Was recently asked by multiple people how I’d recommend they delve into this magical mystery tour that is the world of blogs. This is the epic blog post that began as short email to them.
Personal confession: for a long time, I’ve been a Google Reader fiend (Google Reader, by the way, is a way to subscribe to as many blogs as you’d like & then read them all in one place). But, honestly, I’ve recently started to sour on blogs a bit. The fact that TechCrunch (now brought to you by AOL!) is a top 10 blog property just goes to show how few real people read blogs (or have heard of those “RSS Feed” things). The undeniable rise of page view journalism (super annoying, sure, but at the same time, pretty obvious why it makes sense) basically means great blogs produce tons & tons of not-so-great posts on tired topics. There seem to be some posts that are written a bazillion different ways, but all say the exact same superficially controversial thing.
BUT, all that being said, I’m consistently blown away by how much I’ve learned from the blogs I follow. The ability to delve super deeply in an obscure topic (the coffee retail business, e.g.) by following three major blogs is an awesome power– and an awesome way to learn & grow all the time. Plus, nearly every day or so, I’m knocked off my feet by a post that’s so good, so interesting, so thought-provoking, so something, that I file it away (thanks Evernote!), hoping to come back again and again.
Blog reading’s a time commitment, sure. Just like anything worthwhile, it’s all about the trade-off. Personally, I’m currently experimenting with following the same feeds on Twitter (many of the blog are basically replicated through Twitter accounts, sometimes with welcome additional stuff & other times very much with not– in fact, I’ve offered below both options so you can pick & choose whatever works best for you) to juggle these better, so stay tuned to hear how that goes. So far, so good, though– and I’ve been able to balance learning a lot, staying deeply involved, and everything else in my life pretty well. So far.
Here’s my best of the best– all the blogs I would follow if I had the time (so your choice on what to prioritize) minus a few obscure ones that I don’t think would be helpful (but if you want to know all the NBA/Miami Heat, Harvard, Disney, Android, Fitness, & Starbucks-related blogs I follow, then just let me know and I’ll share those, too). To help, I’ve added an asterisk to the blogs I’d recommend to those just getting started in this crazy industry/world. Sign up for Google Reader (pro tip: you might have to add the feeds manually or feedburner will do it for you) or start a Twitter account, then subscribe/follow those with the * and then see what works, what doesn’t, and go deeper (or don’t).
Without further ado, here’s How To Rule the Interwebz (The 81 Must-Follow Blogs):
Technology News
- *Mashable [RSS / Twitter] – Web tech news & analysis, more social media-focused. Has basically raced up most-read blog charts thanks to some awesome, awesome writers (including Ben Parr, Jolie O’Dell, up-and-coming friend Zachary Sniderman, and tons more) & in-depth, relevant coverage.
- ReadWriteWeb [RSS / Twitter] - Web tech news & analysis, a little more content-focused
- AllThingsD [RSS / Twitter] – Web tech news & analysis, more media & biz focused. Can also drill down & individually follow Walt Mossberg and/or Kara Swisher. Aside: site’s name is unintentionally hilarious to college bros.
- *Silicon Alley Insider [RSS / Twitter] – Basically aggregates all the quality tech analysis & blogs plus features legit articles from legit writers (ex-Forbes reporters Peter Kafka & Dan Frommer, e.g.). Backstory: founded by Henry Blodget after being barred from the securities industry. Seriously.
- *TechCrunch [RSS / Twitter] – Web tech news & analysis, more startup-focused & arguably the most famous (mostly because of experienced & controversial Mike Arrington), recently purchased by AOL. Some in the tech industry believe this site has “jumped the shark” (even before the AOL thing), but they all still read it regardless.
- The Next Web [RSS / Twitter] - Up-and-coming tech news blog, offering neat perspectives.
- Sparksheet [RSS / Twitter] – Great, thought-provoking content, media, & marketing content
- FastCompany.com [RSS / Twitter] – Best of the cutting-edge startup & entrepreneurship mag.
- Wired News [RSS / Twitter] – Same as above, but more (obviously) tech-focused. Who needs a subscription? (Don’t tell them that, though).
- Inc. Mag [RSS / Twitter] - My favorite magazine to read in the airport, it’s also great, high-quality content on startup business resources & entrepreneurship.
- NYT’s Technology News [RSS / Twitter] – Not a news-breaker, but offers excellent analysis & features on general tech-related NYT articles.
- *GigaOM [RSS / Twitter] – Tech industry news & analysis from Om Malik & team. In my opinion, some of the best analysis on the web.
- NYT’s Bits Blog [RSS / Twitter] – Similar, quality analysis & features– more tech biz-focused.
