Best of 2018.
Tis the season to be ... listing! I simply can't get enough of lists this time of year, so much so that I have begun contributing to the listopia with a list of my own. Below you can find a few of my favorite things from the past year. Happy 2018/2019!
You can also hop in the time machine to see what I loved in 2017.
1. Best books
I had the privilege of reading a ton of books this year -- over 100 -- and there were so very many that I loved. Here are three that stand out to me for the beauty of the writing, the strength of the story, or the depth of the characters (or all three).
Feel free to check out the full list of what I've read. Let me know any books you want to talk about!
2. Best business and management books
- Powerful
- Managing Humans
- The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
- The Knowledge-Creating Company
- So Good They Can’t Ignore You
- High Growth Handbook
- Data-Driven Marketing
- Exactly What to Say
- Tribe of Mentors
- Whiplash
3. Best marketing idea
Loops are the new funnels
Poor funnels. They got dumped on a lot in 2018, disregarded as old-school and ineffective and impersonal. There is a strong vibe of linear, top-down movement when it comes to funnels-as-acquisition; the reality is that acquisition is neither linear nor top-down. Loops do a better job of reflecting reality for user growth in 2018.
- Loops are the new funnels [Reforge]
- Is "funnel" even the right concept for building audiences? [Poynter]
4. Best newsletters
- Homerun -- collection of workplace culture tips, sent weekly
- Reforge brief -- recaps of the best growth and marketing articles, sent weekly
- Dense Discovery -- beautiful collection of design resources and interesting things, sent weekly
5. Best people to follow
Anyone who is not like you.
May we all exit our echo chambers and welcome fresh voices, fresh faces, and new perspectives in 2019. Here are a few of my favorite follows:
6. Best copywriting
- Nishi - showcase of great online writing
Example:
Nobody reads websites. People read what interests them. Sometimes it's a website.
7. Best podcast episodes
- Rebecca Traistor's interview on the Longform podcast
- "It's not the big that eat the small. It's the fast that eat the slow." Startup Chat with Hiten and Steli
8. Best learning app
9. Best new-to-me tool
I've known about it for awhile (and happily used tools like it before -- Goodbrew, Curated, etc.). This year, I dove in because I needed to save time creating my monthly e-mail newsletter. Time saved = ✅
10. Best workplace culture app
Standups.io -- daily video standups for remote teams
11. Best website design
12. Best blog redesign
(Note: I'm pretty proud of what we designed for the Buffer blog this year, too.)
13. Best blogs
14. Best microblog
Swiss Miss. Good medicine to remind you we're all gonna be okay.
15. The "ship it" award for product innovation
Is Product Hunt a product? Not sure, but I did really enjoy the way they shipped so many enhancements to their community this year. Maker space, Sip daily news, a podcast, and more.
16. Best article
How to stay scrappy by the Dropbox Paper team.
17. Best longform
The red flags and magic numbers that investors look for in your startup’s metrics by Andrew Chen
18. Most enjoyable landing page
and just for fun ...
19. Best purchase
Melissa & Doug temporary tattoos
20. Best video game moment
21. Best iOS game
22. Best songs
These ones:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/42YqRdD31TTYDlV3iki7vL
23. Best movie
Mission Impossible: Fallout