We are often asked by freelancers and clients in IT: How do you stay up to date with the latest trends in the digital industry. We asked you this very question in a survey and received numerous, often different answers. Over the past few days, we have analyzed the survey result. Now, we share the quite diverse perspectives and ideas of the participants. Of course, we also added our favourites and share recommended books, podcasts, video playlists, and websites with you.
General survey information
We surveyed 15 people in June and July about their IT related media consumption. Of the respondents, 86.7% work with freelancers and are active in a wide variety of industries, such as construction or finance. Over 93.4% of respondents keep themselves informed about what is happening in the IT world at least from time to time (46.7% daily) and over 73% of respondents consider the latest (tech) information from the Internet to be important.
Blogs, videos (e.g. YouTube), LinkedIn, and podcasts are among the most frequently consumed types of media among those interested in IT.
Recommended blogs or websites
- Smashing Magazine – Expert opinions and tips for developers. For example, an expert writes and explains CSS techniques to address potential file size and performance issues.
- CSS-Tricks – Guides for better programming. Here, professionals show solutions to specific problems and share their experiences with CSS.
- Brianlovin – Sharing ideas about software design and development. If you are looking for a “thinking out loud” blog about IT, this is the right place to find tips, experience’s and much more.
- Electrive – Information on electromobility. Since electromobility is becoming more important almost by the day, this is a great source to always be up-to-date with the latest developments. At Electrive, you can find information about new electric vehicles, but also about the technologies behind them.
- Stackoverflow – Providing information and solutions to many tasks and problems in IT. Stackoverflow is a public platform with over 100 million visitors every month, where users can share knowledge themselves.
- API-Evangelist – Provides guidance on ways to use APIs. The author does not refer to his site as a blog, but rather as a “soul board” on which he collects and develops ideas mainly for himself.
Endorsed video channels
- Christoph Magnussen – New Work – Exploring methods for digital and physical collaboration. Christoph often talks about the future of work, but also about other topics related to IT.
- ThisWeekIn – Talks about startups, technology, crypto and much more. If you are interested in the international start-up world, this is a great place to receive deep insights.
- AndroidDevelopers – News, best practices, etc. for Android developers. The AndroidDevelopers website should also be familiar to every Android developer. The authors describe their pages as a modern tool to create engaging experiences on Android devices faster and easier.
- FlutterDev – Examples and information about the Flutter SDK directly from the official Flutter YouTube channel. The channel operators provide information about useful widgets, solutions for changes in the APIs, etc.
Engaging Podcasts
- Unternehmerwissen in 15 Minuten – In the podcast, professional athlete and entrepreneur Rayk Hahne uncovers all entrepreneurial strategies, income opportunities, development opportunities, and the best marketing tips.
- Accidental Tech Podcast – Discussions on tech, programming, Apple, and related topics. Recent topics have included discussions about Crypto, Apple Music, and macOS.
- 10 Millionen Mal 1 – Mindset Podcast for personal success. In the past weeks, the producers talked about topics such as work-life balance, the successful use of LinkedIn, and remote work.
- Einfach produktiv – Time and self-management, and effective collaboration. Among other things, this includes recognizing and taking advantage of opportunities, which host Ivan Blattner talked about in one of the last episodes.
- Alphalist CTO – Interviews with CTOs and other executives on their IT management. Guests included the CTOs of Scalable Capital, BlaBlaCar and Shopify.
Books worth reading
- The lean Startup (Eric Ries) – Startups that are fast, resource-friendly, and success-oriented. Lean Startup is not about being “cheap”, it’s about being less wasteful in achieving success while still doing things that are big and meaningful.
- From Zero to One (Peter Thiel, Blake Masters) – How innovation is saving our society. I’m sure some of you have heard of Peter Thiel; he is the co-founder of PayPals and Palantir, among others. In his book, he writes about how important innovations are for humanity.
- The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen Covey) – Essential habits for a better personal and professional life. For example, one such habit is thinking in terms of win-win situations. When all stakeholders win, work can be much more successful in the long run, and everyone focuses on the same goals.
- How to win friends and influence people (Dale Carnegie) – Increase influence over people and build a strong network. In his book, for example, Dale Carnegie shows how to listen really carefully to other people in conversations.
We welcome feedback and suggestions on the selected websites, podcasts, etc. Which recommendation do you find particularly exciting? Did we forget an important source? Feel free to contact us or register for our Freelancer Community.
