Simply the Best
December 22, 2008 by Lillie
Joanna Young at Confident Writing has given us a real challenge: pick simply the best post for all of 2008.
First I narrowed down my favorite posts to one per month for Middle Zone Musings’ Blogapaloo0za. That was hard enough to do—one month I had to choose one from among three top favorites. Then I went through the favorite posts from each month to choose simply the best for 2008.
Remembering My Parents is simply the best because it still brings tears to my eyes—tears of sorrow that they are no longer with me and tears of joy for the memories and the love we shared.
It’s hard isn’t it Lillie, to choose just one, and I know there are no ‘right’ answers… but also that we learn something from the selections made, both as bloggers, and readers.
I love your choice, and see so much of your values and approach in the lives of your parents.
Joanna Young´s last blog post..Confident Writing: Highlights of 2008
Joanna,
Thanks for this challenge. It motivated me to review what I’ve written in the past year and certainly made me think.
Sorry to be a source of aggravation, Lillie. Well… no, not really!
Hey, it’s an interesting exercise to go through your posts, isn’t it? I had no idea it would be so hard to choose, though…
Cheers!
Robert Hruzek´s last blog post..BLOGAPALOOZA! – What I Learned From 2008
Robert,
But at the risk of sounding boastful, I did find a number that I like.
I suppose if I were properly humble, I would say that none of my posts are worthy … and a lot aren’t.
Merry Christmas and a blessed 2009 to you and yours, Lillie.
I created a “Fab Five For 2008″ list for a client today which will go live tomorrow. I based that list solely on the five most visited articles, but they certainly wouldn’t be my top articles for the year, at least in that order.
I plan on doing something similar to what you have done for Word Journey while also thinking of something truly inspirational to kick off the new year.
Thanks for the challenge…I think I know what I’ll be doing for the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day!
Matt,
Blessings of this holy season to you and yours as well.
It’s interesting that my most visited and most commented posts weren’t necessarily my favorites, either. I look forward to what you come up with.
You can definitely see where your strengths and weaknesses lie, or if you were focused or really not in the mood. I like reviewing material i have done, because it helps me break down what i do well and what i do not, so i can improve on future endeavors.
Jordan,
You make a good point—reviewing the past year’s posts does help us see where we need to improve.
I agree it is interesting to see which posts you like compared to which your viewers like. it really shows how close you are in ideals to your viewers.
Bill,
It would be interesting if readers would vote on their favorite posts. As long as it took me to go through and review posts, though, I wouldn’t expect readers to do that. Of course, readers “vote” by traffic and comments, but those don’t necessarily reflect how much they liked the post.
For example, I get many comments on my posts thanking commenters … but it’s not because the posts are well-written—they’re simply a list of names and links. The thank-you posts get a lot of traffic and comments because people on the list get a trackback on their own blog, come to see what’s being said about them, and leave a thank you for the thank you.
Sometimes I find that I love a post but may not comment on it because I simply don’t have anything to add or I don’t know what to say. So comments don’t always reflect how much readers liked the post.
And traffic is strange. My resume post got more traffic than many other posts combined. Certainly it’s not that much better than others, though I do think it’s helpful. But the traffic came about because apparently resumes are a hot topic and because the post was stumbled a few times.
Well, I’m also have participated Joanna’s “Simply the Best” project and I bet you’ve already read it, Lille.
Note: Thanks for the inspiring comment at my blog site, Lillie!
wilson´s last blog post..A More Natural and Healthier Way to Keep Fit!
Wilson,
Yes, I’ve read and enjoyed your submission.
I love the post you’ve chosen, Lillie! It was a fascinating read, which brought back fond memories of my own family.
I used the same method you did to choose my best post of the year. I selected the best one or two posts from each month first (in preparation for Robert’s Blogapalooza group writing project — though I’ve been so busy with work lately that I’ve gotten a bit out of the loop on that project). I then chose my favorite post from among that group — even though I was fairly certain right from the start which post I would choose. There are still a few months for which I haven’t yet chosen a post, but thanks to that process, I’m more-or-less prepared to write my Blogapalooza submission. Just need to get on over to MZM to find out the latest details and contact Robert to let him know I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth!
Really enjoyed your best post of 2008!
Jeanne
Jeanne,
It’s interesting that we used similar methods to choose our best posts. However, I didn’t have an idea of what I was going to choose when I started out. And the month that included my favorite post included a couple more that I really had a hard time choosing among. However, each time I re-read them, this one came out on top.
I’m eager to read your Blogapalooza submission.
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