Simply the Best Posts of 2008

Here it is, the post you’ve been waiting for.  The round up of your best posts of 2008.

I asked readers to look through their archive and select their best post of 2008.  The additional challenge was to complete the sentence ‘this post is simply the best because…’ in 30 words or less.

I hoped the twist of that challenge would throw up some insights into what ‘the best’ means to different bloggers, helping us to refine and develop our understanding of what it means to blog.

The answers didn’t disappoint (as you’ll see below).  The 30 word answers will also help you pick and choose the posts you want to go and visit from the submissions to the project.

There were 38 full entries, listed below.  A few others applied some creative licence to the project.  Grace shared a link to this post in the comment box, selected because ‘it brings to light an aspect of child abuse not previously known, at least to a large audience. ‘

Jennifer suggested that her best post was the last post written (an innovative way of encouraging readers to keep checking back!)  Matches Malone also left a comment to that effect.

A big thanks to everyone who took part, spent time rummaging through the archives, tussled over which best to choose, and finally went for posts which have made me smile, take notes, stretch, wonder, cry, nod with recognition, add blogs to my feed reader, and think of new things I want to read, and write, in 2009.

I’m guessing you’ll have similar reactions when you jump in and start browsing this list, simply the best posts of 2008.

Simply The Best Posts of 2008

Here’s the list of post in full (in order of date received)

1. How You Tube Has Changed US Politics Forever

This post is simply the best because it illustrates how new technologies have allowed us to embrace online social communities that will forever change our political landscape and our view of ourselves and our world.

from Roxanne at Online Business Woman

2. Wearing Flip Flops to Interviews

Chosen because controversy inspired the best conversations.

from Sarah at  Head 2 Head

3. Dressing Up Your Casual-Wear Writing

I’ll pick this post, on because, like Henry Higgins, I think that sometimes HOW you say something is almost (almost!) more important than what you say–because it’s all about knowing how to talk to your audience.

From –Deb at Punctuality Rules

4. Interview with Patti Digh, ‘Life Is A Verb’

This post is simply the best because finally talking with Patti on the phone after correspondence for years was a delight (why did I wait so long?). I also learned a lot making the recording.

From Steve Sherlock at Steve’s 2 Cents

5. On The Fringe

This post is simply the best because it’s raw.  It was a breakthrough in how I felt, and I used words to process this shift.  I didn’t hold anything back, and I put myself completely out there.

From Dawn Goldberg at Write Well Me

6. Labor Sweatshops: Can Nike Be Trusted?

This post is simply the best because I feel that it examined some card hold facts about Nike’s labor practices which are often overlooked in traditional media reports.

From Andrew at Good Honest Dollar

7. Old and New: Story From Berlin

The post is simply the best because it creates a sense of place although every native English speaker certainly will notice that English is not my first language.

From Ulla at Ulla Hennig’s blog

8. The Battle

This post is simply the best because, this is different with a deceiving look in the beginning and a hilarious twist at the end. It holds a soft corner in my heart, for it‘s beautifully expressed too

From Meghna: Delve Into the Mind of  a Budding Blogger

9. An Independence Day Reflection: Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe

Simply the best” writing I did this year, in my estimation, because it is a personal reflection upon what growing up in a quintessential small American town was like.

From JHS at Colloquium

10. What I Learned From a Generous Heart

This post is, in my humble opinion, the best simply because of the reactions it received. Not the number of comments, but mainly because of what was said. So far, it’s been a standout in that regard.

From Robert Hruzek at the Middle Zone

11. Give Free Rice to Hunger

This post is simply the best because it teaches us that we should learn to appreciate every little things in our daily life, by simply sharing and show our sincerity to the unfortunate…

From Wilson at Will You Mind

12. Waiting For Goodbye

This post is simply the best because it struck a chord, generated lots of lively and wide ranging conversation, and connected me to bloggers I’m grateful to have met.

From Brad Shorr at Word Sell

13. Truth or Madness Monday

This post is simply the best because the community shaped it with active discussion and insightful comments. It was fun to write but the participation was even better.

From Karen Swim at Words for Hire

14. Finding Your Writer’s Voice

This post is simply the best because I believe that your writing voice is the basic foundation to being a success as a writer, and I think this post presents a unique and helpful perspective.

From George at Tumblemoose

15. Checklists for Starting Your First Business

This post is simply the best because… it answers the questions that first time business owners would ask, if they only knew who to ask!

From Becky McCray at Small Biz Survival

16. Yes! I’m Going to the USA

This post is simply the best because I could finally tell everybody how happy and excited I was to be awarded the scholarship to visit the United States for 4 months!

From Pelf at Pelfism is Contagious

17. Remembering My Parents

It’s 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.

From Lillie Ammann, A Writer’s Word, an Editor’s Eye

18. Never Failed to Fail

This post is simply the best because it combines the three underlying themes of my blog… bad sailing, humor and an expression of my passion for the sport.