- The Google Blog [RSS / Twitter] - ’Cause you’ve just got to. Google’s got a bazillion other official blogs & twitter accounts, so you can drill down as much as you’d like.
- SEO Blogs (Search Engine Land, Search Engine Journal, & SEO Book are all great, but often similar– up to you to choose which you like).
Digital Media News
- paidContent [RSS / Twitter] – The ultimate guide to the economics/business of digital media news & trends.
- *NewTeeVee [RSS / Twitter] – THE blog to follow for digital media/video business & tech news & analytsis (part of the GigaOm network, too).
- NYT Media Decoder Blog [RSS / Twitter] – Quality coverage of the media industry business. Also, writer Brian Stelter may be among the best, forward-thinking digital media & TV reporters on the web right now.
- PBS’s MediaShift [RSS / Twitter] – Covers how digital media is changing society, culture, & education. Awesome.
- FierceIPTV [RSS / Twitter] - Jim O’Neill‘s smart (and fierce, of course) take on news & development in Internet TV.
- Broadcast Assassin [RSS / Twitter] - Jeff Koenig‘s merciless evangelism & thought-leadership of web TV is single-handedly making a difference)
Digital Media, Tech, & Culture Thinkers
- Brian Solis [RSS / Twitter] – New media thinker & speaker, smart & interesting writer.
- Joshua Blankenship [RSS / Twitter] – Designer, typography guru, writer.
- *Tim Ferriss [RSS / Twitter] – Author of 4 Hour Workweek & all-around-awesome guy who writes, every now and then on ”lifestyle design”– and it’s always really, really freakin’ good.
- *Justin Kownacki [RSS / Twitter] – “Armchair sociologist & perpetual contrarian,” he offers regularly brilliant social media strategy & reality checks.
- Scott Berkun [RSS / Twitter] – Author & public speaker on creativity & management, great storyteller.
- Jonathan Fields [RSS / Twitter] – Entrepreneur who writes convincingly on how to get the most out of life.
- Dan Zarrella [RSS / Twitter] – The “social media scientist” writes looooooong posts, but they’re worth it for the stats, figures, & insight.
- John Battelle’s Searchblog [RSS / Twitter] – Huge, high-quality thought-leader on search, media, & tech.
- *Jason L Baptiste [RSS / Twitter] – Entrepreneur consistently writing awesome, helpful, insightful stuff.
- Grant McCracken [RSS / Twitter] – Social anthropologist that writes on diverse topics from LeBron James & corporate culture.
- The Art of Non-Conformity [RSS / Twitter] – Chris Guillebeau on unconventional ways to get the most out of life & business. Great, fun advice.
- HBR Blogs – Bill Taylor [RSS / Twitter] – Bill Taylor on innovation, creativity, & leadership. Harvard Business Review has many, many other awesome blogs. Just pick & choose.
- Jason Shen [RSS / Twitter] – Friend Jason Shen writes amazing stuff on his adventures in startup-world.
- Sarcastic Mister Know It All [RSS / Twitter] – Friend Dan Lee does the same–really, really good stuff.
- Living in the Future [RSS / Twitter] - Friend Steven Duque offers his thoughts on branding, media, tech & culture w/ a mondo, killer post every few weeks.
VCs & Entrepreneurs & Angels & Other People Who Take Themselves Seriously So You Should, Too?
- blog maverick [RSS / Twitter] - THE Mark Cuban writes mostly about business, but whatever he writes on, it’s all good, controversial, & thought-provoking.
- *AVC [RSS / Twitter] - Fred Wilson‘s probably the most influential VC in the business– every single person reads (and it seems like every single person comments) on his accessible, brilliant posts.
- *Chris Dixon [RSS / Twitter] – Entrepreneur, thought-leader that loves to stir things up… and is usually not just right, but also really clever about it.
- *ben’s blog [RSS / Twitter] - Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreeessen Horowitz w/ Marc Andreessen, shares his advice and expertise, seems every week better & more relevant than the one before.
- pMarca [RSS / Twitter] – Blog of Marc Andreessen, the legend. Doesn’t write that often, but when he does, everyone listens. Doesn’t tweet, either. Doesn’t matter.
- The Roach Post [RSS / Twitter] - Cameron Brain & Eric Roach offer great advice & resources for startups.
- Master of 500 Hats [RSS / Twitter] - Dave McClure‘s awesome, he’ll tell it like it is & you’ll love reading about it (whether you agree with him or not).
- Rob Go [RSS / Twitter] – Formerly of Spark Capital & eBay, now starting his own Micro VC firm & regularly sharing his expertise, thoughts, and general enthusiasm for life.
- Bijan Sabet [RSS / Twitter], Mo Koyfman [RSS / Twitter], & recently Andrew Parker [RSS / Twitter] – All Spark Capital VCs & all-around good guys, each offering a fresh & forward-thinking take on the future of digital media plus, for some reason, always sharing the music they like, too.
