My 10 favourite HR blog posts of 2011

What has been your favourite HR blog or HR blog post in 2011?

2011 has been something of a vintage year in the world of HR blogs, with a particularly strong HR blogging community forming in the UK, while the international HR blogging movement keeps going from strength to strength (just check out the daily crop of new posts highlighted via the #hrblogs hashtag on Twitter, for a small flavour of the range of HR blogs that are out there).

So as 2011 approaches its end, I'd love to find out what have been XpertHR readers' favourite HR blogs or HR blog posts of the year.

Please feel free to share your top blog posts of 2011 via the comments box below, or get in touch via Twitter, LinkedIn, or Google+.

I'm looking for recommendations for your favourite individual posts from bloggers who are HR professionals themselves, or who are writing on HR issues (or on issues of direct or even indirect interest and/or relevance to HR), from anywhere around the world. Please give links to as many or as few blog posts as you think are worthy of mention. And short explanations as to what each post means to you would also be hugely appreciated.

My 10 favourite HR blog posts of 2011
To get things started, here are 10 blog posts that I've found particularly inspiring in 2011. These posts are presented in order of author's surname, rather than in any order of preference.

Here's my pick of the best of the year:

• Anna Birtwistle: Legislating for bad management? Solicitor Anna Birtwistle of CM Murray LLP presents her brilliantly observed and passionately argued analysis of the Coalition Government's package of radical proposals on employment law. You can also follow Anna on Twitter.
• Naomi Bloom: Is HR really a pink-collared ghetto? This is an absolutely remarkable piece of analysis from US HR blogger Naomi Bloom. Here, Bloom looks at the past, the present, and the potentially very different future of the HR profession, and of its changing gender profile. She provides an overview of her experience of the US HR profession, from 1967 through to the present day. She argues that while women have made significant progress in US HR over this period, there remain reasons why the profession might still be considered a "pink-collared ghetto." Bloom contends that outsourcing and the evolution of HR technology could redress the gender imbalance in the HR profession. Success in HR careers in the future might therefore require a mix of business acumen, aptitude for strategic HRM and technological understanding: a mix which Bloom argues is more likely to be found in men than women. This is HR blogging at its absolute best, and most thought-provoking. Check out Naomi's In Full Bloom blog, and follow her on Twitter.
• Ellison Bloomfield: 10 myths about introverts A truly brilliant and  insightful post from Australian HR blogger Ellison Bloomfield's Humane Resource blog. Follow Ellison on Twitter.
• Wally Bock: Birthday Reflections at 65 On the occasion of his 65th birthday earlier this year, US blogger Wally Bock generously shares with us some of the wisdom he's accumulated over the years, with fascinating reflections on how much some things change and how little other things change. Follow Wally on Twitter.
  
• Grumpy Lecturer: A sermon for Sunday Not a blog post per se, but rather a blog post-length comment, left on the XpertHR Employment Intelligence blog by Grumpy Lecturer. Taking a uniquely Marxist perspective on HR, he argues that " To employers the credo of HR is manna from heaven." You can also check out Grumpy Lecturer's contribution to our If I could change one thing about HR... series, and follow him on Twitter.
• Neil Morrison: The courage to believe Neil only launched his Change-Effect blog in Spring 2011, but he has already established himself as one of the leading lights of the UK and global HR blogging communities. This superb post begins with the following simple proposition: " The thing about life is you have a choice." Please be sure to follow Neil on Twitter, if you don't already!
• Sukhvinder Pabial: Is there a bit of Punjabi inside you? HR/L&D professional and blogger Sukh describes this post as "a break from the norm of L&D type posts." This post is Sukh's joyous celebration of Punjabi culture, and quite probably the most uplifting post from the world of HR blogs in 2011. You can follow Sukh on Twitter.
• Rick: The feminisation of HR Part 1 & Part 2 Rick - pseudonymous author of the consistently excellent Flip Chart Fairy Tales blog presents his contributions to this year's fascinating debate on the gender profile of HR, and presents his theory that he has seen an ongoing "feminisation of HR" occur over the course of career. You can follow Rick on Twitter. Read more about the gender profile of HR debate here.
• Katharine Robinson: The Slow Burn of Social Media Success A terrific post from recruitment professional Katharine Robinson, full of excellent advice on establishing and maintaining a successful social media presence. The following two sentences in particular are a very succinct lesson in how to make a go of your use of social media: "If you're going to start something, be sure that there is the belief, enthusiasm and resources available to stick with it. Be prepared to be creative, try a lot of things and do it for a long time before anyone even notices that you exist." You can follow Katharine on Twitter.
  
• Lisa Rosendahl: Career Advice from Women of HR Writing on the superb Women of HR blog, Lisa Rosendahl presents the responses of a number of women working in HR to the following question: "If someone asked you what the best career advice you ever received was, what would you say?" There is a huge amount of learning, wisdom and experience condensed into one relatively short post here. You can follow Lisa on Twitter.
  

This is just the tip of the iceberg - there is such an abundance of riches in the world of HR blogs these days that it would have been easy to present dozens of picks of the year.

Now I'm very interested to find out your favourite HR blog posts of 2011! Please do get in touch with your picks!

And here's to an even better year for the HR blogging world in 2012!

UPDATE 1 (Saturday 17 December 2011): Top US HR blogger and top gentleman Steve Browne has submitted a selection of his favourite HR blogs via Google+. My thanks to Steve for his kind permission to reproduce his comment here:

Hard to clarify specific posts. I'm more into the top bloggers I follow including XPertHR, Jay Kuhns (No Excuses HR), Dwane Lay (LeanHR), Charlie Judy (HRFishbowl), Jason Laurtisen (personal blog and Talent Anarchy), Joe Gerstandt, Paul Hebert, Mike VanDervort, Dawn Hrdlica-Burke, Daniel Crosby, Chris Fields, Trish McFarlane, Victorio Milian, Steve Boese, Robin Schooling, Paul Smith, Bill Boorman, etc. I have about 60 that I try to get to regularly.
Can I give a shameless plug and add Everyday People to the mix as well ??