Starting-up in business can feel like a treacherous path, laden with obstacles, dead-ends, and financial risks.
It can feel like no-one is there to hold your hand. And for small- and micro-businesses, that isolation can be lonely.
However:
You’re absolutely not on your own.
If you’re growing and scaling up a new business, you need advice from the business pioneers who have been there before you.
And, luckily, the web offers rich pickings.
But you’re spoilt for choice. And not all business blogs are equal, impartial, or reliable.
So, we’ve done some digging and have identified the most interesting and the most trustworthy business blogs to help you get the answers and the support that you need to make your small business a success.
Our Top Tech Blogs for Small Business Owners
1. Wired.com
Wired.com is an established authority on emerging technologies; examining how technological innovation affects culture, politics, and world economies. Starting out as a print publication in 1993, the website launched the following year.
There’s been a massive array of guest and staff writers, including visionaries such as Douglas Coupland (author of Generation X, and the definer of 90s counter-culture), and several celebrities who have been guest editors: JJ Abrams, Barak Obama, Serena Williams, and Christopher Nolan to name but a few.
In February 2018, Wired.com was paywalled, offering users just four free articles each month. It’s surprisingly affordable, though.
For a year’s subscription ($10) you get ad-free browsing, a subscription to the print edition, and access to the digital edition of the magazine.
Interestingly, Wired.co.uk doesn’t appear to have a paywall for similar content.
Wired.com covers the following categories:
- Business – examining the business affairs of the planet’s biggest brands, such as Apple, Amazon, YouTube, Google
- Culture – the world of movies, podcasts, gaming, music, and internet
- Gear – the cutting edge of gadgetry.
- Ideas – the world of disruption and cultural commentary
- Science – how technology is affecting and changing the environmental planet
- Security – the world of cybercrime, online protection, and security threat
- Transportation – the evolution of travel tech
- Photo – still and video image technology; what you can do and what you can’t with a camera
- Backchannel – delivering revealing tech stories in a single, weekly blog post
Wired is a reliable source, having never failed a fact check by the International Fact-Checking Network. Their writers rely solely on a range of credible sources (such as Associated Press, New York Times, Bloomberg) and have a pro-science bent.
2. Fast Company
Fast Company’s tagline is “The Future of Business,” which pretty succinctly sums up their focus. We wholeheartedly recommend this source for small and micro-business start-up entrepreneurs.
Launching in 1995, Fast Company (FC) is widely considered to be one of the web’s most reliable sources of business and technology news; as well as having a keen interest in design and its cultural impact.
Their online offering focuses on:
- Leadership
- Business innovation
- Environmental and social issues
- Marketing
- Entertainment
This focused portfolio makes FC an excellent choice for disruptive, tech-driven micro-businesses who are learning the ropes as they go.
FC runs a franchise known as “Most Innovative Companies,” examining business models and the real-world impact of thousands of organizations. If you’re looking for reassurance that your paradigm-busting innovation is heading in the right direction, this is the place to look.
MediaBiasFactCheck considers FC to have a Left to Center Bias, with high reliability regarding their factual reporting; only ever citing reliable sources.
3. Futurism.com
If your small business is technology or science-based, then Futurism.com could be the blogging site for you.
Unlike the previous sites, Futurism is purely web-based with no hard copy publication. This could set the alarm bells ringing for some old-schoolers, but their factual reporting is considered to be of high quality according to MediaBiasFactCheck.
Futurism explores scientific discoveries and breakthrough technologies that have the potential to shape humanity’s future.
Their mission is to empower readers, bolstering the development of transformative, interactive technologies, while driving human potential towards its maximum.
This is all rather grandiose, perhaps, but the content is substantiated by genuine scientific research and low-biased media partners.
Many entrepreneurs consider Futurism.com to be an excellent source for cutting edge, future tech.
You can sign up for a daily newsletter containing links to their latest articles.
4. The Verge
The Verge is a multi-award winning website focusing on long-form features, news items, guidebooks, podcasts, and product reviews.
A relative newcomer, The Verge has been publishing high-quality journalistic content since 2011.
The Verge publishes several weekly podcasts:
- The Vergecast – weekly tech news with interviews from modern tech luminaries
- The Verge Mobile Show – focusing on mobile phone technology
- Crtl-Walt-Delete – hosted by celebrated tech reviewer, Walt Mossberg, exploring the modern tech landscape
- The Verge What’s Tech podcast – voted as one of iTunes’ best podcasts of 2015.
- Why’d You Push That Button? – exploring the choices that fast-moving technology is forcing us to make
There’s a left-center bias (see a pattern developing here?) with high-quality factual reporting, but with less of a political slant than the previous blog sites.
They rely on credible sources when substantiating facts, and wherever politics enter the conversation, it’s solely with a technology angle.
5. FossBytes
FossBytes explores tech news with a focus on Linux releases, hacking and security stories, and a wealth of tutorials, hacks, and tips.
Based in India, Fossbytes concentrates on emerging technology trends, with a particular slant on start-ups. This makes the site a valuable source of competitor activity, especially for the small- and micro-business sector.
Fossbytes gets over 5 million page views each month and has a significant social media presence (with over 500K followers).
6. A List Apart
A List Apart’s tagline is “for people who make websites.” Their carefully curated content has a distinct focus on best practice and web-standards.
But it’s not just for web developers (although a lot of the tech might go over your head if you’re not).
They offer a potent mix of web-based features, exploring innovations, breakthroughs, and developments.
The webzine started in 1997 as a mailing list (hence the name), sharing only content that met their high editorial standards. They wanted to cut through the noise, featuring the cream of the crop of the technology content flooding the web.
A List Apart remains a reliable and trustworthy source of web innovation and cyber-cultural comment.
The Bottom Line
Keeping abreast of the technological landscape is essential for any new business, and reading should become part of your daily task-list.
Keep your favored blog site on an interactive display in your office and keep your small teams informed of the latest trends, changes, and developments; as they happen.
Guest Author
Natalie Harris-Briggs
Natalie Harris-Briggs is the VP of Marketing at Avocor. She is an expert in the technology & audio industry with over 20 years’ experience working in sales and marketing for some of the world’s biggest brands. She has a passion for helping companies grow and introducing new technologies on a global scale. You can follow her here: https://twitter.com/natalieharris77
