Top Posts of 2012

December 31, 2012

2012 was my first year as a blogger.  I learned a ton, met lots of people and had a lot of fun along the way.  As I close out the year and prepare to keep things rolling in 2013 I thought it would be a good time to review my top posts for 2012.

Here are the top 10 in David Letterman like reverse order:

10. Terrible map by Duke Climate Researchers.  I had to call out these researchers for failing to even think about basic geography concepts when producing their temperature change map.  The map by the National Cancer Institute attempting to illustrate melanoma risk is probably even worse.

9. Academic Peer Review.  The academic peer review and research publication process is completely obsolete so I felt compelled to add some satirical commentary on my view of the process.

8. Map of American Cultural Ecoregions.  This is a recent post that has generated lots of interest, especially on LinkedIn.  I plan to continue developing this concept in 2013.

7. High fire risk in Colorado.  The Waldo Canyon fire near Colorado Springs was a big story this year, along with the incredible heat wave all across the US.

6. Top 25 sunny places.  I was surprised at how much sunshine we receive in Southern Colorado and wanted to identify other places with lots of sunshine and relatively low housing costs.

5. Banks are destroying America’s neighborhoods. As a real estate investor it became painfully clear to me this year that banks have exacerbated and prolonged the housing crisis that began in 2008.  This post was mentioned by an editor on LinkedIn and during one day I received over 2,000 page views, my biggest traffic day of the year.

4. Why Pueblo.  I moved my family to Pueblo, Colorado earlier this year and in this post I make the case for Pueblo as a truly extraordinary bargain for people looking for a great place to live as a telecommuter or retiree.

3. Geography visualization in business.  I make a case for increasing the use of geographical data analysis and visualization in business.  I also argue in a separate post that geospatial has a place in business schools.

2. Spatial Career Series.  My series of posts on spatial careers generated plenty of interest.  I heard from a number of young people who were grateful for a different perspective and private sector guidance that seems to be generally lacking in most colleges and universities.

1. Top Geography Programs.  My most popular post this year was definitely my ranking of the best Geography graduate programs in the U.S.  I plan to publish a new and updated ranking with improved methodology in 2013.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who read and commented on my blog in 2012.  I hope I can improve in 2013.  Please let me know if you have any ideas for posts or suggestions for improvement.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year!