Who Do You Read? (And Why?)

I choose not to syndicate an OPML version of the sites I regularly read. That's not so much because I want to keep it private, but rather because I don't feel like spending the time to keep the blogroll current. And a simple blogroll doesn't explain why someone is worth reading. So here's my list. I'm limiting it to less than 10 people, and I'm only picking individuals. So while Cory, Xeni, Mark, et. al., rock, they don't make this list.

The unto.net top 9, circa June, 2005:

• Bruce Schneier. The king of the security world. And increasingly, the king of the privacy world. Bruce has the uncanny ability to always be right about the things he writes about, so you pay attention to what he says the first time he says it. He's so damn good at pointing out, via simple technical facts, the lies and coverups and deceptions that we're told on a daily basis that it makes you wonder how much better this country could be if his site was just mandatory reading for every member of Congress.
• Eric Smith. Eric also writes Spamblogging and a few other sites. Eric's mind is always working -- he's always coming up with some new way of challenging himself. It helps that he is clearly bored out of his mind with his job -- it frees him up to think about other things. If I ever had a problem I couldn't solve, Eric would be the first person I'd call.
• Greg Whitescarver. Greg's site is a pleasure to read because it is so refreshingly sincere and unpretentious. It is basically the story of someone who is getting back into to writing code and is doing it with a passion and integrity that I admire. I hope he sticks with the blog -- it's always worth reading.
• Jeremy Zawodny. Jeremy probably has the most likeable tech blog in the world. He's just a normal, smart, modest guy that shares his observations about what he sees going on around him. I like how he thinks -- it is a move ahead of the obvious conclusion. And when he's wrong about something he is also the first person to admit it. He's the type of guy you'd want to work with. (But sorry, Jeremy, I'm very happy where I am.)
• John Battelle. It's funny. I almost stopped reading John Battelle after a while. His posts were hyping the status quo in search technology a little too much for my tastes. Then sometime last year he got on fire -- there were no longer any sacred cows in the business. He's been calling bullshit on a lot that goes on in search, and he's among the first people I read each day. I look forward to reading his book.
• Laura McMillian. I have no idea who Laura is, other than that her site is syndicated on the EphBlog Planet. For the most part, her posts have nothing to do with anything that remotely interests me. But I read them cover-to-cover each time because there is such obvious intelligence there that I keep waiting for it to break out beyond the introspective and turn that impressive observational capacity on the world at large.
• Rob at Clublife. Again, I don't know "Rob" or even his last name. It's one of the few anonymous blogs I read, and one of the few blogs that I like that has absolutely no overlap with my own work. But his first-hand stories are compelling and fascinating, and he is quickly turning into a good writer with the potential to be a very good writer.
• Stephen O'Grady. Consistently perceptive and wide-ranging tech analysis. What I really like about Stephen is his willingness to look around for new trends in technology. He is always extending his comfort zone -- an all-too-rare trait in an analyst. And it doesn't hurt that much smarter about the technology that nearly every other analyst I've read.
• Tim Yang. He calls himself a "brand planner." If so, he is probably the most technically literate brand planner in the world. He's one of those people that is going to see it (whatever it is) before you do, so you may as well read his site and get the scoop.

(Clearly I left out plenty of people that I read. I definitely pay attention to what people like Andy Baio, Russell Beattie, Jason Kottke, Tim Bray, and others have to say. But those guys can be hit-or-miss, perhaps due to their success. Not that they're not worth reading, but you already knew that anyway.)

What do all of these people have in common? For one they are all intelligent and articulate. They all write using complete sentences, proper grammar, and correct spelling. They are all looking at the world around them and all willing to voice their opinions. They form their own opinions, and not just link to someone elses opinion. They write frequently. They are all usually pretty humble about it. And mostly, all of these people seem to push themselves every day. I respect that.

So who do you read? And as importantly, why?