Earlier today I mentioned on Twitter that out of the nearly 100 feeds I subscribe to and the 1000s of posts that are pushed to me every day, I was having a hard time finding five daily that I really wanted to read. This is a 180 degree shift from last year around this time.

The content hasn’t changed — in fact, I’d say the writing has gotten better over the last year.

I have changed.

More importantly, the reason I consume information has changed.

I don’t care about “tech news” as such. I get enough briefings and have enough primary access through Twitter, Friendfeed and my mailbox to not really need to ride every hype wave to take over the minds and hearts of the techosphere. Headline content is good for just that, making headlines, which I gratefully read in places that are more conducive to that sort of thing than my feed reader.

What I care about now is reading content that makes me think. I want to read about applications of ideas. I want to read about applied thoughts from people who have a voice and know how to use that voice to change the way that I think (see my little homily on Twitter).

It’s why I am changing the way the blog is run, and why I pulled my hat out of the news of the day arena. I’m tired of trying to break the news when the fact is I want to make the news.

With all that under our belts, I wanted to let you take a peek at my sources of inspiration. It took a lot longer to put this list together than I thought because I had to truly reflect on who I read and not just who I occasionally skim.

I am not saying that these are the best information sources on the Internet, or have any special significance to anyone except me. What I am saying is that these blogs represent content that makes me want to read, and more importantly content that gives me reason to act.

Neil Gaiman – All writers should wish to have an online presence as well crafted as this master storyteller. If you have every called yourself a writer, you owe it to yourself to read this.

MIT Technology Review – If you are interested in technology that does not necessarily have a server attached to it, this is the place to find it. I read this several times a week.

Fluent Self – Havi Brooks and her duck (trust me on this one) have been fantastic additions to my reading list. She manages to teach extraordinary lessons on blogging, habits and generally leading a better life while not putting me into a coma. While you’re busy catching up, follow her on Twitter.

Chris Brogan – Mr. Brogan gets my nod for two reasons, the first is that his blog is a great resource for anyone interested in building communities. Honestly, though, that’s not why I read it — I read it because I like the guy and I watch him do good work every, single day. If this list is about inspiration, he embodies it.

43 Folders – Merlin Mann has been my blogging hero for sometime now. He’s honest, clever and makes really, really cool stuff. I am not huge on productivity blogs, so I was thrilled when he switched gears a few months ago. Now, I look forward to just about everything that he writes.

Dosh Dosh - Maki has consistently raised the bar for Internet Marketing blogs. The best endorsement I can give him is that if you read this blog, you’ll be guaranteed not to see “generic guide to exploding your blog traffic.” He explores the idea of web marketing with grace and intelligence.

IEEE Spectrum – I am an Engineer, I love hard Engineering topics and this is a fantastic way for me to keep abreast of the industry since my head is usually so deeply buried in Social Media world.

Voxant Newsroom (Technology) – This is way, way easier than trying to filter the 24 hour news stations for interesting technology tidbits.

Matt Ingram – Matt is how I keep up on the mainstream web tech and new media issues that rattle around the echo chamber without making myself want to commit Seppuku.

Metafilter – I would trade every other news aggregator for Metafilter without blinking an eye. If you are looking for high quality, interesting links that stay high quality no matter when you visit the site then go to Metafilter. In fact, plunk down the $5 and support what they are doing — it’s well worth it.

How Stuff Works – Let’s just say that when I heard they were making this into a television series on the Discovery Channel I almost split a seam.

The Buzz Bin – Geoff Livingstone and his team tell it how it is, and is a refreshing voice in the PR space. I also like the work he is doing to promote awareness of Darfur and other causes.

O’Reilly Radar – It’s really hard to beat O’Reilly when it comes to crafting poignant pieces of content about the web. Whatever else you can say about him, Tim has vision and he has a path — two things that quickly get you added to my list.

Seth Godin – Everyone says everything about Seth Godin, what I will add to the noise is that I like his work because he takes a holistic view of marketing. He’s less concerned with tricks and more concerned with philosophy. While I might not follow his every word, I am interested to read his stuff to get a better look at how he thinks.

Reddit – No big, philosophical reason for this one. I think that Reddit has a strong community that does a good job at picking good content. It’s one of the few, consistent ways that I keep up on events.

There it is, my sources of inspiration. I am sure I left off a few, but I think that’s alright. The list wasn’t supposed to be a, “top blah in blah” or “most important X in Y” what it is, what it really is supposed to be is a set of content filters that do their jobs well.

So tell me, who is on your list and why?

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