With another year now behind us, before we move on to new content there’s one final item on the agenda and that’s to count down the top five most-viewed posts from the prior 12 months.
This is something we’ve done almost every year; of course the site’s statistics are monitored continuously but as you – the readers – can’t see them it seems that you enjoy finding out, come year end, which posts were the most popular. Over the years the lists have been decently varied too, and while in some cases we knew right away which posts to expect, there have been some real surprises mixed in as well.
Anyway, let’s get started counting down the top five from 2018, beginning with another top five countdown as it happens!
#5. The Top Five Local Builds of 2017
When I began going through the site’s 2018 statistics I was very pleased to see this particular post land among the top five of the year. Every post that goes live on this site is one that I of course hope will interest and engage you all, but I frankly had no idea how this would be received when I originally put it together. Would a Top Five Builds list be a welcome addition to the site? Would people care?
Happily, upon the post going live in January last year, not only did it immediately became apparent that people enjoyed the idea but it actually seemed to mean something to those listed as well which was a happy surprise for me! I’d even stated in the post that I wouldn’t mind if people frankly didn’t care, but it seems that wasn’t the case. I received some amazing feedback and kind words almost straight away, and so knew right then and there that it would be followed up with a Top Five Builds of 2018 list (watch for that soon!). Such lists will always be for fun and never something meant to be taken as the final say of our community’s offerings, but hopefully they continue to be something that the included builders enjoy.
The Top Five Local Builds of 2017
#4. Menace Meets of July
Next up, in the fourth place spot, was the coverage from July’s Menace meets. Originally meet photos on the site had been published weekly with each post covering an individual gathering, but because that schedule was a bit hectic – and because I didn’t always shoot a ton of photos each week – I started switching to grouping the pictures together by month (or even as bi-monthly sets) and intend to carry on with that. It worked out better and not only allowed for larger entries, but realistically I couldn’t always get a chance to edit and upload weekly meet photos before the next gathering.
Anyway, July’s meets saw strong turnouts and a continued presence of classics being mixed in with us “tuners” following the temporarily reborn Wild Wednesday meets shutting down. Without the Grey Eagle parking lot – which is now an off-ramp for a coming interchange – no new location has been found that has been capable of hosting a successful follow-up. It’s sad, but just as the original Beyond meets died, times change and as the city continues to evolve as well sometimes things like this happen. The Menace meets have served well though as a melting pot for the local car community and there’s no sign of that changing any time soon.
#3. Install: OEM RS Brake Cooling Deflectors
Nearly every year a Mk3 install – or part announcement at least – has landed on the top five list. 2017 even saw two, in fact, so the question wasn’t really if one would be in the top five this year, but which one would be.
That honour went to the install of the OEM RS brake deflectors, which was shown via photos as well as a video on the YouTube channel. They have the great combination of being easy to fit, functional, affordable, easy to source, and, well, being RS parts. Who doesn’t want some RS in their Mk3? The only downside perhaps is that they’re nearly invisible on the car being that they’re buried down low behind the wheels and brakes, but at least they’re doing their job and keeping my brakes cooler…as I drive at the speed limit to park the car at meets and shows. When’s that new track coming?
Install: OEM RS Brake Cooling Deflectors
#2. Sunday School 2018 – Part 1
This year’s second most-popular post was the beginning of our Sunday School coverage. This was a significant year for the show as it marked the first time it hadn’t been held at Max Bell, instead being moved to downtown Calgary in a parking lot off of one of the main roads. With some uncertainties about the new venue and no shortage of wildfire smoke in the air there were naturally some concerns regarding how 2018’s edition of the show would compare to those from previous years, but as the day began it almost immediately became clear that any worrying had been for nothing.
In the end, the photos I shot that day wound up as one of my favourite sets of all time. Everything came together beautifully for not only a very successful show, but another great day with friends and other fellow enthusiasts, plus the change of scenery (and the ability to get different vantage points via the staircase) served as great motivation and inspiration to play around with the camera. Many photos taken this day even found their way into an issue of Alberta Rides to help provide more exposure for what continues to be a very fun – and important – local event.
The #1 Post from 2018…
A couple of years ago the top two spots on the countdown were taken by a pair of posts from the same event; specifically, it was the unveiling of Kokumajutsu (RWB YYC) at Tunerworks. That occurrence aside, the top five posts of each year have always been varied in terms of content; there may have been more than one relating to the Mk3 Focus platform, more than one event post, or more than one car feature, but never two from the same series of posts.
Until this year, that is, as we once again saw the top two spots taken by posts from the same event. Obviously then it’s a Sunday School post at #1 this year, but which one specifically?
#1. Sunday School 2018 – Part 2
So, yes. iMSS Part 1 was #2, and iMSS Part 2 was #1. I’m not too surprised frankly as Sunday School coverage always does well on the site, but after landing at #3 last year your views pushed it up to both top spots this time around.
Whereas Part 1 had been of the roll-in and setup portion of the event, Part 2 was the beginning of the “proper” show, looking at cars such as Since Day One’s (including Ryan’s F355, which has since been seen in Super Street – Congratulations Ryan!), Lost Royalty’s, Jason’s Black Hole FR-S, and plenty of tasteful Hondas as well.
Like I had mentioned above, my set of photos from this year’s Sunday School is one of my favourites of all time and so not only was I very happy to see this post receive so much attention, but was also very humbled to hear and see a lot of great feedback on the shots. Many even found the Black Hole joke funny – sorry Jason. Haha
Thank you all for continuing to follow along with the site over the last year, and thank you as well for every text, email, DM, comment, and so on, in response to what went live. Your feedback and engagement is always greatly appreciated.
-Bill