- VentureBlog [RSS / Twitter] - David Hornik of August Capital’s honest & insightful take on startups & the VC industry.
- Fred Destin [RSS / Twitter] – Season VC with more technical, industry thoughts– no less valuable.
- Derek Sivers [RSS / Twitter] – In addition to his great first name, he writes consistently awesome, down-to-earth advice for entrepreneurs– from legit experience.
- The Dream in Action [RSS / Twitter] - Ryan Graves is an inspirational entrepreneur w/ compelling takes on what’s happening in the startup world.
- startup adventures in nyc [RSS / Twitter] - Brad Hargreaves, EIR at Tipping Point Partners, name of the blog says it all.
- juvenis fugit [RSS / Twitter] – Brilliant friend Justin Wohlstadter‘s thoughts on startup investing & social entrepreneurship.
- Quick Sprout [RSS / Twitter] - Neil Patel‘s an entrepreneur, angel, & nice guy– distills his experience into blog posts you’ll save to re-read later again and again.
Marketing & Design Thinkers
- *Seth’s Blog [RSS / Twitter] - Seth Godin‘s written 12 books mostly centered around marketing and leadership & each one has been a bestseller, he writes daily (often more)– hit or miss sometimes for me, but perhaps the most famous marketing blogger. He’s also too cool for Twitter (who does he think he is? Malcolm Gladwell?! Sorry.)
- *Six Panels of Separation [RSS / Twitter] – The king of digital marketing & consistently brilliant, forward-thinking ideas.
- Mele’s Musings [RSS / Twitter] - Joe Mele‘s consistently insightful on digital marketing, plus he’s w/ Razorfish, which just plain rocks.
- Social Media Explorer [RSS / Twitter] - Jason Falls writes on social media marketing.
- Jason Putorti [RSS / Twitter] – Influential designer & entrepreneur on UI, UX, and more.
- Zach Klein [RSS / Twitter] – Entrepreneur (Vimeo, Busted Tees, CollegeHumor, Boxee), designer, awesome.
Gadgets , Gizmos, & Shit
- *Gizmodo [RSS / Twitter] – On gadgets (basically consumer electronics), part of Nick Denton’s Gawker Media.
- Engadget [RSS / Twitter] – On gadgets, differs from Gizmodo mostly in editorial tone, also owned by AOL.
- Fashionably Geek [RSS / Twitter] – Clothing for geeks, hilarious & interesting even if you don’t buy any of it.
- The Awesomer [RSS / Twitter] – Just really random awesome stuff (mostly for guys).
- Uncrate [RSS / Twitter] – Also really awesome random stuff (again, mostly for guys).
Ideas & Stories
- NYT’s Idea of the Day Blog [RSS / Twitter] - Always worth a read– and just one/day, which is neat.
- *PSFK [RSS / Twitter] - Trends, innovation, idea-generating stuff that’s, for some reason, the one blog that continually surprises me by how great it is.
- *GOOD [RSS / Twitter] – Live well & do good– consistently unearths amazing, relevant, and helpful news on everything.
- TED Blog [RSS / Twitter] - TED. ‘Nuff said.
- PsyBlog [RSS / Twitter] - The best of research into how the mind works, often internet-related.
Media & Entertainment
- */Film [RSS / Twitter] – Movie news & commentary, snark. Great stuff.
- Vulture [RSS / Twitter] – Entertainment news & more snark. Equally great.
- LA Times’ Show Tracker [RSS / Twitter], Company Town [RSS / Twitter], 24 Frames [RSS / Twitter], The Big Picture [RSS / Twitter] – All super high-quality coverage from The LA Times.
- TVbytheNumbers [RSS / Twitter] – TV & media consumption stats that’ll continue to impress you and make you think.
- FirstShowing.net [RSS / Twitter] – Movie blog covering news & more– there are many more of these, but this one’s my favorite at least.
Lifestyle
(The grab-bag category– for me, this is where I put my other interest-related blogs, too (NBA/Miami Heat, Harvard, Disney, Android, Fitness, & Starbucks-related blogs). For you, it could be anything & everything.)
- The Consumerist [RSS / Twitter] – News & info for consumers: “shoppers bite back.”
- Slashfood [RSS / Twitter] – Smart & entertaining food news & commentary.
- *Lifehacker [RSS / Twitter] – Tips & downloads for getting things done– super, super popular blog for good reason. Also part of Gawker Media.
- SFist [RSS / Twitter] – A great San Francisco-based blog– similar sites include Gothamist (NY), Bostonist (Boston), LAist (LA), etc…
Pingback: 7 Secrets to Surviving (and Thriving!) at a Startup