Everyone’s Using a VPN, but Nobody’s Actually Exploring the World

I’ve put together 10 categories, 80 information sources — take what you need. https://t.co/PQdT9DEbyP

You Already Have a VPN — So Stop Just Scrolling X. 10 Categories, 80 Information Sources. You’re Probably Only Using 1%

You’re paying for a VPN, you’ve gotten past the firewall, and all you do is scroll X and watch YouTube? That’s it?

Go explore the world out there. Take Harvard courses, read primary-source journalism, use cutting-edge tools, and even earn a remote salary.

Nanini put together 10 categories, 80 information sources — with URLs and use cases. Take what you need and go build something.

01|Free Learning: Don’t Rush to Pay for Courses

MIT course materials, Harvard’s CS course, free coding exercises — all publicly available. Before spending money on a new skill, check what the world’s top universities and educational institutions have already opened up.

• MIT OpenCourseWare https://ocw.mit.edu/ Want to study math, computer science, economics, or engineering in a structured way? Find MIT’s lecture notes, problem sets, and some course videos. You don’t need to be an MIT student, and it’s free.

• Harvard CS50 https://cs50.harvard.edu/x/ No coding background but want to understand computers and code? Start with CS50. It covers programming fundamentals, algorithms, and computational thinking. Course content is free; some certifications cost money.

• Stanford Online https://online.stanford.edu/ Looking for systematic courses in AI, computer science, engineering, or business? Browse Stanford’s online course catalog and filter by free or paid.

• Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/ Forgotten most of your math? Courses and exercises are organized by topic here — no more piecing together random videos.

• Coursera https://www.coursera.org/ Want to learn data analytics, AI, project management, or business skills? Find courses offered by universities and companies.

• edX https://www.edx.org/ Want university-level courses without a certificate? Look for courses with free audit tracks. Some assignments, grading, and certifications require payment.

• freeCodeCamp https://www.freecodecamp.org/ Don’t want to just watch videos to learn coding? Here you can learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript and more while doing exercises and projects — great for building a foundation through hands-on practice.

• OpenLearn (The Open University) https://www.open.edu/openlearn/ Not into programming? That’s fine. There are free resources in psychology, business, languages, education, science, and more — perfect for broadening your knowledge.

02|Knowledge & Databases: Don’t Treat Search Results as Fact

There’s a wealth of free papers, books, historical web pages, and public data online.

The biggest value of these resources: you can find the original source yourself, instead of relying on someone else’s interpretation forever.

• Google Scholar https://scholar.google.com/ See a claim like “studies prove that…”? Search the topic, author, or paper title and check the original paper and citation trail.

• arXiv https://arxiv.org/ Want to track the latest research in AI, math, and computer science? Search open-access papers here. Note that much of the content is preprints that haven’t gone through formal peer review yet.

• Our World in Data https://ourworldindata.org/ Want to compare population, energy, education, economic, or health data across countries? Find visualized charts with data sources — great for research writing or verifying numbers floating around online.

• Internet Archive https://archive.org/ Looking for old books, historical audio/video, legacy software, or digital collections? Search here. Some resources are downloadable; others have lending or access restrictions.

• Wayback Machine https://web.archive.org/ A company quietly changed their website description, pricing, or terms of service? Enter the URL and check archived past versions — far more reliable than arguing over screenshots.

• Project Gutenberg https://www.gutenberg.org/ Want to read English-language classics? Find a huge library of public-domain ebooks in multiple formats. Check copyright rules in your region before downloading.

• Google Arts & Culture https://artsandculture.google.com/ Want to visit museums around the world but don’t have time to travel? Browse artworks, collections, history features, and some virtual exhibitions online.

• WolframAlpha https://www.wolframalpha.com/ Facing complex math calculations, statistics problems, or scientific data queries? Let it compute and present structured results. Some detailed steps and advanced features are paid.

03|Open Source Tools: Free Alternatives Exist for Most Paid Software

Many tools people pay monthly subscriptions for already have open-source alternatives on GitHub. File management, automation, data analytics, personal knowledge bases, AI workflows… some projects can even be self-hosted.

• GitHub https://github.com/ Looking for free tools, AI projects, automation scripts, or self-hostable software? Search by keywords. Prioritize the README, recent updates, Issues, and license — don’t just go by star count.

• GitLab https://gitlab.com/ Want to explore public code projects or study how teams manage code, versions, and development workflows? Browse public repositories and project collaboration features.

