With 2011 just days away, I thought I’d round up some of my favorite viral articles of 2010. These articles did well in social, garnered some attention on Digg, and were some of the best articles of the past year. I’ve limited myself to just one article per domain (though I could have easily done an entire post on the brilliance of Cracked.com). Without further ado, here are my favorite articles of this past year.
10. Article: Seven Insane Black Markets You Won’t Believe Actually Exist
Domain: TheSmokingJacket.com
Diggs to date: 220+
Why it rules: The world is a crazy place, and this list is fascinating reading for anyone who’s interested in economics or foreign cultures. Also, this quote makes me ROFL: “Amazon has more sketchy whitening systems than Apartheid.”
9. Article: 8 Things Made Cooler With Lasers
Domain: HolyTaco.com
Diggs to date: 50+
Why it rules: This should have gotten more traction than it did. Lasers make everything cooler.
8. Article: 11 Biggest Complaints Actors have had About Superhero Costumes
Domain: Blastr.com
Diggs to date: 480+
Why it rules: An insider look into the making of superhero flicks? Who wouldn’t love that?!
7. Article: Old Digg Crushes New Digg in Reader Vote
Domain: Mashable.com
Diggs to date: 3,650+
Why it rules: See, not all my picks were lists! For social media users, 2010 will always be the year of the New Digg, and the resulting backlash triggered a furor that was one of the most newsworthy stories in social media.
6. Article: How to Pet a Kitty
Domain: TheOatmeal.com
Diggs to date: 1,160+
Why it rules: Viral articles usually have pretty standard formatting, so Matt Inman’s use of graphics makes him stand out from the pack, and he was pretty much the Digg Darling of 2010. Every piece on his site rules, but this one is especially great.
5. Article: WikiLeaks Founder Praised by Pentagon Papers Exposer
Domain: ComputerWorld.com
Diggs to date: 640+
Why it rules: Wikileaks was arguably the biggest story of the year, and this article shows there really is nothing new under the sun.
4. Article: 9 Life-Changing Inventions the Experts Said Would Never Work
Domain: EcoSalon.com
Diggs to date: 420+
Why it rules: Because I’m a trivia/history nerd, and I said so. The old-timey quotes are really delightful.
3. Article: The 7 Best and 7 Worst Sidekicks in Videogame History
Domain: Dorkly.com
Diggs to date: 15+
Why it rules: Dorkly was one of my favorite new sites in 2010, and this article is a perfect example of why. This is another article that didn’t get the traction it deserved on Digg, but got a lot of exposure through other social outlets.
2. Article: Adam Savage: TSA saw my junk, missed 12″ razor blades
Domain: ArsTechnica.com
Diggs to date: 1,180+
Why it rules: Combining our love of Mythbusters with our hatred of the TSA, this article was bound to be a home run.
1. Article: 11 Celebrities Who Were Secretly Total Badasses
Domain: Cracked.com
Diggs to date: 90+
Why it rules: True, it got fewer Diggs than other articles on this list. But it was my favorite of this year because I learned so much, and the facts about Robert Mitchum and Audrey Hepburn pretty much blew my mind. It was the perfect blend of trivia, pop culture, and history, and that’s why it was my favorite viral article of the year.
So, what did I miss? What were your favorite viral articles of 2010? Tell me in the comments section below!
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A list like this could be made every month in 2011 …because the world is an interesting place, and we can learn something new every month not just once a year.
Very true! Thanks for reading!
It seems like the trend is a top [number] list
Yeah, the majority of articles (not IGs or funny pix) that got popular on Digg in 2010 were either lists or breaking news…not as many tutorials or essays as I wish there might have been. People love lists. Even the social users who hate Top X lists still love ‘em. I think a lot of people still write them because they are easily digested by readers, and also create controversy (and by extension, traffic and comments).