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Andrey “Rarst” Savchenko —  — Thoughts — best, blog, group-writing

My best post of 2008

Somehow there was no doubts which post, out of those 180 (that many already), to pick as best one. But what exactly makes best post?

Best posts are easy to recognize

Between those 150+ RSS feeds there are a lot of posts that get before my eyes daily. Some are good, some suck, but most are generic. Generic posts have bit of value, tint of personal opinion and mild reaction from readers. I think that best posts simply have times more of that.

  1. Valuable information . Doesn’t matter what it is as long as it makes reader glued to reading.
  2. Original ideas . No matter how good it is when every single blog made post on that.
  3. Good form and metaphor . These can bring post to great heights (or ruin it).
  4. Social proof . Best post are those that liked by lots of readers and useful to lots of readers.

Best posts are hard to write

I don’t know a single blog that can produce best-level posts all the time (maybe Copyblogger comes close). Myself even when I feel that spark that fuels my thoughts category – that is rarely enough to reach that level.

I think my best post in year 2008 is 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 .

By the way what was the post you liked most at Rarst.net in 2008? Tell me. :)

This post was written for Simply The Best group writing project.

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6 Comments

  • Ben Tremblay #

    Even though I didn't comment on that one I do remember reading it. It was a good one for sure! This "best post of 2008" is a good idea. I also see that you changed that header! And removed the "www" before Rarst! :) Good job. I don't know if it's just me but the website was loading slowly here...I'll come back tomorrow to confirm.

  • Rarst #

    @Ben The idea is good one and I think there will be plenty of excellent posts to read in roundup for this group writing. Theme obviously got bit heavier (don't know how slow it is for you at moment, ~200Kb for index page - should be still relatively fast) but I am far from done. :) How do you like featured area in header?

  • Ben Tremblay #

    It feels better today, it's much faster to load than the other day! I like the featured header, but I think you should put the three blocks into a larger rectangle. That would make the header look a bit more like a header... That's just a suggestion! ;)

  • Rarst #

    @Ben It would be somewhat boring to put in that much work and get header that simply looks like a header. :) btw I remade footer as well, now some styling tweaks and speed optimization. I set finalizing design as one of the goals at three months marks (too much time wasted on minor tweaking) and half year mark is in a week. :)

  • The DataRat #

    A blog has the personality of it's creator/owner/writer. Don't over-estimate any single post. An excellent blog is a cumulative effect that has most to do with personal style over the long haul. Start with appeal: We're talking here of who the blog appeals to based on it's topic(s) and management of that topic(s). People stick around for more of what they came for. Only then do we get into the actual presentation of content. Take this blog, for example... You combine the polar traits of decisiveness (opinionated) with open-mindedness. It's a combination what is normatively oppositional which makes your commentary winsome. There's no single post that's caused me to spend the last few hours going through your archives. It's personality and information. The DataRat .

  • Rarst #

    @DataRat Well, see italic at end of post. :) I had to choose one for that purpose. >You combine the polar traits of decisiveness (opinionated) with open-mindedness Quite an insight. Never defined myself in such words but I guess you have a point. I am not shy to have strong personal opinion but I am rarely chained for good by it.