I want to thank everyone for their input as I compiled the Best of 2008, your help was greatly appreciated. Ultimately, these are Weakonomics awards so I did have the final decision. Thanks and see you next year!
Websites:
Hulu – Watch your favorite TV shows online, free.
Goodreads – There is a whole Facebook social-networking thing here, but all I care about is being able to track the books I’ve read and what I want to read. Sure beats the post-it note system I had been using.
Wikipedia – With Wikipedia, I don’t need to be smart. I just need an internet connection.
Honorable Mention: Failblog – Everyone needs a laugh.
Money Sites:
Clusterstock – A new blog that is really entertaining for people that love the details of Wall Street. Funny posts and
Google Finance – Track stocks, get news, customize the interface. If you are in to intraday business stuff, you have to use Google Finance.
The Simple Dollar – Trent is THE personal finance blog. There are others, but no one can present the information to a beginner the way he can. I respect that man and look up to him more than any other blogger in our sphere. He’s also one of the few able to do it full-time.
News Websites
NY Times – They offer the best news coverage, but be careful to ignore editorial biases that seep into many of their articles. Consciously pull out the facts of each article and you’ve got great stuff here.
Google News – The best news aggregator. I can browse hundreds of sources and compare articles, or search for a specific story.
The Huffington Post – Perhaps best known for political commentary, there is no greater collection of brilliant writers than those under the employ of The Huffington Post
Software:
Open Office – A free and wonderful replacement for Microsoft Word, Power Point, and Excel.
Mozilla Firefox – A free internet browser that replaces Safari on Macs and Internet Explorer on Windows. Firefox is the best all around browser out there.
Keypass – A free (see a pattern) password manager. I was in dire need of a password manager.
Music:
Pandora
Last.FM
AOL Radio
All three services are similar, it’s simply a matter of what you prefer. I prefer Pandora, but it’s all free streaming music and you can kind of pick what you want.
Books:
Predictably Irrational – My Review – Buy!
The Economic Naturalist – No Review (Yet!) – Buy!
Freakonomics – My Review – Buy!
Highlights of 2008
Best Fails
Bear Stearns – The house of cards started here.
Treasury Secretary – Hank “The Bank” Paulson fails to use $700 billion to save us from recession.
Economy – Basically the worst on record since the Great Depression. No link, like I could sum it up in one post…
Best Successes
Barack Obama Election – No doubt this election was important on so many levels.
Oil Speculation – The hidden gem. As investors fled stocks and mortgages, their money was dumped into oil and the price jumped to $150. New regulations removed those speculators, and now they can’t control the price of oil.
Beijing Olympics – The Olympics was important for two reasons. China put faces to their name, and we learned truly how important China is the world. The Olympics also brought a welcome (if short) distraction from all the market turmoil we suffered this year.
Most Read Weakonomics Posts
The Weakonomist Buys A Car – People are interested in buying cars. My story was passed around among readers to their friends and I got tons of hits. It was also one of my first posts.
Cons of Universal Healthcare – This post ranks high on Google and Yahoo’s search engine results for “Cons of Universal Healthcare.” It looks like it remains a hot issue. I’m not complaining.
Star Wars Money Lessons – A Star Wars fan site got a hold of my post and their readers hopped on over to Weakonomics for a read. I’m working on more lists like this now, but it’s not easy,
Honorable Mention: Why GM, Ford, and Chrysler Deserve Nothing – A late comer because it was posted on 12/15. It apparently was passed around at the workplaces of some of the Big 3, I wonder how high up the corporate ladder it was read. Come on executives, I invite you to prove me wrong!
Least Read Weakonomics Posts
Too many to count, but you know there are some bad ones out there.
2008 was a great year huh? By that I of course mean it was a terrible year. The best moments were a presidential election and the passing of regulation that should have never been needed. We all know Obama will be a let down but history books will remember him fondly.
 By The Weakonomist |
The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice. |
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