Current tech commercialization policy is misaligned in how it measures success.
Top 10 Publications for Tech Marketers in 2024
John Himes
July 21, 2023; updated January 3, 2024
These are the top 10 best news sites for tech industry professionals.
Whether you’re a B2B technology marketer or a tech content creator like me, or you play any other role in the tech industry, a key part of your job is staying up-to-date.
Staying current isn’t just for scientists or engineers.
All of us need to know the latest trends, understand the market, and keep an eye on the economy and the tech sector at large. Staying up on emerging technologies, changing public perceptions, and breaking government action makes us better at our jobs.
By knowing what people are talking and thinking about, we create more relevant content. It also helps us to connect the dots between different technologies and market forces.
Plus, reading tech news makes research go a lot more smoothly. Knowing where to look for an expert quote or a data point and then being able to provide credible links is a big gain, especially within the context of optimizing a B2B tech content strategy.
If you market cybersecurity solutions or services, for instance, knowing about the latest big hack and both the red side and blue side technologies that played a role will help you develop your thinking, which results in a better end product.
Every entry in this list indicates both the cost and owner of each of these publications. Knowing who owns what helps us to identify bias, which is omnipresent in the media, though some publications are more objective and “trustworthy” than others (even in a post-truth era).
Prices are current at time of publishing and subject to change.
Please also keep in mind that this list is far from exhaustive. It also does not include social or sharing sites, such as Reddit.
1. WIRED
Price: $29.99 annually for both digital and print subscriptions. Digital-only is the same price.
Owner: Condé Nast, which is owned by Advance Publications.
If there’s one publication that technology marketers need to follow, it’s WIRED. Their in-depth reporting covers technology at large, making this magazine as relevant for bioengineering as it is for IT, quantum, and industrial tech companies.
Their storytelling ability is unmatched in the category.
Their reporters dig deep to find the story beneath the story and to showcase the people behind it. The writing is great, the perspectives are fresh, and this is one that you definitely need to follow.
2. Forbes
Price: $6.99 monthly or $49.99 annually for a digital subscription. Print magazine is separate.
Owner: Integrated Whale Media Investment Inc and the Forbes family.
For technology coverage from a business-forward perspective, it’s hard to beat Forbes.
The Forbes Technology Council includes senior-level executives from across the tech sector, ranging from startup founders to CEOs of multinational corporations. Their staff also covers an immense range of topics.
Being able to access the content for quotes and data alone makes the subscription worth paying.
3. The New York Times
Price: $17 every four weeks for digital subscription; $20 every four weeks for digital subscription + Sunday paper.
Owner: The New York Times Company, chaired by A.G. Sulzberger.
While the New York Times is my newspaper of choice, there are plenty of good alternatives. Whether you choose the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, or any other reputable news outlet, staying current is essential for tech marketers.
Of course the technology section is most relevant for our purposes, but business, opinion, and even world and US news are worth reading. You never know what might unlock an insight for you.
The Times in particular is known for editorial excellence, making this newspaper it ideal for helping us take on new perspectives, challenge our assumptions, and see which way the wind is blowing.
4. Ars Technica
Price: Free, though a Pro version is available for $25 annually.
Owner: Condé Nast.
Ars Technica excels at straightforward technology reporting. Many of their articles are more technically minded than others on this list, making them great for marketers who want to go super deep in their niche without complete descent into ultratechnical writing.
According to their About Us page, Ars caters to “alpha geeks,” by which they mean “technologists and IT professionals.” They do an excellent job covering the changing technology landscape from a variety of angles, including business, policy, science, and engineering.
5. Harvard Business Review
Price: $12 monthly or $120 annually for digital and print. Digital-only is the same.
Owner: Harvard Business Publishing, “a not-for-profit, wholly-owned subsidiary of Harvard University.”
Harvard Business Review (HBR) is similar to Forbes in that much of their its content sits in the sweet spot at the intersection of business and technology.
Also like Forbes, HBR is eminently quotable. This publication features great research and statistics, making HBRit an excellent source for marketers who want a better understanding of how technology drives business outcomes and how businesses think about investing in tech.
This is an ideal publication for the tech marketer in search of the big picture.
6. TechCrunch
Price: Some content is free. Premium content requires TechCrunch+ for $15 monthly or $99 annually.
Owner: Yahoo! Inc., which is owned by Apollo Global Management.
TechCrunch deserves their reputation for being the go-to source of information on startups, venture capital (VC), and other bleeding-edge tech topics. Like other publications on this list, they cover topics like artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and cryptocurrency.
The startup coverage is what really sets this publication apart. They also own Crunchbase, a database where you can find information about investment and funding, founders and leaders, and mergers and acquisitions.
If you’re in the startup or VC world, this is a must-read publication.
7. MIT Technology Review
Price: $120 annually for digital and print. $80 for digital-only.
Owner: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), editorially independent of the university.
It’s no surprise that the MIT Technology Review is a leading voice among technology publications. MIT is virtually synonymous with high-tech.
This publication has a lot in common with HBR, though instead of leaning more toward business, MIT Tech Reviewit focuses more on technology.
Readers can expect to find useful insights and analysis, like their 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2023 annual report.
8. The Next Web
Price: Free.
