7 Blogs That Digital Media Thinkers Should Be Reading

We’re all pressed for time, with demands of work, friends and family; and some of us have the additional pressure of school. Think of this as a cheat sheet of blogs that will help you “think different” about the world of digital media. You won’t find the usual suspects (TechCrunch, Mashable, ReadWriteWeb, etc) and I don’t consider this a “best of” kinda post. Instead, it’s a reach-out-beyond your current thinking set of resources.

1. Beth Kanter (@kanter) brings her energy and expertise to the global non-profit sector; she is co-author of The Networked Nonprofit. Read her blog to gain insights into how nonprofits are using digital technologies or to pick up tips that transcend economic sectors. The most practical blog in this list. Daily. Sample posts:
   • Tips for Remote Presenting – October 2010
   • Social Media Use By Foundation Leaders – September 2010
   • What’s The ROI of Online Voting and Fundraising Contests? – May 2010
2. danah boyd (@zephoria) is a social media researcher at Microsoft and a fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center. Her blog is provocative and useful for links to research and talks; very low volume. Sample posts:
   • “Pep Rally” – A Truly Exogenous Trending Topic On Twitter – October 2010
   • Regulating The Use of Social Media Data – August 2010
   • Skin Whitening, Tanning and Vaseline’s Controversial Facebook Ad Campaign – July 2010
3. Howard Rheingold (@hrheingold) thinks about 21st century literacies and the evolving mediascape. SmartMobs (based on Howard’s book of the same name) is a group blog that explores the themes raised in the book, focusing on mobile communication, pervasive computing, wireless networks, collective action. Global; medium-volume. Sample posts:
   • Can A Mob Study With Integrity? – September 2010
   • Citizen Reporting In Kenya Via SMS And Twitter – August 2010
   • Do You Believe The Long-Tail Exists Online? – April 2010
4. Kevin Kelly is our modern day Vannevar Bush; his latest book is What Technology Wants. The essays that he wrote at TheTechnium while working on that book are a treasure, and he is still publishing in this space. There is CoolTools (self-descriptive, daily) which is now also being published at BoingBoing. Recently added: New Rules for the New Economy. Eye-opening; low volume except for CoolTools. Sample posts:
   • It Takes A Village To Make A Mall. Community Precedes Commerce – October 2010
   • Your Money: The Missing Manual – October 2010
   • A New Way of Reading – August 2010
5. Laurie Racine, Diana Rhoten and Phoenix M. Wang founded Startl to explore the future of learning. Education is a critical part of our infrastructure; what is the role of digital technology in its evolution? Daily. Sample posts:
   • iPad Sales Reaching 45 Million in 2011; Impact on Education? – October 2010
   • Are We Preparing Students For The Future Or The Past? – July 2010
   • The Kahn Academy – One Man Teaching The World For Free – May 2010
6. Michael Geist (@MichaelGeist) is a Canadian law professor who studies Internet and e-commerce law. He is a leading analyst and critic of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Read Geist for a non-US perspective on digital law. Daily. Sample posts:
   • CBC Bans Use of Creative Commons Music On Podcasts – October 2010
   • How IP Enforcement Can Be Used To Suppress Dissent – September 2010
   • The ACTA Internet Chapter: Putting The Pieces Together – November 2009
7. Umair Haque (@umairh) writes about global business, competition and the economy for Harvard Business Review; he is director of the Havas Media Lab. Thoughtful; low volume. Sample posts:
   • The Institutional Innovation Manifesto – September 2010
   • Apple’s Real Achilles Heel – July 2010
   • Network Strategy and the Anti-Defense – August 2009

Who would you add to this list?

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