Our
last few blog posts highlighted our favorite productivity and networking tips. Today,
the BOCA team wanted to share some of the websites we find most helpful in our
day-to-day activities. You can constantly refer to these free resources when
you hit a workday slump. It was tough to narrow down a list, but here they are,
grouped by category.
Useful web portals
PR Daily: Here you’ll find relevant PR content such as informative
articles about what makes an effective PR campaign, how to pitch reporters, top trends, controversial news stories and more. PR Daily also
features useful how-to articles that extend beyond PR to offer help with writing, social media tips and other advice.
Techmeme: Similar to other web
portals, Techmeme curates a variety of tech-related content all in one handy
location. The top stories and trending news are featured right on the front page,
all from prominent news websites like the Wall Street Journal, VentureBeat,
Bloomberg, and others. The site also features sponsored content from major tech
companies, a leaderboard section, and a river tab, which conveniently lists new articles by date and time.
Lifehacker: This website/blog hybrid
provides many helpful productivity and lifestyle tips that are not only great
for improving your work performance, but also your mental health. You’ll
discover articles about finding your best work hours, how to communicate complex tech terms to
people,
why being lazy can help you and more.
Automatic tools
Google Alerts: Speaking of being lazy,
how would you like to become an expert on PR news and other tech topics in a
matter of weeks? Sign up for Google Alerts and add relevant keywords that apply
to your business, like SaaS, the cloud, or APIs, and get daily updates about
them sent directly to your e-mail. With a fresh reading list every day, you'll
be more knowledgeable in no time.
Newsle: This website shows all
your LinkedIn and Facebook connections’ published articles, in addition to
those from public figures and journalists. Newsle is a valuable resource for
understanding reporters’ writing styles, what topics are important to them and
other relevant media information.
Helpful search websites
Crunchbase: This a great resource
that’s useful for analyzing data, looking at popular news figures’ profiles and
for a more detailed description of tech companies in your network.
Crunchbase also includes helpful graphs, investment funding numbers, tech event
schedules and company performance comparison charts.
Lanyrd: Overwhelmed by the amount
of tech conferences spread all over the world and unsure of which ones to
attend? This website not only helps you find event details, but also tracks
which ones your friends and networking professionals attend too.
Websites for
brainstorming new topics
Stumbleupon: Looking for some inspiration for your next PR campaign or want
to find relevant stories to pitch to a reporter? Try out Stumbleupon for trending
ideas, links to websites, photos and other things you might never have discovered,
generated based on your likes and dislikes.
Ubersuggest: If you have an idea for a
client try this website to find things to enhance your understanding of it.
Just type in a term like analytics and hundreds of keyword suggestions related
to your search materialize alphabetically such as analytics e-commerce or
analytics metrics.
Quora: Sometimes instead of
searching for something on your own it’s better to ask some experts about a
particular topic. Quora provides you with answers from many people so you'll
always get multiple unique responses to your question.
Quick references to
improve writing
TechTerms: Working in tech you’ll
come across a lot of words that sound like rocket science if you're not a
developer. Techterms is a great resource for understanding complex tech words and
acronyms like DMZ, algorithm, or ZIF, and shows how to easily explain them to others too.
Grammar Girl: Even the best writers make mistakes, so getting some assistance
with your grammar is nothing to be frowned upon. Grammar Girl not only helps
check your writing for typos and punctuation errors, but also includes useful
tips spread across different categories like tech and more.
Thesaurus: Use this website when you
find yourself repeating the same words over and again. Just a few minutes of
changing your vocabulary can liven up your writing and make it more interesting
to readers.
We hope
you found our guide to web resources for PR professionals useful. Add this page
to your bookmarks to keep a handy list of resources at your fingertips.
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