Keeping up with what’s going on in today’s social media fueled tech world can be a full time job. Applications, developments, news and tricks surrounding popular topics seem to race by making it nearly impossible to keep up with what is important. I’ve relied on several reliable blogs and people to help me manage this information crunch. I highly recommend attaching yourself to their RSS feeds, twitters, or bookmark them for future references.

Blogs

Mashable is a really good resource in keeping up with what’s new on the web. I liken it to the Associated Press of social media and the web as it is a great source of the latest news, topics and developments in today’s online world. Mashable also regularly features posts of popular resources focused around popular software, issues and tech related questions (such as today’s election resources post).

TechCrunch is the Wall Street Journal of social media and web news. Their strength are their highlights of new services and startups paired its extensive directory of companies and services, CrunchBase. Like the WSJ, TechCrunch does get inundated with layoff’s, press releases and new tech companies but it is a very handy resource for discovering what is new and upcoming.

Lifehacker is a reliable tip, resource and download site. While similar to both Mashable and TechCrunch, Lifehacker provides more resources surrounding popular tech questions. For those who are technical savvy and have specific questions concerning items such as Firefox, Linux or apps like WordPress, Lifehacker should be your first stop.

Bloggers/Vloggers

Sarah Austin, host of Pop17, is a popular vlog for what is going on in the tech world.  Her live weekly show is a great weekly run down of interesting topics and happenings. Pop17 is unique as Sarah provides insightful and behind the scenes interviews with popular people and topics in social media and tech.

Julia Roy is a blogger I’ve followed for some time. She’s a social media enthusiast, popular on twitter, and 12 Seconds. Her recent project, Tweet Week, is a must follow as it is a weekly insight into the on going of Twitter. It may sound silly at first, but after the first episode I’m sold. Julia’s blog is also a great source of social media news and how-to’s.

Epic Fu (hosted by Zadi Diaz) mixes all of the things I enjoy (Art, Music and Tech) into a great vlog. While there’s been some bad news surrounding Epic Fu, it is a quality show and I hope for it’s continued success. It’s a must watch!

The Tech Illuminati

Before I start naming names, the Tech Illuminati are not necessarily focused on social media but technology as a whole. Many conversations do involve new and emerging social media platforms, and they are worth following.

It’s really hard to classify Leo Laporte (hey we share the same first name!) I’m not sure how he keeps up with all that is tech, but he does and shares his knowledge through TWiT.tv, TWiT Live, and radio show. I’m convinced the tech world revolves around him. Laporte is an amazing source of information in the tech world and I highly recommend listening or following him.

Not mentioning Robert Scoble would be wrong.  Robert has been a very vocal person in tech and social media arena for some time. He’s a very opinionated and independent voice that are worth listening to, regardless of outside opinion.

Chris Pirillo is the most excitable techie I’ve ever seen. His 24/7 live feed and excitement surrounding technology makes him a very knowledgeable and intriguing source of information.  The man is passionate (which is an understatement) about technology. He’s also launched Lockergnome an impressive and large blogging network and is always involved in interesting tech projects.