• AlternativeTo https://alternativeto.net/ Is a piece of software getting too expensive? Type in its name, filter by free, open-source, Mac, Windows, etc., and find similar alternatives fast.

• Hugging Face Spaces https://huggingface.co/spaces Can’t deploy AI models but want to try new tools? There are tons of community apps you can open directly in your browser. Some projects require queuing or have usage limits.

• Stack Overflow https://stackoverflow.com/ AI-written code throwing errors? A technical problem you can’t crack? Search the specific error message — you’ll often find similar issues and solutions from other developers.

• F-Droid https://f-droid.org/ Looking for open-source Android tools that don’t depend on commercial app stores? Browse by category, but still check app permissions and security before installing.

• Docker Hub https://hub.docker.com/ Want to run open-source services on your own computer or server? Find container images here. Best for those with some technical background — verify the image source and version when deploying.

• n8n https://n8n.io/ Copying data, organizing feeds, sending notifications every day? Chain different apps and AI models together to automate the workflow. Costs and licensing differ between cloud service and self-hosting.

04|Tech & AI: Don’t Wait for It to Trend on Chinese Social Media

New model releases, product launches, and viral open-source projects — much of this news first appears in developer communities and official channels. If you want to be ahead of secondhand tutorials, change your information sources.

• Hacker News https://news.ycombinator.com/ A new AI product is being hyped to death? Search its name here and see what developers say about performance, cost, and flaws. The comments are often more informative than the product’s marketing page.

• Techmeme https://www.techmeme.com/ No time to browse every tech outlet? Open this page. It aggregates hot tech news and cross-references coverage from multiple outlets — perfect for a quick daily scan.

• MIT Technology Review https://www.technologyreview.com/ Want to know where AI, chips, biotech, or energy tech actually stand? Read its research and industry reporting, not just product launch announcements.

• Hugging Face https://huggingface.co/ Looking for open-source LLMs, speech recognition, image generation, or other AI models? Search the model hub directly and check model cards, licenses, and usage instructions.

• Artificial Analysis https://artificialanalysis.ai/ Choosing between ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or other models? Compare capabilities, speed, and API pricing first, then test with your own tasks. Don’t just follow the leaderboard.

• alphaXiv https://www.alphaxiv.org/ Found an AI paper but too many technical terms? Browse the paper, related discussions, and explanations here to better understand the methodology and core findings.

• Google AI Blog https://blog.google/technology/ai/ When Gemini ships new capabilities or Google rolls out an AI product update, read the official announcement to confirm supported regions, account types, and specific usage conditions.

• OpenAI News https://openai.com/news/ New ChatGPT features, model upgrades, API changes — check the official announcement first. Especially for plan permissions, usage quotas, and feature availability. Don’t rely on bloggers’ screenshots.

05|Overseas Communities: Don’t Just Take a Blogger’s Word for It

If you want to know whether a product is any good, what a certain job is really like, or what’s actually happening in an industry — overseas communities are often more reliable than marketing.

• Reddit https://www.reddit.com/ Before buying software, choosing tools, or researching a brand, try searching “product name + Reddit.” You’ll likely find real users’ long-term experiences, drawbacks, and alternatives — just watch out for ads and fake reviews.

• Quora https://www.quora.com/ Curious about a country, profession, industry, or lifestyle topic? Search related Q&As to see how people from different backgrounds answer, then verify the facts.

• Indie Hackers https://www.indiehackers.com/ Want to know how one person built a SaaS product, acquired first customers, and started charging for it? Independent founders share their product development, growth, and business model journeys here.

• Product Hunt https://www.producthunt.com/ Want to see what new AI tools, productivity software, and internet products have launched recently? Browse product pages, demos, and user feedback — great for finding topic and tool inspiration.

• Lobsters https://lobste.rs/ If you care more about the technology itself than tech gossip, the engineering, software development, and computer science discussions here are more focused.

• Stack Exchange https://stackexchange.com/ Encountering specific problems in math, statistics, languages, science, or other fields? Find the relevant professional Q&A community for answers with explanations and citations.

• Hacker News Ask https://news.ycombinator.com/ask Want to know what tools developers are looking for, what problems founders face, or how tech professionals make decisions? See the questions they ask and the answers they give.

• V2EX https://www.v2ex.com/ Want to learn about real-world issues with overseas software subscriptions, payments, networking tools, development, or remote work? Search Chinese users’ experiences — more practical than copying English tutorials.

