Getting the most out of Medium as a product professional is down to a combination of what people, and also what publications, that you follow.
Back in September, I published a list of the top 25 people to follow on Medium if you’re a product manager. You can check it out below.
This post adds to your Medium arsenal by providing you with the best publications that will get your spidey senses tingling.
You might be surprised to know that, although there are hundreds of product-centred publications on Medium, many haven’t posted anything for a couple of years.
For example, publications like Building the Atlantic and Inside Intercom that might have been included had I written this a couple of years ago (ah 2018, simpler times!) just get an honourable mention.
Only a handful of publications continue to post regular, insightful content.
Here’s an overview of my favourites, split in to ‘product depth’ and ‘product breadth’.
Product depth
These are publications that will help you get super knowledgeable about product management as a discipline. After long enough following and reading content from these publications, you’ll be able to go on Mastermind and choose it as your specialist subject.
1. Product Coalition
By far and away the highest quantity of content, but it’s also quality stuff. I’m not just saying that because I write for them, I promise (scouts honour, or whatever).
The amount of content generated by Product Coalition writers and posted on a daily basis is astounding. In fact, they post on average X posts a day.
2. Product School
Product School is best described as a School for Product. Any further explanation would just complicate things.
Check out the write-ups of their AMAs (that they host on Slack) and interviews with product leaders.
3. Product Manager HQ
Co-Founder Clement Kao might be the only writer on PM HQ’s Medium publication, but it’s well worth a follow. He only posts about once a month, so it’s not exactly going to clog up your feed.
I’m also signed up to their weekly newsletter which consolidates some super interesting product-related reads, so check that out if you want more insight from the guys at PM HQ.
4. The Product Management Tag
Not strictly a publication (in fact, not a publication at all) but following the Product Management tag is an absolute must.
It is quite literally called Product Management, so it’s a no brainer to follow if you’re after Product Management content. Following this tag will allow you to fill in the gaps not covered by the 3 publications that I’ve already mentioned.
Tag, you’re it!
Product Breadth
So you’ve got your Mastermind specialist subject, but being a great product manager is about more than just mastering product itself. After all, product sits at the intersection of the business, tech and UX, so here are some publications that cover off those areas.
1. The Startup
The Startup is Medium’s largest active publication with 718k followers, so I’m hardly sharing a hidden gem with you here.
The reason I’m mentioning it though is that you might not realise how relevant it is to product managers. It’s the broadest in terms of the topics and content covered of the publications on this list, and is, therefore, a fantastic way to increase the breadth of your knowledge, beyond the confines of ‘producty stuff’.
2. UX Collective
One part of the triumvirate that product sits within, understanding design is an important area to understand. UX Collective are the best of the bunch.
Plus, their picture is a Polar Bear, which is cute. It’s actually a reference to “Information Architecture for the Web and Beyond”, one of the most famous books in UX. Less cute, more practical.
3. Agile Insider
I just found a link to an ‘I love agile’ T-Shirt. That’s going on the Christmas list…
I digress. Agile Insider has almost 20k followers and boasts some great writers, including Noah Weiss, Brent Tworetzky and Richard Banfield.
As it’s about all things agile, a lot of the content is from the point of view of developers, so it’s useful to expand your horizons in that space.
That’s your lot. What publications have I missed off this list that you love? Let me know in the comments!
What makes the content from Clement Kao and PM HQ valuable for individuals interested in product-related insights? Regards Telkom University