The100: Best of 2020

As is tradition, below is a list of the top 10 most clicked articles that featured in The100 during 2020.

In 10th

In 10th place we have Lisa Charlotte Rost’s tremendously detailed piece on how to pick more beautiful colours for your data presentations. Pleasing.

In 9th

Next, in 9th, is a video about why an empty shampoo bottle falls over so easily. These things are important.

In 8th

8th is the 2020 Behavioural Economics guide. Bookmark away, if only for the application ‘how to sell sprouts’. Worth keeping for a rainy day if you don’t have the time to read now.

In 7th

Search listening site AnswerThePublic comes in 7th. Type anything into it, including a brand or company name, and it uses autocomplete data from search engines to generate phrases and question people are asking around your keyword. Clever.

In 6th

6th is Dave Trott’s tale of a wine merchant using the scarcity heuristic to invent a tradition now culturally ingrained. It’s one of the greatest marketing gimmicks of our time.

In 5th

Basecamp’s guide to internal communication is 5th. Number 9 is especially good: “Never expect or require someone to get back to you immediately unless it’s a true emergency. The expectation of immediate response is toxic.”

In 4th

The 4th most clicked was a list of 78 new complex emotions from The Cut. Ventastic still tickles me: “The fabulous and exhausting feeling right after a particularly animated and energetic venting session.”

In 3rd and 2nd

Both 3rd and 2nd places belong to Monsieur Russell Davies and his brilliant articles on PowerPoint – one on its 48 laws and the other on the 10 PPTs that shook the world. 

In (a very awkward) 1st

Now this is a tad awkward. The most clicked link from last year is a curation of 2020 trend predictions. The list is from January, so I guarantee none foresaw the coronacoaster year we all had. Not sure whether to laugh or cry. An image search ‘Axolotl smile’ always cheers me up. Try it. You’ll see.