One of the best things to come out of the demise of Good magazine is that Ann Friedman has been unleashed on the wider world of editing and publishing. She wrote a great post for Nieman Journalism Lab called “#Realtalk for the j-school grad” that’s filled with great advice not just for journalists starting their career, but any journalist who wants to change jobs or just stay on top of their game. Such as this tidbit:

Learn to write headlines, even if you don’t want to be an editor. Headline writing is about distilling complicated ideas and selling what’s sexy about a piece. This is also called, “being good at Twitter” or “effective pitching.”

And this one, which especially applies to tech journalists — whether aspiring or established:

Be an early adopter. Mess around with new reading apps, new blogging platforms, new social media sites. You don’t have to use all of these things every day, but you need to be familiar with them. One of your main selling points as a newbie journalist is that you’re “hip” to the “Internet sites” and “gadgets” that “the young people” are using today. Deliver on that stereotype. And while you’re at it, learn a lesson that your journalistic elders have largely failed to grasp: Evolution is a lifestyle, not a conference you attend once a year. Keep at it.

If you can’t evolve in the ever-evolving world of journalism, then you’ll limit yourself to the parts of the industry that are dying off.