Greetings Webtaculators! I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year, and that the next year is better than this one. On to the stories of the year.

STORY OF THE YEAR
What: Trump
Why: Because regardless of your thoughts on the man, the current president has undoubtedly changed the direction of the U.S., and the discussion surrounding every other major event of this year. Mass shootings, Nazis, health care, taxes, national disasters, national parks, international relations, immigration – you name it, and the discussion inevitably involved a singular entity’s understanding (or lack thereof) of any of these events.

ECONOMIC THING OF THE YEAR
What: Bitcoin
Why: Because the impact of a nascent currency cannot be overstated.

LAW THING OF THE YEAR
What: Travel Ban
Why: Because no other policy enacted by the Trump administration showed just how willing the administration was to buck any sense of useful policy for something that FELT useful. I think it is the epitome of the type of thinking that will drive political discourse for the next 3 years.

SCIENCE THING OF THE YEAR
What: No Neutrality
Why: Because net neutrality is dead. Long live net neutrality

SPORTS THING OF THE YEAR
What: Take A Knee
Why: Because the political awakening of the NFL, in combination with people finally realizing that football players are literally killing themselves for our entertainment, brought down one of the surest bets of entertainment and Americana.

MOVIE THING OF THE YEAR
What: #MeToo
Why: Because the fallout in the entertainment world from women coming forward after the Weinstein accusations blew open the doors on sexual harassment.

MUSIC THING OF THE YEAR
What: Damn
Why: Because Kendrick made a statement that has continued to resonate throughout the year.

PHOTOGRAPHY THING OF THE YEAR
What: A Year In Review
Why: Because pictures matter.

LITERATURE THING OF THE YEAR
What: Books
Why: Because having 2 hours a day where you’re stuck on a train actively avoiding any sort of contact with the writhing masses surrounding you leads to having a TON of time to read. I know for certain I read 26 books since the end of July (thank you Kindle), so I’m assuming I read about 60 for the entire year. This is a massive improvement from the year that I took off from reading, and I can happily say that I fell in love with literature again.

VIDEO GAME THING OF THE YEAR
What: Zelda
Why: Because after revisiting Hyrule for the downloadable content, I can still safely say Breath of the Wild remains one of the greatest video games I have ever played. Also, my cat is named Zelda, and when she’s not tearing up the carpet, she’s pretty ok too.

INTERNET THINGS OF THE YEAR (∞)
What: DJ Earworm; PatriotHole; New Year’s
Why: Because Internet.

THING YOU SHOULD GET BRIAN OF THE YEAR
What: More Time With People I Love
Why: Because Brian deserves it.

Webtacularly yours,
Brian
Managing Editor, Webtacular World
The Internet You Didn’t Know You Needed™