The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge
My own two cents for readers of this post. If you clicked on this link because you're considering joining, and you've read what Gwen has so beautifully and succinctly written, and you are STILL hesitant, JUMP IN NOW. From my own experience, this challenge is one of the most rewarding things I've done all year and the benefits are manifold. You will not regret it, and you very likely will be blown away. - Emma James, Pleasure Notes
What is the challenge?
A look back on your year. A time for reflection. A chance to make new friends.
How to participate in 5 simple steps:
1. Write on one or all thirty-one of the prompts for the month of December
2. A post can be a sentence, photo or 3,000 word essay
3. Link up your blog or Twitter account if you're going to tweet your bests, on the list below (add your name to the bottom where it says: You are next...CLICK HERE to enter your link)
4. Tag your posts and photos #best09. (These are the posts I've read so far, saved on Delicious daily.)
5. Share your best moments of 2009 over the course of December. Don't get hung up on details or length - if there's an aspect of the question that doesn't resonate, change it to meet your needs.
The #best09 Prompts
December 1 Trip. What was your best trip in 2009?(+ TripIt Pro Giveaway)
December 2 Restaurant moment. Share the best restaurant experience you had this year. Who was there? What made it amazing? What taste stands out in your mind?
December 3 Article. What's an article that you read that blew you away? That you shared with all your friends. That you Delicious'd and reference throughout the year.
December 4 Book. What book - fiction or non - touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies? (+ Bryce Widom Giveaway)
December 5 Night out. Did you have a night out with friends or a loved one that rocked your world? Who was there? What was the highlight of the night?
December 6 Workshop or conference. Was there a conference or workshop you attended that was especially beneficial? Where was it? What did you learn?
December 7 Blog find of the year. That gem of a blog you can't believe you didn't know about until this year.
December 8 Moment of peace. An hour or a day or a week of solitude. What was the quality of your breath? The state of your mind? How did you get there?
December 9 Challenge. Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the best challenge of the year for you? (+ Mondo Beyondo Giveaway)
December 10 Album of the year. What's rocking your world?
December 11 The best place. A coffee shop? A pub? A retreat center? A cubicle? A nook?
December 12 New food. You're now in love with Lebanese food and you didn't even know what it was in January of this year.
December 13 What's the best change you made to the place you live?
December 14 Rush. When did you get your best rush of the year?
December 15 Best packaging. Did your headphones come in a sweet case? See a bottle of tea in another country that stood off the shelves?
December 16 Tea of the year. I can taste my favorite tea right now. What's yours?
December 17 Word or phrase. A word that encapsulates your year. "2009 was _____."
December 18 Shop. Online or offline, where did you spend most of your mad money this year? (+ Room 6 'Keep Calm & Carry On' giveaway)
December 19 Car ride. What did you see? How did it smell? Did you eat anything as you drove there? Who were you with?
December 20 New person. She came into your life and turned it upside down. He went out of his way to provide incredible customer service. Who is your unsung hero of 2009?
December 21 Project. What did you start this year that you're proud of?
December 22 Startup. What's a business that you found this year that you love? Who thought it up? What makes it special?
December 23 Web tool. It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn't live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience.
December 24 Learning experience. What was a lesson you learned this year that changed you?
December 25 Gift. What's a gift you gave yourself this year that has kept on giving?
December 26 Insight or aha! moment. What was your epiphany of the year?
December 27 Social web moment. Did you meet someone you used to only know from her blog? Did you discover Twitter?
December 28 Stationery. When you touch the paper, your heart melts. The ink flows from the pen. What was your stationery find of the year?
December 29 Laugh. What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?
December 30 Ad. What advertisement made you think this year?
December 31 Resolution you wish you'd stuck with. (You know, there's always next year...)
I rang in 2009 salsa dancing to live music by Quemando at the St. Julien in Boulder. This year has felt like a long, fierce, exhausting - and really a beautiful, if at times breathless, dance. It's time to pause and reflect, isn't it?
Remember to tag your posts and photos #best09 if you want to be discovered.
If you want to get automatic daily updates in December for this blog, subscribe now.
Share your Twitter name and/or blog below and find new friends with shared interests. When you post on one of the above topics, tag it #best09 on Twitter, Flickr, FB.
{A list for you to join, a pledge}
{A button to adorn your blog. And the code behind the button. Copy & paste}
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Monday, November 30, 2009
Reader Comments (58)
Don't mean to be a big loser. I read about this challenge on Twitter, where I am new. I understand about putting the tag on my blog posts, but how do people search to find it? Do they just google the tag?
Thanks in advance for replying. I'm just trying to learn the technology and use it to its full potential.
Elizabeth There are a couple of ways to join. One is once you post you put #best09 when you link to it on Twitter. The other is to add your name to the list in the post. This will let other folks find your blog from this post. The third thing is you can copy and paste the blog badge and code which will send people here to see the aggregated content. That help?
Happy blogging!
Neat idea. I think I'll just answer them all at once and post it all tomorrow. :)
AWESOME. I think I will join in :)
Count me in, this looks fun!
I'm always struggling for stuff to write about, so count me in! Sounds like a great challenge.
Oh! This looks like so much fun! Thanks for doing this! Hope I can s l o w myself down when I start responding to the challenge with posts on my blog - I was racing when I signed up and labelled my link "Reflections on the bet of 2009, instead of "best of"...lol...will try to work that in somehow..
Thanks to @binduwiles for alerting me to this great challenge! 1 of my New Year's resolutions is to be a more frequent blogger, & so getting started in this way in Dec. will be an enormous help. Also looking forward to reading all of the inspiration on other people's blogs!
I am in, in, in! Finishing up with Art Every Day Month, I was looking for something. I am here, here, here!
Thank you!
Great idea Gwen. I'll definitely participate.
I'm in! What a great way to open up to gratitude for 2009 and plant seeds for an amazing 2010!
I am so in! This is a fantastic idea :)
I love this. I was needing some bloggy inspiration and this is perfect!
How do you make the button work? I really want to put it on my blog, but where is the code? Let me know, because I want the button!!! Excited for this project and so happy to have this as my first big bloggy thing that I am doing! =)
So excited about this! Love it! How do I get the code for the button?! I am lame...
Great idea, Gwen! xo
Amy I added the code for the badge to the post - right underneath the badge.
Sadly, doesn't look like we'd be a fit - we're coming in on a slightly different angle - http://freshnewday.net - good luck and best wishes to all participants and happy readers. xoL
Thanks to Free and Flawed's Jenn for sharing this in her Reader so i . Just signing up now
Well, I just finished Art Every Day Month and a 30 Day Photo Challenge before that (which has morphed into a 365 Project) so now that I've got a couple of challenges under my belt I am confident that I can do this one! Fun!
I'm definitely writing a long article about 2009. Is it fine to put my blog above before writing said article? Or is it better to link to the article once I'm finished?
So psyched to do this! Woo hoo! Thanks, @gwenbell!
This is a great idea Gwen! I already had today's post scheduled, but I'm going to kick off the #best09 extravaganza tomorrow!
Wow, this is a fantastic idea! I think I'm going to have a feel-good moment when it's all done and I can read back over it, seems like it has been a great year. Thanks Gwen.
This looks like fun. Unfortunately I just finished NaBloWriMo / NaBloPoMo, and I plan to play hooky from my blog for at least half of December to catch up on sleep and other activities. Good luck, everyone, and rock out the rest of 2009!
Incidentally, this comment form doesn't accept my blog's URL (probably 'cause of the two hyphens), so I signing off with it.
- Square Peg Guy
I'm going to post these every day on my blog! :D What a great idea.