What are the best ways to keep up with industry events and opportunities?

1 Subscribe to newsletters and blogs

One of the easiest ways to keep up with industry events and opportunities is to subscribe to newsletters and blogs that curate and share them. You can find newsletters and blogs that focus on your specific niche, or cover a broader range of topics related to creativity and innovation. For example, you can subscribe to newsletters from organizations like IDEO, CreativeMornings, or Design Council, or blogs like Fast Company, The Creative Independent, or 99U. These sources can help you find out about upcoming events, webinars, podcasts, courses, awards, and more.

2 Follow social media accounts and hashtags

Another way to keep up with industry events and opportunities is to follow social media accounts and hashtags that post and promote them. You can use platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook to follow influencers, organizations, publications, or communities that are relevant to your field and interests. You can also use hashtags to search for and join conversations about specific topics, themes, or events. For example, you can follow accounts like @creativereview, @innovatorsmag, or @wired, or hashtags like #creativity, #innovation, or #designthinking.

4 Network with peers and mentors

A fourth way to keep up with industry events and opportunities is to network with peers and mentors who can inform and inspire you. You can use online or offline channels to connect and communicate with people who work in your industry, share your passion, or have similar goals. You can also use online or offline channels to seek and offer advice, feedback, support, or collaboration. For example, you can use platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, or Clubhouse to network with peers and mentors, or platforms like MentorCruise, Clarity, or SCORE to find and work with mentors.

5 Explore new sources and perspectives

A fifth way to keep up with industry events and opportunities is to explore new sources and perspectives that can challenge and enrich your creativity and innovation skills. You can use online or offline channels to discover and access sources and perspectives that are outside your usual scope, domain, or comfort zone. You can also use online or offline channels to expose yourself to diverse and interdisciplinary inputs, outputs, and feedback. For example, you can use platforms like TED, Medium, or Coursera to explore new sources and perspectives, or platforms like OpenIDEO, Innocentive, or Kaggle to participate in cross-sectoral and cross-cultural challenges and opportunities.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?