My morning conversations with my team typically start out with, “So I read this article this morning about…” or, “So I was listening to this vidcast on the way in about…”.
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In today’s IT world, if you are not staying ahead, then you are falling behind.  Technology can pass you  by in the blink of an eye.  My goal  is to immerse myself in as much quality and useful information as I can so that I can think and speak intelligently about topics that I am exposed to.  Some of the information may seem trivial or completely unrelated to what I am currently working on, but in 3 months everything could change to a point where the article that I read could help put together the winning solution for a customer.

You need to know where the IT world is heading or where it would like to head.  Imagine a single point with dozens of lines going off in all directions.  Each line represents a new way of thinking, a new technology or a new business goal / driver.  You have to keep your eye on all of these at the same time.  Some might fail, but others may gain traction.  If you can stay up to date on these items, then you are better prepared to action on them when they mature or when they may fit your current environment.

I have 4 main sources of information:

1. Magazines / Newspapers – This is the bread and butter of my info gathering. I take them all in hard copy. Sure there are e-versions of them, but I can’t pack those in my briefcase and get through them when I have a minute or two. I can’t flip through pages quickly. In my mind, there is no replacement yet for hard copy.
2. Podcasts / Vidcasts – I load my iPod up with as many as I can and go through them as fast as I can. Doesn’t matter what the topic is, I still listen to it to round out my knowledge base. I highly recommend TEDTalks. They are 18 minute presentations on advanced ideas. Check it out.
3. Email Newsletters – I get these from my vendors and every other organization out there. I give these about 10 seconds of my time, but sometimes there are useful nuggets.
4. Peers – Because I give out so much information that I find my peers start to give it back to me. What comes around goes around.

My reading and listening material is pretty diverse.  I make sure that I stay up on current events and market trends.  I can then use this information when having discussions with customers about the current state of their business.  Understanding the state of the Commercial Loans market will allow you to relate better to a commercial developer or to a financial institution.  I read high level CIO strategy and process articles.  I read in depth technical product reviews on everything from disk drives to firewalls to enterprise and Carrier grade switches.   I will probably never work on a Carrier grade switch such as a Cisco CRS-1 costing millions of dollars, but I know what they are capable of and I understand that principles that they operate on.  We don’t do a lot with Oracle here, but I always read the articles about them so that I know what new things their applications and databases are capable of.  I read about programming languages.  I read about new software.  I read about successful companies.  I read everything.

I spend at least 30 minutes a day reading and then listen to my podcasts / vidcasts during my 30 to 40 minute commute to work (what else are you gonna do while stuck in traffic). It sounds like a lot of time each day, and you are correct, IT IS.  But this is the commitment that I make to stay on top of it all.

The info gathering I do is Proactive as opposed to Reactive.  Sure, I still do the reactive research when I know that I have a client meeting so I can understand their business, but proactively absorbing the knowledge provides a firm foundation for understanding and problem solving.  You never know when you might need that nugget of information.  I probably don’t need to know about WiMax wireless now, but when the time comes (if it comes) I will be well versed in the technology, processes and vendors.

After my daily readings and podcasts, I always bring back the really interesting things to my team at the office.  By doing this I maximize the rewards of my effort.  I am able to give back to my team and company thereby increasing our total knowledge base.

Our customers bring in a diverse level of business problems for us to solve.  I can’t tell you how many of them I have solved because of products or techniques that I had read about a couple of days or weeks before meeting with the customer.  I have a consulting background in the Document Management and IT fields.  Understanding how organizations run in different sectors is key to providing a solid solution.  As such you need to arm yourself with as much information as possible.  I have worked with governments, law firms, financial institutions, non-profits, Fortune 500 and mom and pop companies.

We have a limited amount of time to get practical experience with Technology and it is mainly job related.  Virtualization is definitely a hot item right now in IT.  What if your company isn’t doing anything with it right now (not all companies are, believe it or not)?  You should try and learn all you can about it so that you do not become stagnant.  Use the PopURLs link below where there is a special section specifically for Virtualization.  The more you know the more your value increases.

So, all that being said.  Here are the magazines and podcasts / vidcasts that I religiously get through every day / week / month.  When I say religiously, I mean that I do not miss a magazine or podcast.  You never know what tiny nugget of information might be hidden in an article.

Periodicals

• PC Magazine
• SC Magazine
• eWeek
• Network World
• Information Week
• MSDN
• Technet
• CIO
• CRN
• CRNTech
• SQL Server Magazine
• Redmond Magazine
• Redmond Channel Partner
• Wall Street Journal
• Tampa Tribune
• Wired Magazine
• AIIM E-doc Magazine (Infonomics)
• Tampa Bay Business Journal
• Windows IT Pro
• Infragard (Daily FBI Security Newsletter)
• CERN Announcements
• Computer World
• Optimize SEO Magazine
• Web Hosting Review
• Search Marketing Magazine
• Underwater Basked Weaving

Podcasts

• Geekbrief.tv
• CNET’s Top 5
• Cranky Geeks
• dl.tv
• ExtremeTech.com
• Hak5
• LabCAST
• PCMag Radio
• Systm
• TEDTalks
• Tekzilla
• This Week in Tech
• WebbAlert
• Webnation with Amber Mac
• NPR News Reports

Web Sites

• PopURLs (http://blue.popurls.com)
• Digg.com (http://www.digg.com)
• John C. Dvorak Blog (http://www.dvorak.org/blog)

** Most print magazines have email blasts / newsletters linking to their online content