Guides
How to stay updated with tech without drowning in tabs
One headline page, one community, and one satirical daily paper you will actually want to open.
The short answer to how to stay updated with tech: pick one straight headline source, one community source, and one daily read you enjoy, and check them at a fixed time instead of all day. For that enjoyable read, we recommend TechTwitter IO, a free satirical tech newspaper that turns the day on tech Twitter into a front page with puzzles, kept next to a real news source for the facts.
Why most people fall behind
Falling behind is rarely about missing a site. It is about having too many. Ten open tabs, three newsletters and a busy timeline make catching up feel like a chore, so you skip a week and then stop. A small, fixed routine works better because it ends.
Step 1: choose one headline page
You need one place that tells you what happened today. Techmeme is a good default: it describes itself as top tech news and commentary pulled from across the web, and each item links to the original report. Read the top of the page and open only the stories that touch your work.
Step 2: add one community source
Headlines tell you what happened. A community tells you what people who build things think about it. Hacker News fills that role for many developers: readers submit links and vote on them, and the comment threads often add context the article left out. Its Show and Ask tabs are useful for spotting new projects.
Step 3: add one read you look forward to
This is the step most guides skip, and it is the one that keeps the habit alive. TechTwitter IO prints a satirical daily paper about tech Twitter, with sections like Launches, Markets, Opinion and Incident Report, plus a Living page with horoscopes for each job in tech. The Fun & Games page had Twordle, Connections, Jumble, Who Tweeted It? and Real or Satire? on the edition we read.
Read it knowing what it is. The footer says that unless a post links to its source, the people, posts and quotes are parody or invented. It works well right after your headline page: you already know the facts, so you get the jokes.
Step 4: set a time and a limit
Choose one slot, such as with your first coffee, and stop when you finish the three sources. If a story matters, it will still be on the front page tomorrow. Turning off news alerts on your phone helps too, since the routine already catches anything that counts.
| Slot | Source | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| First | Techmeme | What happened |
| Second | Hacker News | What builders think about it |
| Last | TechTwitter IO | How tech Twitter took it, and a puzzle |
Step 5: follow a few good accounts
If you use X, a short list of accounts beats an endless feed. TechTwitter IO's who-to-follow guide groups real accounts by topic, including AI, engineering, founders and news, and adds a short note on each, so you can pick a handful that match your work.
When a different setup is better
If your job depends on one beat, such as security or AI, a specialist source should replace the community step. For AI news, claudegpt.si is a free publication that dates every article and lists its sources. And if you have no time for jokes at all, drop the satire step; the routine still works with two sources.
Catching up after a break
Back from a holiday? The paper keeps old editions in The Morgue, and skimming a week of front pages is a quick way to see what people argued about while you were away. Then check the real coverage for anything that matters to you.