Industry News
In this section we have gathered some of the most popular information sources, such as trade journals, magazines, blogs, and association websites. Industry information is always changing. For the latest news, current issues and popular opinions, try following one or more of these sources. In addition, interacting with the websites that provide this information through commenting and asking questions may also provide you with more information.
Associations
Trade associations often publish free industry newsletters that are excellent sources of information for your business plan. Such newsletters often have articles that cover in-depth topics on business management, manufacturing practices, how-tos, and current industry news.
Canadian Associations
The Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC) | The GDC has been setting the standards for design professionals since 1956. Check out their News & Events page to get involved with their work.
VIATEC (Victoria Innovation, Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurship Council) | VIATEC is an association that serves the Greater Victoria technology community. They aim to create “the most cohesive tech community in the world” by offering a variety of programs, services, and advocacy, as well as their own flexible workspace at Fort Tectoria. Check out their Short and Sweet E-Bulletin to sign up for their newsletter.
International Associations
The American Society for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T) | ASIS&T is a society for information professionals leading the search for new and better theories, techniques, and technologies to improve access to information. Check out the publications in their Digital Library.
International Webmasters Association (IWA) | The IWA is a non-profit professional association, and is a recognized leader in providing educational and certification standards for Web professionals. Check out the Industry Standards page.
Internet Society (ISOC) | The ISOC is a nonprofit organization founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. They aim to utilize the Internet to make the world a better place; check out their data-driven sources on measuring the impact of the Internet.
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) | W3C is an international community where member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop web standards.
Magazines & Trade Journals
Trade associations often publish free industry newsletters that are excellent sources of information for business planning. Such newsletters often have articles that cover in-depth topics on business management, manufacturing practices, how-tos, and current industry news.
.net Magazine | .net is the world’s best-selling magazine for web designers and developers, featuring tutorials from leading agencies, interviews with the web’s biggest names, and features on the hottest issues affecting the internet today.
Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology (JASIST) | JASIST is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that aims to build intellectual leadership through discussion, research, and development within subjects of information science and technology. UBC affiliates and in-person library patrons can learn more about accessing this resource at the UBC Library.
Gadget Magazine | Gadget features the latest tech products and trends and explains how they work. Check out their tutorials for how-to guides for design and coding projects.
Journal of Information Architecture | Published irregularly, the Journal of Information Architecture is an international peer-reviewed scholarly journal. Its aim is to facilitate the development of the scientific body of knowledge in the field of information architecture.
Smashing Magazine | The editors of Smashing Magazine cover both non-technical and technical topics in web design, from taking the stress out of design system management to designing accessible front-end responsive tables. The magazine offers an impressive array of resources, including articles, books, conferences, and workshops, on web design and development.
Website Magazine | Website Magazine, led by 20-year industry veteran Pete Prestipino, covers design, psychology, marketing, user experience, analytics, and more for the largest community of digital professionals on the Web.
Web Designer Magazine | Web Designer Magazine offers byte-sized tips and tricks for programming responsive design and a good user experience with several of the most common coding languages.
Consultant & Other Websites
MarketWatch - Industry Analyzer | The Industries section contains current data on Dow Jones Industry Sectors. Aggregate data as well as company-specific data is available.
PriceWaterhouse Coopers Canada (PwC) | Global consultancy firm that produces reports on the state of various industries.
Firsthand | A free source of industry information. Use the Industry Profiles to research growing industries and best industries by major, and Company Rankings and Profiles to find news, company information, and industry-specific sample professions. Basic monthly membership is free and offers access to blogs, discussion forums, and job listings.
- Internet Content
- Communications
- Design
- Back-End Developers
- Full-stack Developers and Engineers
- Javascript Developers
- Internet Developers
- Internet Consultants
- Webmasters
Skilled Immigrant InfoCentre | This free resource created by the Vancouver Public Library is an online and in-person resource that helps newcomers to Canada find information to get a job, explore different careers or start a business.
- Fastest-Growing Industries: Digital Entertainment and Interactive Media
- Fastest-Growing Industries: Tech
Blogs, Podcasts & Discussion Forums
Blogs
Smashing Magazine | This popular site- also a magazine- features posts on all aspects of graphics, coding, and design, and includes resources on UX/UI Design, WordPress, Coding, and Photoshop.
Treehouse | A community for web designers and developers that includes articles and video tutorials on topics such as: HTML, CSS, Ruby on Rails, and jQuery.
Webdesigner Depot | This blog is a joint effort and collaboration between leading designers from around the world.
SitePoint | SitePoint is a no-fuss, one-stop shop for web design topics and introductions to various parts of web design and development. Its recent topics include an introduction to the container platform Docker, an introduction to the uses of Python, and the best APIs for developers.
CSS-Tricks | CSS Tricks hosts a wealth of articles and videos pertaining to the usage of CSS for front-end web development. Check out their extensive almanac for terminology or connect to the community run by their parent company, DigitalOcean.
David Walsh Blog | David Walsh, senior software engineer at MetaMask and former senior software engineer at Mozilla, shares his decades of expertise in web design and development, including his philosophy and approach, with a special focus on his area of interest, front-end technologies and libraries.
Podcasts
Developer Tea | Started in 2015 with a mission to “help engineers find clarity, perspective, and purpose in regular short bursts of high-quality content”, Developer Tea offers gems on everything from not fearing AI taking coding jobs to focusing on your daily influence.
Front End Happy Hour | Front End Happy Hour features software engineers from Twitch, Netflix, and Atlassian discussing how to develop one’s career as well as technical topics like Javascript. Recent episodes have discussed the impact of the late 2022 layoffs across the tech industry on morale and the difference between public and private sector tech.
Complete Developer Podcast | The Complete Developer Podcast aims to cover the aspects of a programmer’s life that aren’t about languages or coding. Friends BJ and Will bring their respective strengths to this endeavor, talking about both specific frameworks and the larger issues that affect coders.
Talk Python to Me | Talk Python To Me is a weekly podcast hosted by developer and entrepreneur Michael Kennedy. He brings on experienced software developers, hobbyists, observers, data scientists, and more industry professionals to dive deep into the popular packages for Python and the incredible things done with them.
JavaScript Jabber | JavaScript Jabber is a weekly discussion led by top-end JavaScript developers, talking about all things front-end programming. Recent topics include a primer on what is and is not front end programming, and how to recession-proof one’s job.
The Changelog | A bit broader in its coverage than just website design and development, The Changelog bills itself as a “polyglot podcast” with “conversations with the leaders, hackers, and innovators of the software world”. It’s a great podcast to keep up with the changing world of software overall; check out their Monday roundups for short primers on what’s happening in this world.
Discussion Forums
Stack Overflow | Stack Overflow aims to build the definitive database of coding questions and answers. Use the link above to sign up through Facebook.
Graphic Design Forum - Web Design | GDF is one of the largest graphic design forums with over 20,000 members.
Sitepoint Forum | A community of about 250,000 members discussing topics such as coding, marketing, accessibility, etc.
TIP: As with all sources, news articles and blogs should be carefully evaluated. For information on how to evaluate your information, watch video tutorial Module Five: Using Information Responsibly.