In addition to online courses and competitions, there are numerous websites and blogs publishing the latest developments in the data science community, their experience in attacking different problems, or just best practices. Some good starting points are as follows:
- KDnuggets: This is the de facto portal for data mining, analytics, big data, and data science, covering the latest news, stories, events, and other relevant issues at http://www.kdnuggets.com/.
- Machine Learning Mastery: This is an introductory-level blog with practical advice and pointers where to start. Check it out at http://machinelearningmastery.com/.
- Data Science Central: This consists of practical community articles on a variety of topics, algorithms, ...