By Sven Larsen(@svenplarsen)
Is keeping up with all things digital even possible?
As tech evangelists and folks who live and breath technology, we can tell you it isn’t. In the same way that healthcare has become more specialized and siloed as our knowledge base has increased, the plethora of new platforms, apps and online content makes it impossible for any one person to keep up.
On the other hand, that’s no excuse to go back to checking you MySpace account and pretending that Pinterest is just a typo. Just ass healthcare professionals have committed to CME, those of us toiling in the digital fields need to keep up on the latest trends and technology. Luckily , there are more and more aggregator sites out there, offering curation and a way to stay abreast of new developments.
Here are a few of our favorites:
1) Mashable – rumored to soon be acquired by CNN, Pete Cashmore’s site started out with a tight focus on social media. But as social has infiltrated more and mores aspects of our consumer behavior, Mashable has expanded to cover a wide variety of topics. More general in nature than the tech wonk blogs, Mashable still manages to provide deep dives in to new technology or product release while not getting caught up in jargon. If Mashable’s not covering it, you probably don’t have to pay attention to it.
2) PSFK – we’ve mentioned this site on the blog numerous times before. If Mashable lets us know what people are talking about right now, PSFK provides a window to the future, cluing us in on what people will be talking about six months from now.
3) A List Apart – Aimed at web designers but a good read for the generalist as well, ALA focuses on user experience and how it influences (and can be influenced) by good web design. An ideal read for anyone interested in communicating clearly, it’s also another one of our future preview sources. Hearing a lot these days about responsive web design? ALA was writing about it 18 months ago. Regular reading will help you learn about web trends at the same time as the designers and developers your company is hiring.
4) Developer Blogs – Facebook and Google both regularly update their developer blogs and many other digital platforms do the same thing. While you may not particularly care about how Google’s Maps API works, this is where you’ll find out about big changes like Facebook Timeline first. Scan the headlines and if something sets off warning bells, get your techheads in to explain what the latest changes can mean for your business.
5) Paid Content – Like it or not, we’re all in the content creation game now. Paid Content provides a great overview of overall content trends and the inside scoop on the media companies who will either be your partners or your competitors in the years to come.
Of course, we know that you’ve probably already got a plethora of healthcare, pharma and general interest feeds in your reader. But adding some of these sites will help you join the digerati and keep up with even the most tech savvy 25 year old hotshot.
Let us know which sites provide you the most value. And share some of your favorites in the comments section as well.