I don’t tend to think in terms of marketing as “marketing” or “digital marketing.” To me, it’s all just marketing. These are some of my favorite resources to learn more about both topics, though, however you define them. Many of these helped me as I was researching my book, Digital Reset: Driving Marketing and Customer Acquisition Beyond Big Tech (available for you to buy on Amazon). And they’re all useful as part of your digital reset.

A core learning technique I’ve developed is to watch for a topic that comes up repeatedly. If I see folks discuss the same topic or area multiple times, it’s usually a sign that I might need to learn more about it. I keep a list of those topics and drill down as time allows.

Once upon a time, I followed most everything on this page using a list on a late, lamented social media site.¹ Now, I mostly subscribe to these folks’ newsletters, follow them on LinkedIn or Bluesky, or read their blogs every week or so.

• Mark Schaefer’s blog. I read Mark almost every day. Amazing insights.
• TopRank® Marketing’s B2B Marketing Blog
• Search Engine Journal
• Search Engine Land
• Search Engine Roundtable
• Lily Ray’s blog. Lily is an SEO par excellence. She also is an outstanding critic of Google’s policies and practices. Well worth your time.
• MarTech – Marketing Technology News and Community for MarTech Professionals
• David Armano. David’s an outstanding marketer. I’m a fan of his work.
• Christina Garnett. I feel the same about Christina as I do about David Armano. Great perspectives on using creating community and customer connections using digital. You can follow Christina on LinkedIn.
• Brianne Fleming’s “By Popular Demand” Newsletter. Amazing social media insights.
• Brian Solis’s blog
• SparkToro’s blog
• Social Media Today

Digital Marketing Stats/Resources

I don’t read these every day, but all are invaluable sources of research and insights into the broader digital economy.

• Pew Research Center’s Internet & Technology research and data. Their overall research is essential, too.
• eCommerce | Statista
• SimilarWeb. Great tool for researching traffic and other key metrics of digital businesses.
• EMARKETER. Outstanding research group.
• Semrush
• Sprout Social

Digital Business

OK, sometimes “marketing” is focused more on the techniques and tactics. These folks help put our ongoing digital transformation into a broader context.

• Ben Thompson’s Stratechery newsletter. Must read.
• Techdirt
• The Verge
• TechCrunch
• Jason Kint – Digital Content Next. You can also follow Jason on Bluesky
• Ted Gioia’s The Honest Broker. Fantastic newsletter focused on music and media. But Gioia also offers some of the best analysis of how digital shapes the way we consume media. Definitely worth your time.
• Economic Innovation Group. Economic research.
• IAPP
• Cory Doctorow’s craphound.com . Cory is an author, social critic, and occasional curmudgeon. I don’t always agree with his perspective. You probably won’t either. And he’ll probably piss you off every now and again. But he’s worth reading all the same, if for no other reason than we all need an alternative perspective — maybe even a devil’s advocate arguing against the digital economy — every now and again.
• And, of course, I pay attention to quarterly earnings and other investor presentations from Big Tech (and their “Little Tech” compatriots/competitors):
  • Alphabet/Google Investor Relations
  • Meta/Facebook Investor Relations
  • Amazon.com Investor Relations
  • Apple Investor Relations
  • Microsoft Investor Relations

Artificial Intelligence

Finally, this is a short list of AI resources that I’m a fan of. There are a ton of others that I review less regularly, but wanted to make this at least somewhat digestible.

• Ethan Mollick’s One Useful Thing. Mollick is a professor of entrepreneurship at Wharton. His approach to AI is one of the most practical and insightful I’ve seen. Required reading.
• McKinsey’s Artificial Intelligence Insights & Articles. Say what you want about McKinsey. But they offer solid research and analysis around how AI is shaping many businesses today.
• MIT Technology Review. Love, love, love MIT’s Technology Review. Paywalled.

1: You probably know the site I’m talking about. Even if it’s still technically “alive,” it’s essentially a haven for some of the worst people in the world. I cannot in good conscience recommend them. Most of the folks on this list have great blogs or newsletters. Many post regularly on LinkedIn or Bluesky. I heartily recommend connecting with them using one of those channels.