Clubhouse
Clubhouse is quickly becoming my favorite platform to keep up with emerging trends in the tech industry. Not only can I drop in with industry experts in digital marketing, but I can also ask questions and interact with my favorite tech influencers on what they see in their crystal balls. Voice platforms are going to play a critical role in how we access information in the future. —Robert De Los Santos, Sky High Party Rentals
6. Reddit
Reddit is the best place to get real-time feedback from real users in specific demographics. You’ll get honest feedback, which can be a great thing or a very humbling experience. —Terry Tateossian, Socialfix Media
7. Niche Social Media Groups
I like to be active in social media groups where I can get to know about the latest trends from people in my own industry. To make sure these updates are relevant, I always ensure I join groups that are related to my niche. —Josh Kohlbach, Wholesale Suite
8. Search Engine Land
One of the most informative resources that I use to stay up to date on search marketing and digital marketing tech is Search Engine Land. This website has the most relevant news and tips for my business. I usually reference it to learn about the latest in SEM, SEO and social media marketing. —Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC
9. Hacker News
I’ve always liked Hacker News by Y Combinator as a non-biased aggregator of dense tech news, even if their UI is a bit rudimentary. For lighter stuff, you might also check out Reddit’s Technology subreddit to follow the latest developments in tech and also stay abreast of public opinion via the comment sections. —Amine Rahal, IronMonk Solutions
10. Twitter
Many magazines and media outlets cover the tech industry on the internet, but I find that Twitter brings it all together for me with the benefit of added contextual information that makes things make sense in the business world. You can track trends on Twitter to find urgent and important tech developments such as products or events. —Samuel Thimothy, OneIMS
11. Virtual Events and Webinars
To keep up with the latest tech trends, I like to attend virtual events and webinars. These events are gold mines of insider trends and information that can help you create optimized campaigns and content for your audience. This can put you ahead of your competitors and stand out from the crowd because you can provide your audience with relevant, updated information. —Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
12. Slack
Our team is lucky enough to include several industry professionals who regularly share their insights, feedback and thoughts. This usually happens over Slack, which makes exchanging information and sharing industry news easy. I also like it because it’s a personal way to learn something new from people I admire. —Jared Atchison, WPForms
13. Instagram
Instagram influencers are pretty good at sharing new information and making new stuff trend. Just be in the know and follow smart influencers, and you definitely won’t miss out on anything. —Daisy Jing, Banish
14. Google Alerts
If there’s a specific niche in the tech arena that you’re concerned with, then you can use Google Alerts to pick up new information as it happens. Add keywords to your Google Alerts trigger list, and the tool will automatically pick up relevant news based on the keyword. This is a great way to automate your learning around a topic and to get the news right away. —Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner