Greetings Webtaculators! Welcome to the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION! Yup, Webtacular World has been in circulation, if you can call it that, for an entire year. Even though it isn’t quite THE new year yet, when most publications decide to publish their year-in-reviews, I think starting to review the year in November works just fine. It’s not like anything important happens in December, anyway. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to discovering what the next 52 weeks of Webtacular World will bring. Thanks for reading.

STORY OF THE DECEMBER (’13) (1 hr. read, published in Issue # 3)
What: The Fall of the House of Tsarnaev
Why: Because this still was one of the most heinous crimes committed in recent memory, and this was one of the first long reads that seemed appropriate to publish on Webtacular.

STORY OF JANUARY (5 min. read, published in Issue # 8)
What: Kiev Protests
Why: Because do you even remember that the unrest in Ukraine started as a protest?

STORY OF FEBRUARY (5 min. read, published in Issue # 11)
What: Time Warner Comcast XFINITY NBC
Why: Because I posted this before fighting this merger became my job – so it’s more like the story of my year.

STORY OF MARCH (8 min. read, published in Issue # 13)
What: Russia Invades Ukraine
Why: Because this was the start of the drawn out conflict that still is smoldering.

STORY OF APRIL (10 min. look, published in Issue # 19)
What: The Power Of Reconciliation
Why: Because this was one of the most powerful photo essays of the year.

STORY OF MAY (? min. read, published in Issue # 25)
What: The Best Reads
Why: Because even though it wasn’t my list, there are still a bunch of articles that I haven’t gotten around to reading yet.

STORY OF JUNE (3 min. read, published in Issue # 27)
What: WEBTACULAR WORLD 2.0 Released!
Why: Because this was the birth of the website you are reading this from (meta, huh?).

STORY OF JULY (3 min. read, published in Issue # 32)
What: Germany Defeats Argentina
Why: Because the World Cup was amazing this year.

STORY OF AUGUST (8 min. read, published in Issue # 37)
What: American Battleground
Why: Because we are definitely still feeling the ramifications of what happened in Ferguson, and it’s good to remember exactly why some people are still so angry about it, and why this goes way beyond Michael Brown’s shooting.

STORY OF SEPTEMBER (20 min. explore, published in Issue # 40)
What: WWII Turns 75
Why: Because World War II is still effecting the world today.

STORY OF OCTOBER (too many min. read/watch/listen, published Issue # 46)
What: EBOLA IS COMING FOR YOU!
Why: Because it’s amazing how quickly the virus left our national conversation.

STORY OF NOVEMBER (1.5 hr. read, not published)
What: Darren Wilson and Dorian Johnson’s Testimonies
Why: Because this testimony is the clearest understanding that we can have of what happened in Ferguson.

STORY OF THE YEAR
What: Michael Brown Shot By Officer Wilson
Why: Because this news has dominated our national conversation since the shooting occurred more than any other story of the year. Hopefully next year’s story of the year will be of a lighter note.

Webtacularly yours,
Brian
Managing Editor, Webtacular World
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