Tech Newsletters To Read in 2025

We’re all busy people. So busy, it feels impossible to keep up with the things that we actually want to keep up with. For me, I have always followed the tech industry — and I also work in it. There’s a pro/con that’s a little like this: On the plus side, I really to read and write about topics that are genuinely interesting to me.

The hard part? There’s just way too much information about the tech industry out there. No one single person can keep up.

And that’s why everyone loves newsletters so much: we subscribe to a newsletter to get a pulse on a topic or industry that we’d otherwise forget or never have time for. The best part is there’s no barrier to entry: even if you’re a newbie to your given field or interest, newsletters will get you understanding in no time.

So, here, at the tail-end of the year, I recommend my favorite tech newsletters to check out and subscribe to in 2024. Instead of ranking them, I’ve summed them up briefly. We’ll cover topics like cybersecurity, software engineering, threat research, SEO, and — in case you haven’t been paying attention — AI.  Here we go!

(Prefer podcasts? Check out these cybersecurity podcast recommendations.)

Newsletter for thinking beyond the hype: The Markup: Hello World

I’ve long been a fan of the work that The Markup continues to do, despite previous editor Julia Angwin’s departure to The New York Times. The Markup is a nonprofit newsrooms (yes, they do exist) that wants to challenge technology to serve the public good. Their journalism isn’t just about educating—it’s about enabling: the Markup team investigates, creates web tools, and even shares blueprints.

Their recent newsletter about web scraping sums it up: “At The Markup, we and our sources have used scrapers to: show…

• How posts made by Amazon Ring owners were forwarded to local police, possibly without the posters’ knowledge.
• How people living in poorer, less white neighborhoods paid the same for slow internet service as people in other neighborhoods paid for fast connections.
• How Facebook collects information about visitors to dozens of popular websites that target kids.

Sign up for Hello World & other newsletters: https://themarkup.org/newsletter

Newsletter for cyber threat research that’s exactly what your org needs: SURGe Alerts

Let me be clear: I’ll read anything that any SURGe team member publishes.

SURGe is a team of security experts dedicated to researching, responding to, and educating about threats that impact the world. With SURGe Alerts, you’ll get notified quickly when their rapid response guides for high-profile security incidents publish: these guides aid in detection, investigation and response workflows. You can also expect:

• Quarterly newsletters highlighting the latest SURGe research, blogs, presentations, and industry conference involvement
• Priority or exclusive access to SURGe events and activities

Sign up here: https://www.splunk.com/en_us/form/surge-alerts.html

Newsletter for real-world security that talks about AI: Walter Haydock’s Deploy Securely

Walter Haydock is a security expert who does not shy away from the tough answers — and he is no doubt more up to date on the cyber landscape than most of us. He also asks tough questions, like whether a U.S. agency’s approach to AI is the right move for cybersecurity.

Haydock’s writing is also easy to digest, so even if you’re not pen testing things yourself, you can still get plenty of value from it.

Sign up here: https://blog.stackaware.com/

Newsletter that tackles the real effects of big data & big computing: World Wide Waste

If you’ve researched any angle of sustainable technology, then Gerry McGovern is already familiar to you. He’s been publishing World Wide Waste, a weekly email, since 1996. His focus is narrow and sometimes in contradiction to what the rest of the tech industry wants us to think: we need less data than we think we do. We certainly don’t need to keep it forever.

Per his official bio, McGovern helps “organizations reduce data waste by designing simpler, lighter, more environmentally friendly websites and apps.” To that end, he reduced his newsletter publications and instituted an annual €10 subscription, to help offset the environment cost of emails. It’s absolutely still worth the price, though you can read older editions on his website.

Sign up here: https://gerrymcgovern.com/  

Newsletter for real SEO research written by women: Women in Tech SEO

If you work in or near SEO, or just want to understand this underrated website strategy, I recommend the newsletter from Women in Tech SEO. WiTSEO is a professional group only for people who identify as women, though their newsletter is open for everyone to receive and read.

