For a software developer, staying up to date with technology developments and following the latest trends of software development is of utmost importance. But nowadays, the number of online posts/activities that are competing for our attention has increased exponentially. Dealing with all this load of information and staying up to date is not an easy thing. I have created a simple strategy which works for myself and I’d like to share it with you.
Conferences to Follow/Attend
Conferences are where the latest developments usually are formally announced and demonstrated. Attending developer conferences gives me the opportunity to listen to the demos and presentations of latest trends in software development as well as network with my peers. Sometimes, attending conferences is costly, especially if you target one of the major conferences, but luckily, most of those conferences publish their videos online so we can view them.
Some of the major conferences I follow are:
User Groups
Local users groups provide excellent opportunities to see what your peers are up to, what is happening on the market, and what technologies and trends are actual in your neighborhood. There is also a value added activity of networking with your peers which is a good benefit. There is a user group for almost anything out there so just search for user groups at your neighborhood and join them.
Sites to Follow
There are some major sites where I follow latest developments on software development technologies and practices, and entrepreneurship (in my opinion, developers should be quite familiar with what is happening on the business world as well) . Of course, the list of the sites will be relative to your interests and platforms you use, but here is my list:
Persons to Follow
Every industry has its own influencers who evangelize technologies and practices, and sometimes these people define the trends the industry follows. It is very important to choose who you follow as in some ways, by following a person, you accept his influence to some degree and if this person is a successful one, you will benefit positively from his experience and thoughts.
Here is a part of the list of persons I follow:
Conclusions
It is quite challenging to stay up to date in this dynamic world, and we need a process in order to excel. Having a defined and structure workflow of flowing the information in and getting most of it will be a skill we all have to master. Depending on the technologies you use, the market you work in, or your interests, most probably your list will not be the same as mine, but the principle behind is valid for any interest I think. It is important to define your standard sources of information and supplement them with additional sources from time to time or even substitute your standard sources with new ones after some time.
What are your sources of information?
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