If we're talking about „reading a full article + following the discussion“, then yes. But for me, 1.) has also been helpful for discovering frameworks or tools

If we're talking about „reading a full article + following the discussion“, then yes. But for me, 1.) has also been helpful for discovering frameworks or tools that I'm now using in my everyday work life (e.g. LogSeq, Prefect). I wouldn't count it as „productive” either, but just reading announcements or random tech blog posts sometimes translates into actually adopting the thing.