How to stay informed and evaluate new technologies
Smart strategies for staying informed in the dynamic world of tech
Being up-to-date for those working in the technology market has ceased to be just a nice-to-have and has become a necessity in recent years. Technologies emerge every day, new methodologies are created, new problems are solved and new opportunities are generated (with each new technology that emerges, several new problems are also created).
If you want to stand out in this scenario, you need to be aware of the trends and best practices in your segment. Not that you're going to apply everything that comes out every day, because that would be crazy, but you need to know what new things can add to you as a person and as a professional.
But how do you do this without getting lost in so much information? How do you filter out what's relevant and what's noise? How can you be inspired by the experiences and learnings of other professionals and companies?
In this article, I'm going to give you some tips on how to keep up-to-date and inspired by the best sources of product and technology content. Let's go?
Don't be an expert in everything
The first tip is: don't try to be an expert in everything. The technology market is very broad and diverse, and it's impossible to master all the subjects and tools that exist. That's why it's important to define your focus and your learning objective.
Do you want to delve into a specific area, such as development, design, marketing or product management? Do you want to learn about a cross-cutting theme, such as innovation, agility or organizational culture? Do you want to keep up to date with what's new in your sector, such as education, health, finance or entertainment?
Depending on your answer, you'll need to look for different sources of content that meet your needs and expectations. There's no point in consuming content on everything and not applying any of it in practice. Focus on what is most relevant to your context and your professional growth.
Wait for things to stabilize
One point here, which is more my opinion as a person, is to give things some time to settle down. What do I mean by that? As we said earlier, technologies emerge every day and you can lose focus trying to apply everything in your day-to-day life.
When new technologies emerge, I personally wait for them to stabilize a bit before I start using them more often. Does that mean I stop testing new products or checking out what the internet is talking about? Of course not! But when I think about my day-to-day life, I look for tools that can add to my productivity and well-being.
Using tools that have been launched very recently may not give you as much of that experience. They may have constant downtimes, and bugs and not help you as much as you'd hoped. What's the point of using something that I expected to help me and is giving me problems?
Again, this varies from person to person, and many people like to be early adopters and rigorously test new products. I like that too, but when I think about actually introducing something into my daily life, I see that I can wait for it to settle down a bit and become more stable.
Analyze major changes
Another point when we talk about new things, which is somewhat linked to what we said above, is about changes to existing things.
We all want more efficient companies, optimized flows, smart decisions, a productive day, and so on. New technologies tend to try to offer these kinds of benefits, hardly all in one package, but in each niche there will be tools to do so.
The point here is that we must evaluate the changes before proposing them in a larger context. For example, we have a process today for sending our customers' orders through a channel. The process works, it can be improved, and you see a new tool that can improve the management of this process as a whole.
It promises to be more efficient, to show improvement points that can be adjusted and you immediately think about implementing it, right? Well, it only promises to improve everything, so why not implement it once and for all? Risks, costs, implementation...
When we look at these types of changes, I see that some points need to be evaluated:
Evaluate the implementation costs. Consider the time and value that will be added to the tool already in use and how much it will cost to maintain).
Evaluate maintenance. This is a point that many people overlook. Think about how difficult it will be to provide any maintenance, especially when it comes to infrastructure. Is it easy to fix problems? Do we have access to somewhere to ask for help?
Assess the impact on existing flows. Understand how this new tool will affect what already exists. Things are already running, and we can't just stop everything until a new tool is applied.
Understand whether it really makes sense. After evaluating these and other points, see if it makes sense.
This is not to make you afraid of change. Quite the opposite, change is indispensable in times of evolution. Just understand its pros and cons and evaluate it more assertively. By the way, it wouldn't make sense to change to something worse, would it?
Places where I, Henrique Maltez, follow
I've been working with product and technology for a few years now, and I've always liked to follow a medium to keep myself updated and inspired by the best sources of content on these topics.
I'm going to share with you some places where I follow quality content on products and technology, and I hope they help you too. They are:
ByteByteGo: a newsletter that covers engineering in an uncomplicated way. It's worth checking out, and the YouTube channel is amazing.
Mind the Product: Another great product community that organizes conferences, meetups, workshops and newsletters on the subject. It's an excellent source of inspiration and networking for those who work with products.
The Verge: One of the world's leading technology websites, covering the latest news, analysis, opinions, and trends in the tech world. It's a site I access daily to keep up to date with what's happening in the sector.
Marques Brownlee: A great YouTuber who brings news about gadgets and technology in general.
MIT Technology Review e Harvard Business Review: These are well-regarded technology and business magazines that publish articles, reports, podcasts, and videos on the advances and impacts of technology on society.
These are some places where I follow product and technology content, but there are many others. You can search for media that best fit into your day-to-day life, such as podcasts, videos, or articles. The important thing is to find the sources that add the most value and motivate you to learn and develop.
I hope this article has helped you stay up-to-date and inspired with the best sources of content on products and technology.
I hope this tip has helped you in some way.