The monthly roundup includes a lot of expert-led research and strategies that are not limited to search engine optimization: they might influence how you’re thinking about your digital marketing along side emerging trends. The latest edition, for example, included topics like:

• Thinking about search beyond Google
• Using ChatGPT for SEO and other use cases
• Getting started with Google Analytics 4, a major enterprise analytics tool

Sign up here: https://www.womenintechseo.com/newsletter/

Newsletter for software fanboys & fangirls: Coté’s Wunderkammer

I’ve been following Michael Coté’s work for years. One part of the popular team behind the Software Defined Talk pod, and also author of several books, I know him best through his frequent newsletter. A brief summation, from Coté himself:

My newsletter is mostly software, cloud, DevOps, platform engineering stuff from a culture, process, & business angle. Also, the occasional travel and IRL talk, links & other fun found stuff.

For anyone in software development, particularly those interested in how large organizations use their own (and other) software and software methodologies to run their businesses, read more from Coté and his network. Sign up here: https://newsletter.cote.io/

Newsletter for people who prefer slides: Benedict Evans

"Slides Benedict", real name: Benedict Evans. This guy is a go-to IT researcher known for his newsletter and his annual slideshows. He’s just released his latest presentation for 2024: “AI, and everything else.”

For weekly updates, though, you can pay to receive his weekly newsletter. The more patient among us, however, can opt for the free version that comes out a couple days later. Sign up here: https://www.ben-evans.com/newsletter

(Related reading: Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends.)

Newsletter for understanding Big Tech financials: Clouded Judgment

Clouded Judgment bills itself as a data-driven analysis of SaaS companies. In the words of Stephen Watts, Clouded Judgment is “the definitive newsletter on Big Tech financials. I'll admit to understanding very little of this but I try and I'm slowly learning.” So, if you want to follow the money, start here.

Sign up here: https://cloudedjudgement.substack.com/

Newsletter on financials that require translations: Money Stuff

Money Stuff from Bloomberg is not intentionally focused on IT and tech. However, probably more than half their newsletters cover financial engineering by IT firms, crypto shenanigans, and so forth. Must-read newsletter, though beware: it can be very dense.

Sign up here: https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/money-stuff

Cybersecurity newsletter with the best name: OUCH!

I agree with how OUCH! describes itself: “the world's leading, free security awareness newsletter designed for everyone.”

SANS is synonymous with cybersecurity expertise, of course. This marquee newsletter is great for its content alone, but as an editor myself, I really appreciate its approach: this monthly newsletter comes out in many languages, and it’s hyper-researched by the SANS Security Awareness team, including instructors and community members out in the world.

Sign up here: https://www.sans.org/newsletters/ouch/

Newsletter for digital marketers: Bob Hoffman’s The Ad Contrarian

Work in tech means you can be in marketing, too! Not focused solely on technology, this long-running newsletter is delivered intermittently. Still, for digital marketers, Bob Hoffman is required reading for coverage like Branding versus Marketing, data versus humans, data versus Elon Musk, and more.

Sign up here: https://www.bobhoffmanswebsite.com/newsletters

Newsletters we’ve been reading for years

These need basically no introduction:

• Hacker News
• News from Y Combinator
• Dark Reading
• DevOpsIsh
• DevOps Weekly
• SRE Weekly
• TechCrunch

Tips for reading newsletters

Reading newsletters is a noble goal, but don’t sign up for so many and then just ignore them. Instead, here are some tips for actually getting value from your reading.

Schedule your reading time

While newsletters are lovely, they do have one issue: they come when you have the least time to read them. So, take a tip from the pros and schedule in your newsletter catchup:

Read widely

Yes, if you’re a developer, sales engineer, or tech marketer, you might be reading the same things your team does. Nothing is wrong with that — but consider that if you’re reading the same things that your teammates are, what will you learn differently?

Audit what you enjoy

Just because you liked something years ago doesn’t mean you have to keep reading it now. Maybe you’ve lost interest, maybe the newsletter changed course.

Every few months, take a peek at which newsletters you’ve sent straight to the trash bin and not missed — you can unsubscribe from these (and save a tiny dent in the associated carbon emissions).

Happy reading!