Repaying Flattery with More Flattery

As I was browsing through my regular list of blogs via Bloglines this morning, I made my way to China Lawblog when the opening lines mentioned a fellow TBird blogger, David Wolf, who runs Silicon Hutong. Reading further, I discovered David had provided me a Thinking Blogger Award  with the following comments making me chuckle:

Shawn is brilliant - should be teaching at Harvard or Wharton - and you benefit from his brilliance without paying the tuition.

Thanks for the plug, David! However, you have really raised the bar for me this time. As for my recommended awards for thinking blogs, I have some simple criteria--that the blogger "blogs what they know" and display an obvious passion and curiosity for continued learning. Below is my list for Asia, not in any specific order:

1. Silicon Hutong, by David Wolf: Repaying flattery with more flattery--even after meeting David the first time for just an hour or so in the Beijing Hard Rock Cafe last year, I knew he was someone with a wealth of on-the-ground China knowledge and simply a great person to know. All of this is on display at the Hutong.
2. All Roads Lead to China, by Rich Brubaker: Another TBird, Rich is the blogger I speak with most whom I have never met. Highly accessible, Rich has shared a great deal of his knowledge and information gathering at All Roads, which is a great beginning source for all things related to China business. I look forward to its continuing evolution.
3. China Law Blog, by Dan Harris: Dan's prolific writing and blog-linking has been an inspiration for my own site in reaching out to other bloggers and creating new conversations, or building on old ones. Having had the chance to chat with Dan on the phone, I look forward to meeting him in person someday as we traverse the Asia-Pacific.
4. This is China!, by William Dodson: I love the narrative style in every post by Will as we follow him on his business or personal travels. The descriptive and accessible nature of his writing allows me to connect with his experiences while at the same time gaining some new insight or perspective on aspects of China I am unfamiliar with.
5. The Marmot's Hole, by RJ Koehler: Ever since I became more interested in South Korea, the Hole has been my favorite source for commentary and perspective on the Korea experience. RJ's wide ranging coverage ensures I always have something new on Korea to think about when I visit his site.

Besides the above, below is my list for non-Asia blogs:

1. Thomas Barnett: Probably the most famous "grand strategist" I have ever exchanged emails with, Tom's work, books and site have continually been an inspiration.
2. The Fourth Rail, by Bill Roggio: Another fantastic blogger I have been fortunate enough to exchange emails with, Bill has regularly been my #1 source for an understanding of the Middle East and the "War on Terror." The education I have received on the sophistication and complexity of today's American military operations and strategy cannot be replaced.
3. Michael Totten: The depth and thoroughness of Michael's articles and writing on the Middle East has provided a non-military angle to learning more about the region and its people. Combined with his great photos, my understanding of the region would be lacking minus his work.
4. Enterprise Resilience Blog, by Steve DeAngelis: Steve is such a prolific writer at his site, I believe his work must just flow off his fingers the moment he finds a topic to write about--and he writes in depth and with great thought about both the context and detail of a particular issue. I believe our cross-blogging last year was because I also strive for the same approach, and his work itself is an inspiration to my career.
5. Counterterrorism Blog, by Various Counterterrorism Experts: A site that regularly challenges my understanding of such a complicated topic as terrorism.

I pretty much don't read a site unless it is a "thinking blog," but the above are regularly my favorites, or have been most influential to my own blogging. For certain, I could see all the bloggers mentioned above teaching at Wharton or Harvard before they ever hired me. But like David, I prefer everyone keep blogging online where the tuition is much less! 

Comments

[All Roads Lead To China]

Hey Shawn

#2! thanks man. Good to see I made one of the lists. Does this mean I have to put out a list now too?

Only thing David got wrong is that while you are fit for Harvard, it is Tbird where you should be.

Looking forward to when you get back on the air.