06|Global News: Stop Relying on Secondhand Information

After being retold multiple times, an international news story’s headline grows more sensational while key details shrink. When something important happens, going back to the original report is often more effective than reading ten opinion pieces.

• Reuters https://www.reuters.com/ Breaking news, corporate announcements, financial market coverage. When a company is acquired or a policy suddenly shifts, check if Reuters has the story first to confirm the basic facts.

• AP News https://apnews.com/ Broad coverage of U.S. and international news. For major public events, cross-reference with Reuters to reduce bias from relying on a single source.

• BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news Beyond breaking news, there’s plenty of background explainers and feature reporting. When you know nothing about an international event, it’s a good place to catch up on the key people, timeline, and context.

• Financial Times https://www.ft.com/ For in-depth coverage of global companies, financial markets, business strategy, and economic policy. Especially useful for those tracking multinationals, financial institutions, and business decisions. Most deep-dive content requires a subscription.

• The Economist https://www.economist.com/ If you don’t just want to know what happened but want to understand the economic and social implications, read their analysis. Most content is paywalled; opinions should be weighed against other sources.

• Al Jazeera English https://www.aljazeera.com/ When covering the Middle East, Africa, and other international issues, it provides perspectives from different regions — not all news needs to come from Western media.

• Rest of World https://restofworld.org/ Most tech media talks about Silicon Valley all day, but the internet isn’t just the U.S. Here you’ll find tech companies, digital payments, platform economies, and everyday internet life across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

• Ground News https://ground.news/ Why do different media outlets tell the same story completely differently? Compare coverage side by side and review the platform’s bias and coverage analysis. Some features are paid; bias labels are not a verdict on truth.

07|Finance & Investing: Learn to Check the Data Yourself

U.S. stocks, crypto, interest rates, economic data, corporate earnings — a lot of the primary information is publicly available. Instead of relying on someone else’s screenshot analysis, open the data source yourself.

• TradingView https://www.tradingview.com/ Want to track U.S. stocks, crypto, forex, and indices in one place? Build watchlists, view technical indicators, and set alerts. Some features and data access are paid.

• FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) https://fred.stlouisfed.org/ Want to see long-term trends in U.S. inflation, unemployment, GDP, or interest rates? Search indicators and generate charts directly — no need to rely on finance bloggers’ screenshots.

• SEC EDGAR https://www.sec.gov/edgar/search/ Researching U.S. companies like Apple or Nvidia? Search for 10-K annual reports, 10-Q quarterly reports, and material event filings. To confirm what a company actually said, read the official disclosure documents.

• Yahoo Finance https://finance.yahoo.com/ Quickly look up stocks, ETFs, indices, company financials, and related news by ticker — great for daily tracking and preliminary comparisons.

• CoinGecko https://www.coingecko.com/ See an unfamiliar token being promoted? Check market cap, trading volume, price history, project info, and exchanges first before deciding whether it’s worth deeper research.

• DefiLlama https://defillama.com/ Want to know how much资金 a blockchain or DeFi protocol actually holds, or how stablecoin supply is trending? Check TVL, fund flows, and related data — pay attention to how different metrics are calculated.

• Dune https://dune.com/ Want to research a protocol’s transaction volume, user activity, or on-chain behavior? Search community-built dashboards. For important conclusions, verify the SQL logic and update timestamp.

• Google Trends https://trends.google.com/trends/ Want to know which regions are paying more attention to an AI product, brand, or keyword? Compare search trends. Especially useful for market research and content ideation — but search volume doesn’t equal real user count.

08|Global Opportunities: Don’t Limit Yourself to Domestic Job Boards

Getting into AI, Crypto, SaaS, or an overseas internet company doesn’t necessarily require an overseas degree — and you don’t have to limit yourself to roles at domestic offices. Many startups openly hire remote workers and freelancers.

• LinkedIn Jobs https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/ Add keywords like Remote, APAC, Content, Marketing to your search, and dig into the hiring company, team members, and recruiter.

• Wellfound https://wellfound.com/remote Want to join an early-stage AI, SaaS, or tech startup? Search startup roles here. Some listings include salary and equity details. Watch for remote location restrictions before applying.

• Remote OK https://remoteok.com/ Don’t want to be tied to an office location? Search remote roles by job type, tech stack, or region — covering development, design, marketing, and operations.