From Tillerman at Proper Course

19. Terry Starbucker: About This Blog

This post is simply the best because it crystallized my thinking as to why I was blogging in the first place – to reach out and cultivate positive and mutually rewarding relationships through my philosophy of “Half-Fullism”.

From Terry Starbucker, Ramblings From a Glass Half Full

20. The Fabled Land of Now

It’s simply the best because of its emotional honesty, and the way that the liminal time between seasons underscored the discovery of a forgotten time in my mother’s life.

From Joanna Powell Colbert at Gaian Tarot Artist’s Journal

21. 8 Ways to Encourage a Friend

This post is simply the best because it reminds busy people about the people behind the words and walls and bright shiny objects.

From Jon Swanson, Levite Chronicles

22. Storytelling Marketing Search Engine Strategies Coverage

This post is simply the best because . . . it connects two of my favorite topics: storytelling and marketing, covers an industry event, links to real-life lessons, promotes others, includes insight-full comments and ignites inspiration.

From Baraba Rozgonyi, Wired PR Works

23. Accept Everything

This post is simply the best because:  In my thirties, I’ve grown up and learned stress is overrated. I want to be a person who lives the mantra “Accept Everything.”

From Damien Riley, Postcards From the Funny Farm

24. My Mother’s Gift

This post is simply the best because I was able to be candid about my family, its an unusal and interesting story, and I was able to touch just the right emotional notes.

From Judy Haley, at Coffee Jitters

25. Our New Apartment: The Real Estate Agent

This post (okay, the series) is simply the best because it drew far away readers right into my city and then into my home and finally into a dialogue with me via comments which in turn stimulated more blog posts.

From Jimmie at HomeSchoolBlogger.Com

26. How To Become a Fire Breathing Writing Dragon

This one is simply the best because it reminds me of why our words count.

My contribution from the Confident Writing archives

27. 1996 McDonald’s Hamburger

This is simply the best because it went completely and absolutely wild on the internet. People found it amusing, newsworthy and some didn’t agree with it.

From Karen Hanrahan, at The Best of Mother Earth

28. Violence in Spreadsheet Execution

This post is simply the best because it is filled with humor and records one of many awesome conversations I have enjoyed this year.

From Luke Gedeon

29. Scary Bathrooms

It is simply the best because it helps you to think like a child again. This post allows you to step into a two year old’s mind and see how he views modern technology in bathrooms.

From Tabetha Gedeon at Denim and Silk

30. Learning and the Much Maligned Mistake

This post is simply the best because it embraces learning, an important aspect of my blog, and is about the hallmark of the learner.  In particular, 2008 was a learning year for me; I learnt to be a blogger.

Ken Adams, Blogger in Middle-Earth

31. I’m Feeling Very Behind

This post is simply the best because I like the way I used the passage of conversation. I feel it added interest and drew the reader into my conversation with the teacher. It gave a clear image of what happened and invoked, I hope, an empathy from my target reader.

From Shannon at Mountaineer Country

32. Reflection of an Online Interview

This post is simply the best because I felt I had taken an emotional moment and reflected on what worked, what I could do next time , as well as extending my critical thinking.

From Shaun Wood, Shaun’s Learning Odyssey

33. Missing Mary, Mother of God: Last Seen Shoved Down the Couch Covered in Popcorn Kernels

I think this is my best post, because it draws on my most well-developed strengths as a writer

From Shannon at After The Fire Came a Gentle Whisper

34. Scholar Says Black America Needs a New Narrative

This post is simply the best because it was intellectually challenging, thought-provoking, and reinforced by the election outcome. I stepped out of my comfort zone as a white woman writing about the black American narrative.

Kathy Hansen, A Storied Career

35. Recipe for Engaging Post

This post is simply the best because I was able to convey wholesome set of thoughts with the fitting metaphor and it was greatly appreciated by people who read it .

From Rarst at Rarst.net

36. Are You Asking These 11 Stimulating Questions to Capture Your Company’s ‘Honest to Goodness’ Video Story?

This post is simply the best because after 25 years of filming conversations, it collects the most interesting and engaging questions I’ve asked people on-camera. It’s designed to create new possibilities for telling new stories.

From Director Tom, Bringing Brands to Life

37. Motivation to Write: Is There a Magic Formula?

This post is simply the best because…

• It explores an issue that’s critical to every writer’s success;
• It examines various methods for tapping several common motivational sources;
• It explains how to generate motivation when it eludes us.

From Jeanne Dininni at Writer’s Notes

38. An Unexpected Independence Day Celebration

I believe it is one of my best-crafted short stories. It is based not upon one particular person, but, rather, several people who are dear to me, including a special couple in whose honor I wrote the piece as a way of demonstrating my affection for them upon the occasion of their wedding.

From Jenn at Mixed Metaphor.net