No need to worry, it's not some kind of backroom putsch. This is, in fact, a peaceful transition of power. I've very much enjoyed watching the China technology scene for CNET Asia over the past year. One thing for sure: There is always something interesting going on. But today marks the close of a year's worth of Little Red Blog, and I thought it was time to hand over the rostrum to a new chairman.

As I shuffle off into glorious retirement I am pleased to welcome Rick Martin as the new Little Red Blogger. Rick, who will take over from tomorrow, has been in China for almost four years. He works for a major tech company and, as the author of Panda Passport and contributor to Lost Laowai, has impeccable blogging credentials.

Rick introduces himself thus:

After years of honing his skills playing Shinobi on the rocky shores of Newfoundland, he moved on to become a freelance ninja. But due to a lull in the Canadian ninja market, Rick teleported to Asia where he studied Chinese and the dark arts of China Blogging. When he's not busy with all that stuff, he makes appearances at an international computer company where he does a little something called "work".

Meanwhile, I'll still be writing at my personal blog, Imagethief. It's not dedicated to technology, but I do regularly write about the Internet in China.

While I hope LRB remains a fixture of your RSS reader, some other blogs that you should keep up with if you are interested in technology in China are:

• Danwei, which covers a range of media and lifestyle stuff as well


• Ich Bin Ein Beijinger, from current Ogilvy digital guru and former Red Herring China bureau chief Kaiser Kuo


• Virtual China, a great regular roundup of tech developments in China


• China Web 2.0 Review, which is just what it says


• Silicon Hutong, always thought-provoking, if updated only occasionally


• Internet Word of Mouth Blog, the blog from Sam Flemming's CIC Data, which monitors Internet buzz in China


• And, if you read Chinese, Keso is the heavyweight of Chinese IT bloggers

There are more, and I am sure Rick will send you to his favorites, but this is a good starting point.

In the best valedictory style, I would like to acknowledge a few people before I leave the stage. First, thanks to the readers who have been with me for the past year. This blog has never attracted many comments, partially, I think, because of the registration process. I see the stats, however, and I know that there have been a lot of readers. Thank you for coming, and I hope you stick around for Rick.

Also, Juniper Foo and the team at CNET Asia have been great supporters, and I appreciate their invitation to keep this blog for the past year and their ongoing support. My thanks also to the rest of the CNET Asia regional bloggers, several of whom I have known for many years and all of whom are doing great work.

But as much as I admire my CNET blogging colleagues, I have to confess something. I think I got the plum assignment. China is moving so fast, and IT and the Internet are playing such important roles here that, as a tech fan, there is nowhere else I'd rather be living or writing about right now.

I hope you find it as interesting as I do.

-Will

Note: Cross-posted on Imagethief.