A Search For (My) Life

My friend Trevin called me out very publicly on not updating my blog often enough (it’s true, I admit it), and named me in his “Swivel list of 3’s”, which from my understanding, is like a chain letter for people who read blogs.

Actually, it’s more interesting than that. Trevin picked out three people who he likes to read from all his usual RSS feeds, and then listed three people who he wants to pick out their favorite three. I was among them, and since then, I’ve had this silly assignment hanging over my head, and today I’ve decided to get rid of it by listing my swivel list of 3, and passing on this silliness to someone else and let them worry about it.

Rules:

1. Nominees have to nominate 3 blogs that they regularly read.
2. The nominated blogs cannot be strictly tech-focused; any other category is fair game. (e.g. You can’t nominate Tech Crunch or Engadget, but someones personal blog that occasionally talks about tech is allowed).
3. The nominated blogs cannot already be on the list.
4. Nominees nominate 3 other people to participate. To keep the close knit feel of this, the new nominator and nominee must have met in person.

I will say, I’m not a huge blog reader, as I am trying to cut down my Internet usage time (huge time black hole, with very little to show for it, usually.) However, there are a few blogs which I do enjoy.

1. The Dilbert Blog: Scott Adams, the genius behind Dilbert writes an intriguing blog that seems to have no boundaries in terms of subject. He always has a humorous angle, and he’s obviously a very smart, driven guy, which makes both his post topics and his perspectives very thought provoking. I should note you don’t have to be a huge Dilbert fan to enjoy the blog. I rarely read comics.
2. Steve Pavlina: Steve has created a personal development blog that is quite a phenomena. He has a HUGE dedicated readership, and has a massive amount of content on his site, on everything from time management to making money from your blog, which he does very well. Steve’s blog is his full-time job, and he makes a good living, and is very public about what he does and how he does it. Whether you agree with his perspectives or not, all his posts are well thought out.
3. The Four Hour Work Week: This is the blog of Tim Ferriss, which might be a stretch to make this list since I just started reading it. He is the author of a book by the same name, which has some interesting ideas about outsourcing, creating passive income, and travel. I particularly like his posts about travel.

And with no further ado, here are my nominees for friends who now are obligated to create their own swivel list of 3.

1. Fil Fortes - Fil is a good friend of mine who grew up in Indiana like I did, and eventually ended up at MS, and then quit, … like I did. He’s been blogging forever, and has recently been mostly about tech stuff. I greatly value Fil’s opinion, and would be interested in his top 3.
2. Niels Hoven - My former college roommate, and current roommate as well. He blogs often, and insists that he doesn’t read blogs, but I’m sure he’s doing something when he’s on his laptop at 2am.
3. Craig Fratrik - A good friend of mine from college, who always keeps in touch and sends me great articles. He reads a ton, and I think his top three would be interesting.