Apparently I'm not reading very influential weblogs. I read #8 and #9 on this list, and that's it. Every now and then I catch an article from one of the others, but they are few and far between.

I'm also not sure what they mean by influence. To me, influence means the shaping of minds. To influence someone, they not only need to have someone's ear, but also their respect. After all, just because you agree with someone's point of view, doesn't necessarily mean that they have an influence over you. I may read someone's work, and agree with 70% of it. But do they really have an influence on me? Are they influencing me to agree with their point of view, or would I have come to that conclusion on my own? Methinks the latter is probably true.

I don't want to name too many names, but when it comes to influence, I would pick a person like Walter Williams. I love his work, and am truly influenced by it. I think it shows up in my writing. From the blogosphere, I would say Kim DuToit has a lot of influence over me. When it comes to guns, he seems to be a tall dog in the knowledge department. I'm no slouch myself, but when I need clarity on something, Kim is usually one of the ones I turn to.