What are you reading?

I’ve written a couple of posts in the past about finding fresh voices. You can find them here and here. But it’s worth revisiting the topic because I’ve seen a recent uptick in “best blogs” posts that are, frankly, a yawn. They’re filled with industry low-hanging fruit instead of blogs that consistently make you think, connect the dots, or teach you something new.

Go for the hard stuff.

I rarely read posts about marketing, PR, or social media. I skim a few feeds in my Feedly, such as AdWeek, to eyeball the trends and cue up an occasional post to share on Twitter or LinkedIn. And I love MarketingCharts because the data sometimes helps me spot patterns before they become trends. Most of the posts I read, however, come from the platforms (e.g., Canva, LinkedIn blogs), customized searches (e.g., health care, sustainability), or an omnibus category I call Intersecting with Culture. That’s the cool part — and the sweet spot for learning. Among the feeds:

• Futurism — cutting-edge science, health care, robotics.
• DeepLinks — encryption, biometrics, digital rights.
• Singularity Hub — computing, genetics, biotech, neuroscience.

I’ve also added a couple of terrific new e-newsletters lately (thanks, Jonathan, for the recommendations!). Exponential View is a curated list of articles about artificial intelligence, using data, technology, and more. It’s filled with fresh voices from smart people thinking about the implications of all these topics. Recomendo, meanwhile, is just that: recommendations for cool products and tools to check out.

Find your brain food.

You might be thinking, “Okay, but you have a marcomm consultancy.”

Yes. But my clients are not marketing or PR people. If they are, they are (like me) using marketing and PR to get business results for their organizations. Understanding their core business model is necessary; understanding how their industries are innovating and evolving helps me help them more. Not to mention that it’s fantastic brain food.

Now it’s your turn. What’s your brain food? Ping me on Twitter or LinkedIn, or email me, and let’s have a conversation about reading.

Keep exploring by Justin Luebke (Unsplash); Ripples by Biel Morro (Unsplash).