• We Work Remotely https://weworkremotely.com/ Looking for a job that doesn’t require showing up to an office every day? Browse remote tech, customer support, marketing, and product roles, and verify which countries the company is willing to hire from.

• Y Combinator Jobs https://www.ycombinator.com/jobs Want to join a newly founded tech company? Browse roles at YC-backed startups — especially great for those focused on AI, SaaS, and early-stage products.

• Himalayas https://himalayas.app/jobs When searching remote roles, pay close attention to region, time zone, and company hiring criteria — avoid wasting time applying only to discover they only accept U.S.-based applicants.

• Contra https://contra.com/ Not looking for a full-time job? Explore project-based collaborations in content creation, marketing, design, and development. Review client requirements and terms.

• Upwork https://www.upwork.com/ Have writing, translation, social media, design, or tech skills? Find specific projects from overseas clients. Before bidding, factor in platform fees, competition, and payment terms.

09|Telegram: Don’t Just Use It for Chatting

Many news organizations, tech media, and professional communities run their channels like official websites. Subscribe to these 10 channels and level up your knowledge fast.

• Bloomberg https://t.me/Bloomberg Covering global financial markets, public companies, and macroeconomics. When major corporate news breaks, find Bloomberg’s original reporting rather than relying on Chinese finance accounts’ retellings.

• The New York Times https://t.me/nytimes U.S. politics, international news, investigative reporting, and human interest stories. Great for understanding the context behind news events. Some original articles require a subscription.

• Lianhe Zaobao (联合早报) https://t.me/zaobaosg Don’t want to chew through English news every day? Follow coverage of China, Singapore, Southeast Asia, and international developments here — especially useful for following Asian affairs.

• Initium Media (端传媒) https://t.me/theinitiumnews A public event is blowing up on social media but you don’t understand the backstory? Look for their long-form reporting, which focuses on background, key figures, and the full timeline.

• VOA Chinese https://t.me/voachinese Follow U.S., China, and international news in Chinese — especially useful for comparing how different outlets cover the same event.

• France 24 English https://t.me/France24_en For supplementary coverage of Europe, the Middle East, and international breaking news — a useful counterpoint to U.S. and UK media.

• China Digital Times https://t.me/cdtchinesefeed A Chinese internet discussion suddenly disappeared? Search their archives, which include public events, online speech, and some deleted content.

• Euronews English https://t.me/euronews_eng Follow EU policy, European economies, and country-level news. When researching European markets or policy changes, don’t rely solely on American media.

• TASS https://t.me/tass_agency Want to see how Russian state media covers diplomacy, economics, or war-related events? Read their content directly, then cross-verify with other outlets.

• BBC News Russian https://t.me/bbcrussian Following Russia, Ukraine, and European news. Cross-reference with TASS. If you don’t speak Russian, try Telegram’s translation feature.

10|Digital Life: Stop Wasting Hours on Small Problems

This last category may be the most useful for everyday life. Overseas accounts, privacy and security, software alternatives, movie search, subscription management, network troubleshooting — there are ready-made tools for most of these.

• Privacy Guides https://www.privacyguides.org/ Not sure how to choose a password manager, browser, email provider, or VPN? Start with privacy protection principles and tool selection criteria instead of just following ad recommendations.

• Have I Been Pwned https://haveibeenpwned.com/ Suspect your email has been compromised? Enter your address to check known data breaches. If it’s flagged, prioritize checking for password reuse and enable two-factor authentication.

• JustWatch https://www.justwatch.com/ Want to watch a movie but not sure if Netflix, Disney+, or another platform has it? Enter the title, select your region, and find the available legal streaming options.

• Cloudflare Radar https://radar.cloudflare.com/ Want to research network anomalies, internet traffic changes, or cyberattack trends in a specific country? Check their public statistics and visualizations.

• DownDetector https://downdetector.com/ ChatGPT, X, or another service suddenly unreachable? Check whether a large number of users are reporting the same issue — saves you from reinstalling apps or switching networks repeatedly.

• VirusTotal https://www.virustotal.com/ Received a suspicious link or downloaded file? Use multiple security engines’ scan results to help assess the risk. Don’t upload IDs, personal documents, or sensitive files — and a clean scan doesn’t mean it’s 100% safe.

A VPN only opens the door. But many people just stand in the doorway scrolling tweets for three years.

You don’t need all 80 of these resources. Pick a few you’re genuinely interested in and build your own information hub. If any link stops working, drop a comment and I’ll update the list.