Owner: The Financial Times is the majority stakeholder.
The Next Web, aka TNW, focuses more on the European technology sector than many of the US-centric publications that we’ve covered so far. But that doesn’t mean TNW is only for European technologists.
In addition to helping us understand technology from a more global context, paying attention to Europe in particular is important because the European Union (EU) is well known for its trailblazing legislation.
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), for instance, was the first data rights regulation of its kind, and we’ve seen it serve as a model for US legislators who passed laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). It’s currently on a similar trajectory with the upcoming EU AI Act.
Readers can expect coverage on sustainability, “deep tech,” ecosystems, and more.
9. Industry-specific publications
Price and ownership: Varied.
This one depends on your company’s specific niche—and there are a lot to choose from. For instance, industrial technology marketers should keep up with Automation World, but even within that industry there are subsegments to keep in mind.
If your company deals in industrial heat-treating equipment, for example, there’s Thermal Processing, whereas marketers at control systems providers will be more interested in Control Engineering.
Do some digging to find what’s most applicable to your situation. Or tap into your internal resources and ask some of the product people at your company if there are any publications they trust.
Even if you don’t understand every word, familiarizing yourself with the language, the triumphs, and the issues of the people in your industry will help you become a more fluent marketer.
10. Blogs
Price and ownership: Varied.
It’s also a good idea to follow some of the blogs run by major players in your industry, especially those of your competition. This helps you to keep your finger on the pulse and use your own marketing platform to address issues they aren’t talking about.
A cybersecurity marketer, for instance, may choose to follow blogs from:
Of course, your job isn’t just to understand technology—it’s to market it! I also recommend HubSpot’s blog as a great resource for all things digital marketing.For more specific information on B2B technology content marketing, don’t forget about the blog you’re on right now!
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING?
Get more, straight to your inbox.
Type 1 vs. Type 2 reading
It’s a lot to keep up with. But at the same time, that’s what’s so appealing about being a tech marketer or content creator.
Our field is dynamic and exciting; it’s physically impossible to stay plugged into every innovation, but at least getting the headlines from trusted sources will give you a strong foundation. From there, you can follow your curiosity and your niche to drill down.
There are two types of reading that go into technology marketing. Type 1 is directed research that seeks to answer specific questions for a project, and Type 2 is unguided, undirected exploration.
That means flipping through a magazine to discover a story you never would have otherwise picked up. It means heading to a home page or opening the Sunday Times to follow your curiosity. This activity may not seem as immediately relevant to your work as Type 1, directed reading, but make no mistake: many of your best ideas may come from it.
In my personal experience, especially for long-form content creation, being able to draw connections and contextualize technology within a broader perspective is crucial.
It’s what sets apart genuine, insightful thought leadership from AI-generated babble.
Building a daily reading habit
That’s why my day always starts with Type 2 reading.
For you the best time may be different, but I personally love to spend an hour getting into work mode with a coffee and a print publication or book.
Type 2 reading gets the mind going and focuses the attention.
By devoting that time to keeping up with our chosen publications, we create real business value. It’s not as easy to measure as some things—though one could keep track of some arbitrary record like number of articles read—but that does not at all diminish the significance of the work.
You’re still reading this article instead of watching a video, so obviously you like words. Now get yourself a WIRED subscription and work on that reading habit.
(I am not sponsored by or affiliated with WIRED.)
Beat the algorithm
Still need convincing? Here’s another reason to follow your chosen publications: no algorithmic mediation.
People get tons of articles through social media, and, as marketers, most of us also have no choice but to be on social media as part of our jobs. We’re going to click sometimes just like everyone else, and that’s okay in moderation.
The problem comes in when all the information we’re getting is being fed to us by an algorithm. It makes our thinking more ingrained; we see a higher incidence of prejudice, bias, and closed-mindedness as a result of the echo chamber effect.
Or we search for information through a search engine like Google that uses personalization to, again, show you results that reinforce your thinking.
For us, this translates to less exposure to what’s going on outside our industry bubbles.
By deliberately choosing to keep up with publications, we retain the benefits of being “fed,” but without the algorithm. We can choose the fountain from which we would like to drink.
If we trust the editors and their writers to challenge and inform us, keeping up with their publications will broaden our minds, refresh our perspectives, and help us remain open to the vast wonder that is technology.
Subscribe to a newsletter, get some physical magazines straight to your actual mailbox, or just bookmark one of these top 10 tech news sites in your browser.
Make sure your marketing team is full of readers
Many B2B tech companies look to content marketing agencies for all sorts of creative work: copywriting, video editing, graphic design, content writing, and more.
One of the questions you should be asking during during discovery is what they like to read.
And we’d love to talk to you about what you’ve been reading. Send us a message to start the conversation.
START HERE:
DOWNLOAD THE FREE CORE BRAND ELEMENTS TEMPLATE
Take the first step to branding your tech company. Use our free template to crystallize the foundational elements of your brand.
Related Posts
As demand for key minerals grows and their supply becomes constrained by geopolitical tensions, advanced industries are seeking alternative sources.
By understanding how to structure the digital marketing funnel, link the parts, and move people through it, you’ll create a mechanism for attracting customers, nurturing leads, and closing deals.