How do you keep up with technology?

So I got the question "how do you keep up with technology" in an interview the other day and after giving my normal responses (forums, conversations with peers, my company, news) they pressed for more.

They wanted to more specifics and well I came up grasping at straws. Its just one of the things I just "do" I dont have a systematic approach to it. I consider myself an informed individual, maybe not on the bleeding edge of the newest technology out there but certainly not a laggard. If anything, I would place myself right on the edge between early-adopter to early-majority yet, I couldnt for the life of me explain how I "keep up"

How do I keep up with the world, geo-politics, etc? I read the news, I visit sites where its talked about, I discuss it with peers but I couldn't tell you where I saw "Syria uses chemical weapons" first or what sites I frequent to get that information. Was it on tv? MSN.com? CNN? BBC? I dont know... Same goes to me a technology...

So how do you respond to those types of questions?

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NetworkVeteran

apr911 wrote: »

So how do you respond to those types of questions?

With emerging technologies a search of these forums or chatting up my peers is unlikely to turn up much. Indeed, I'm increasing my knowledge about a technology today some are already using and ~70% of North American carriers intend to use, and not a single hit on these forums! You don't learn these by Osmosis or textbooks.

I would place myself right on the edge between early-adopter to early-majority

Without knowing what's brewing out there, how can you make an informed decision about which opportunities are a good match for your company, one(s) where you should adopt an early leadership role?

So how do you respond to those types of questions?

You could cite the conferences, trade shows, and other "previews" you attended, working groups you're a member of, relevant magazines you read/subscribe to, etc. And, of course, how you leveraged that information!

NetworkVeteran

apr911 wrote: »

I couldn't tell you where I saw "Syria uses chemical weapons" first or what sites I frequent to get that information. Was it on tv? MSN.com? CNN? BBC? I dont know...

Where you first heard the possibility isn't as important as the final evidence you based your conclusion on. Do you believe Assad used chemical weapons because Kerry said so, because of a commentator's analysis of the intelligent report released by the White House, based on the actual report, based on YouTube videos, etc.

(Yours is a good example in that there's some disagreement on both who used the weapons and the proper response. Although, for an emerging technology, there are typically much fewer sources.)

Similarly, for emerging technologies I usually note down the source for learned facts. An RFC carries more weight than a product manager's talk, which in turn carries more weight than an article based on that talk.

apr911

Hi NetworkVeteran,

Thanks for the reply. Either I missed the mark in what I was trying to ask or I missed the point you were trying to convey. I appreciate your replies and they certainly raise some good points but I was less interested in the why the question was asked or the how you reach conclusions but I was specifically interested in the how you lend structure to something that is generally lacking in structure.

That was where I brought Syria in as an example not because I reached one conclusion or another but because there is a barrage of information being sent at us in regards to it. Its being covered by most major new sources both in the US and abroad (each with its own slant, opinion and argument of course), people are writing blog posts, twitter entries, facebook posts and people are discussing it amongst each other.

My point is there was no one definitive source for information or method that I have used to keep up with the Syria situation both before and after the reported chemical attacks (when it wasnt covered by the US news, it was covered by foreign media, etc). I find for me at least its the same with technology so how do you filter and say "well I keep up with the world by following/citing/reading/etc 'XYZ'" when in reality your sources probably also include A through W.

While new technology generally has a smaller number of sources on an individual basis, it simultaneously has an exponentially larger number of sources as a whole because there are so many "new" technologies.

The questions wasnt "how do you keep up with technology X" or "how would you go about finding out more about technology Y" to which specific processes, resources, RFC's or other documentation could be discussed, cited or used. The question was more broadscope and open ended, I mean I could list articles I read, magazines Ive subscribed to, organizations Im part of, etc all day long but its still not going to be answer "how do you keep up with technology" question. Thats assuming I can even recall all the various sources, web subscriptions or organizations I receive dozens of emails or pieces of information from in any given week.

So how do you take that deluge of information, sources, etc and par it down to an answer that doesnt just rattle of a bunch of magazine/organizational names but doesnt come across as "I just do."

NetworkVeteran

I mean I could list articles I read, magazines Ive subscribed to, organizations Im part of, etc all day long but its still not going to be answer "how do you keep up with technology" question. Thats assuming I can even recall all the various sources, web subscriptions or organizations I receive dozens of emails or pieces of information from in any given week.

A systematic approach might be that you regularly read or scan sources A, B, and C. As an example, for a recent medical interview (I know, I get around!) I asked a candidate how they keep up on medical technology and they said they regularly read JAMA. This was something laudable, specific, and measurable. I then proceeded to Google and ask them about articles articles from the past year relevant to their specialty until they admitted they only read it "once in awhile".

I was specifically interested in the how you lend structure to something that is generally lacking in structure.

I suppose one simply decides it's important enough to have a process, and once you have a process you can measure how well it achieves the results you need and improve upon it over time (e.g., Plan-Do-Check-Act).

Of course, none of this precludes you occasionally learning things out-of-process.

NetworkVeteran

Also, the processes of learning of new technologies can be quite different then learning about new technologies.

You have to hear the question, "Did Syria use chemical weapons?" from one of your regular sources (say, CNN, BBC, and Al Jazeera) before you can begin investigating that actual usage. Unless, of course, you waited until much of the world already knew and was talking about the question (as I admit I did, since Syria is not my specialty area!)

devils_haircut

As someone who has sat on both sides of the hiring table, I have to say that there are some tactics that hiring personnel use that are really very basic but can also be annoying when you know what they're doing. One of those is pausing for 5-10 seconds after every question you answer in order to get you to keep talking. I usually just smile and stare back at them. Another is to press people for more information even after they have answered to the best of their knowledge, like in your scenario. The whole point is just to keep you talking so they can learn more about you, or possibly see how you react to difficult situations or questions. I wouldn't worry so much about the question itself, they were probably just trying to get you to keep talking.

krjay

I don't think an interviewer is trying to determine if you know the definitions of the latest buzz word on cio.com, or read through forums. If I were hiring a windows admin for example I'd ask him that question to make sure he has kept up with Windows Server. Is he still using 2003 and hasn't even bothered to learn what 2008 or 2012 have to offer? A decent summary of a response to me would be "I keep up by studying for certs, I also play around with 2012 VM's to learn about new features, I fill in the blanks with white pages and other documentation online".

whatthehell

If I got this question during an interview, I would essentially rattle off the following:

Sites:
Slashdot
https://news.ycombinator.com/
Mashable Tech
TechExams (woot!)
MSDN

Mags:
PC World (formerly print)
Wired
Maximum PC
ComputerWorld

Other:
Word of mouth as I am constantly surrounded by nerds at work and in my personal life.

Thoughts:
Maybe it would be a good idea to join an organization like IEEE?

Anyway, just my thoughts...anyone have any other ways they keep up? anyone have any other ways they would answer this question?