This is the Only ‘Best of 2018’ List That Matters

Kyle Krajewski
December 28, 2018
Categories

This is the only 2018 year-end list that matters. It was another eventful 365 days, and this one captures just a little bit of everything that went down. It’s a bit of a long one, so without further adieu, let’s just jump on in:

Best Social Moment

You may remember early, early in the year 2018 a little story about how one hashtag and a little bit of luck reunited two long lost siblings. I’d challenge any reader to name one better example of how social media is a powerful tool that sometimes brings with it unexpected and delightful experiences if used the right way.

Best Overall Moment

On February 4th, 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl.

The final score was 41-33.

(Pictured: The author’s right leg.)

We had a parade on Broad Street.

Tom Brady dropped it.

He also fumbled.

Best ChatterBlast Moment

This may be news to some readers, but earlier this year, ChatterBlast actually bought a big ol’ plot of land up in the Poconos and started moonlighting as coffee farmers. Our product would ultimately result in a lovely holiday gift for some of our favorite clients, friends, and family.

We developed a whole new brand and website. You can read our full story here. Try our coffee for yourself here. And check out our official commercial below:

Best Campaign

In recent months, Steak-umm’s Twitter account has become a little weird and philosophical, but they started the year off with a bang.

Channelling a comical and unnecessary amount of fury over their lack of verification on Twitter, @steak_umm used the hashtag #VerifySteakUmm, a whole lot of capital letters, mentions, and memes to essentially yell at and bully the platform into giving them that coveted blue check mark.

While a lot of this insanity actually ran through the end of 2017, it was in January of this year that it all paid off.

Steak-umm bless.

Best Meme

Wow. Now this is a tough one. 2018 was a year full of some of the dankest memes the internet has ever seen. We saw memes that breached new boundaries, challenged the cultural status quo, and really prompted us to think more deeply about their roles in our digital discourse of our time as a whole.

But to me, the best memes are the simplest ones. The dumbest and most pointless pieces of content that that just make me laugh for no real reason. That why I’m handing this one to moths and lamps. Enjoy.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoKl_O7hfuk/?utm_source=ig_embed

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoMckwhBSBD/?utm_source=ig_embed

https://twitter.com/kylekraj/status/1046551363428200449

Best Meme Page

We all follow memes accounts. We get a quick laugh from them as we’re scrolling through our Instagram feeds. We tag our best pals in their posts and find a little excitement when we come across a new and fresh page we hadn’t seen before.

What makes a meme account the best? A few different things:

For me, @drgrayfang is the only option for Best Meme Page. They check all of the boxes above. See some of their work below.

Best Website/Blog

The Ringer was just the perfect website for me in 2018. Primarily undertaking unique and creative topics within the world of sports, The Ringer also does an excellent job of commenting on television, movies, music, and other significant pop culture events.

Beyond their written work, their excellent imagery and web design is something that can inspire anyone working in the world of media. In 2018, they also continued to build out an extensive network of podcasts that tap into just about anything you can imagine. My favorite being Westworld: The Recappapables, which breaks down each episode of the most confusing show that I couldn’t stop watching in 2018.

Best Podcast

Not, this isn’t going to Westworld: The Recappables.

Dissect is an excellent podcast for music lovers that blew up their year as it became an official member of the Spotify family and one that I love listening to myself.

This podcast, hosted by Cole Cuchna, does deep dives on great albums. And when I say deep, I mean deeeep. One album per season. One song per 30 minute episode. And a few contextual episodes at the beginning and end of each season.

I first discovered the podcast during Season 3’s 20-episode dissection of Frank Ocean’s Blonde and was quick to jump into the other 3 available seasons:

Give it a listen and you’ll learn a million new things about the composition, lyrics, and cultural context of these great pieces of art.

Best Video

Posted morning before the Super Bowl, just as everyone across Philadelphia was getting excited for the big game. Give this video a god damn Academy Award:

Beyond just this one post, the Eagles video and social team were crushing it all season long.

Best Tweet

This is a runner up for best video. And it’s also a tweet, so we’ll slide it in here. It was timely. It’s hilarious. And again, it’s so stupid that you just can’t help but laugh.

https://twitter.com/straightalkjud/status/1038087388814368768

Best Brand Account

A brand that otherwise needs no introduction, Pop Tarts made a name for itself on Twitter this year by hopping on the “roast the consumer” train. Wendy’s is played out, in my opinion. But Pop Tarts offered a fresh take on the trend by both roasting and becoming frustrated with people suggesting some wild new Pop Tart flavor combos.

Best Fail

You’d think by 2018, we’d seen enough brands on Twitter screw up colossally by being tryhards making weak attempts at humor by chiming in on what everyone is talking about.

And you’d be wrong. Because it still happens all the time. A prime example from the heat of the Yanny vs. Laurel debate that swept the internet back in May.

https://twitter.com/florentderue/status/997107407145918466

Yikes.

Best Trend

The internet teamed up to do a lot of good work together over the past year. Perhaps the most hilarious and inspiring examples of this was the ongoing trend of videotaping and publicly shaming people for being racist idiots in the real world. We also got some great memes out of this trend.

See: BBQ Becky…

And Permit Patty.

Best Troll

I think it’s obvious that the best troll of 2018 goes to former best troll (2006, Borat) Sacha Baron Cohen for his earth-shaking Showtime program Who is America?

Cohen essentially dressed up in numerous disguises with the goal in mind of exposing and humiliating public figures on national television. If you’re familiar with has past work, it went about as well as you would expect.

Take note, internet trolls. Sacha remains the king.

Best Own

An own is defined by Urban Dictionary as the following:

“To own is to beat an opponent while displaying a high degree of skill and style.”

See below tweet.

So essentially this girl went viral by tricking the internet into thinking she was some reformed republican, started a GoFundMe page, raised a boatload of money from the MAGA folks, and bought herself a brand new iPhone.

Lol. Owned.

Best Instagram Grid

Perhaps the most important thing as a creative on Instagram is how your grid looks as one cohesive piece of art. As a Philadelphia 76ers fan I may be partial, but @asubers (Alex Subers) – who is the official team photographer – has a killer Instagram grid. All (or mostly) in black and white, Subers’ grid features outtakes of the best shots he’s captured in games and other team shoots. His fully colorized work lives both in his Instagram stories and on the Sixers’ team accounts. It’s nice to see some discipline in picking a theme and finding a realistic way to stick to it.

Best Viral Sensation

There has been a growing trend in the comments of posts by local news networks on Facebook. That trend is “I’m just here to read the comments.”

They’ll post a story featuring a mugshot of person who looks particularly…. Different? Disheveled? Downright crazy? Often times, it feels like they’re sharing the mugshots just because they know engagement will be through the roof in the form of comments roasting the person in the picture. It’s okay to admit it’s funny.

The best example of this in 2018 goes to “Wide Neck,” who has apparently developed his own career in social media stardom as a result of the reaction to his mugshot. Here’s a brief look at how it played out:

https://twitter.com/DamnWideNeck/status/1069660557899415552

https://twitter.com/TheHabeebb/status/1070745795761225731

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqkboz-gNEb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://twitter.com/damnwideneck1/status/1069067803850932224

And that’s about all I’ve got folks. Thank you if you’ve made it this far.

Did I miss anything?

Do you have any suggestions?

If so, please keep them to yourself. I’ve covered everything. This is the only list that matters and none of this is up for debate. See you in 2019.

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