Ask the Readers: What's Your Favorite Discovery of 2010

by Will Chen on 20 December 2010 38 comments

Editor's note: Congrats to Nicholas, Joel, and @1bets1, for winning this contest! We gave out no Facebook prize because due to a technical glitch beyond our control, this story was not properly published on Facebook. So instead, we gave out an extra commenting prize instead.

Thanks to the recommendations of many good friends and readers, I discovered a lot of awesome things this year. I fell in love with NBC's Community, LastPass, Radiolab, Kim Palmer's Generation Earn, and Youtube Music Channels (hipster versions of Lady Gaga? Yes please!)

What is your favorite discovery of 2010? Did you find a new favorite blog, tv show, or Twitter account? Did you learn a new lifehack or discover something interesting about yourself or the world around you?

Share your ideas and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

Win 1 of 3 $20 Amazon Gift Cards

We're doing three giveaways — one for random comments, one for random Facebook "Likes", and another one for random tweets.

How to Enter:

Post your answer in the comments below,
Go to our Facebook page, "Like" us, then "Like" the update mentioning this giveaway (you can comment, as well — but you don't have to for entry.)
Tweet your answer. Include both "@wisebread" and "#WBAsk" in your tweet so we'll see it and count it.

If you're inspired to write a whole blog post OR you have a photo on flickr to share, please link to it in the comments or tweet it.

Giveaway Rules:

Contest ends Monday, December 27th at 11:59 pm CST. Winners will be announced after December 27th on the original post and via Twitter. Winners will also be contacted via email and Twitter Direct Message.
You can enter all three drawings — once by leaving a comment, once by liking our Facebook update, and once by tweeting.
Only tweets that contain both "@wisebread" and "#WBAsk" will be entered. (Otherwise, we won't see it.)
Only those who have "Liked" both our Facebook page and the contest update will be entered.

Good Luck!

Best of Wise Bread

10 Frugal Tips You Haven’t Already Heard	No Money for a Week? Here’s What to Do.
7 Ways to Have a Better Day at Work	10 Delicious Ways to Use Leftover Mashed Potatoes
7 Secrets to Refinancing an Underwater Mortgage	Money Management in 5 Minutes a Day

21 Dec. 2010 | 2:45 AM Howie

Nice website, article and opportunity here, Will. With a passion for writing, one major discovery I found revolved around a Web 2.0 website where one can earn a sizable, transparent, lifetime residual revenue share just for submitting content. Interestingly enough, after a Google search for a similar topic, I actually arrived at this blog through an article about eHow that was posted in September 2009. (this was apart of a "write for money online article series by Xin Lu)

This website is called InfoBarrel, and with an up to 90% revenue share, I'm already earning a sizable monthly income there just from submitting content (I have around 350 or so articles now, under the username "x3xsolxdierx3x")....This site was mentioned twice by elite blogger, Pat Flynn, from the smartpassiveincome.com blog on 2 occasions! (about a few months ago + just a few days ago he posted a video made by the owner Ryan McKenzie).....Based on my own research, I'm 100% confident that this site's exponential growth will cause it to be a Top 100 Alexa Ranked website eventually.

I hope I didn't wear out my welcome with that response. I don't own the site, however, I'm a HUGE fan of it because of their generosity and transparency.

22 Dec. 2010 | 9:57 AM Will Chen

"under the username x3xsolxdierx3x"

Doesn't Howie roll off the tongue a bit better. =)

I'm glad you found a great way to make money off your passion. Congratulations!

21 Dec. 2010 | 5:48 AM lostAnnfound

I'm not a big TV watcher, but my 17 year-old has me watching "The Big Bang Theory." I can't remember the last time I laughed that much when watching TV.

22 Dec. 2010 | 9:59 AM Will Chen

One of the writers for TBBT did an extensive Q&A with Reddit. He really gets into the guts of the show. If you or your son enjoy very detailed TV discussions you might enjoy it!

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/elzyk/iama_writer_for_the_big_bang...

21 Dec. 2010 | 10:29 AM Kristin

My biggest life discovery this year was my fiance, but my biggest online discovery was Valued Opinions, a survey site that pays a decent amount, about $1 for each 10 minute block needed to complete a survey. I only qualify for about half the surveys (I would qualify for more if I had chidren at home), but I've still managed to earn about $60 this year for providing my opinion in short surveys.

22 Dec. 2010 | 10:01 AM Will Chen

"I would qualify for more if I had chidren at home."

This is where your fiance would come in handy.

21 Dec. 2010 | 10:34 AM Sweta

My favorite discovery of 2010 is a personal finance website called Learnvest.com. It is dedicated to helping young adults with their finances. No, I don't work for them.

22 Dec. 2010 | 10:03 AM Will Chen

They're very supportive of us on Twitter. Nice folks!

21 Dec. 2010 | 1:41 PM Alyssa

My biggest discovery was expanding my worldview. I have the opportunity to spend 2 months working in Germany which was an eye-opening experience. It was a chance to become immersed in the German culture of sausage, beer, and lebkuchen (gingerbread). I also discovered the beautiful German Christmas Markets in Nuremberg and other cities and that walking around smelling the delicious aromas and hearing Germans speaking around me holding their gluhwein (hot, mulled wine) was an experience I'll never forget.

22 Dec. 2010 | 10:05 AM Will Chen

That sounds wonderful Alyssa. It's been raining in LA for 3 days. I could use some gluhwein.

21 Dec. 2010 | 5:19 PM KelR1

"Hot in Cleveland" with the marvelous Betty White. This show was even funnier than I thought it would be!

22 Dec. 2010 | 10:06 AM Will Chen

I love Betty White. I got to check out that show.

21 Dec. 2010 | 6:15 PM K Oglesby

My best discovery this year was how much money I was saving but not putting on my debt. it is a hassle to have bills from so many different companies but finding out that some debts go to the same collector so it made it easier to pay off alot of my debt. I'm getting so much closer to losing my debt. Now I have to work on paying off the student loans.

22 Dec. 2010 | 10:20 AM Will Chen

Congratulations! I love your positive attitude. Too many people get overwhelmed and just get deeper into debt. You're taking active steps to tackle it head on. Best of luck in 2011 and please come back and share your progress with us.

21 Dec. 2010 | 11:16 PM Cynthia Williams

New to me this year was pandora.com. I'm amazed at how well it finds music to suit my taste. It's the best tool I've ever found for discovering new music.

22 Dec. 2010 | 10:20 AM Will Chen

I love Pandora! I've also heard good things about Grooveshark.

22 Dec. 2010 | 6:04 AM Joel

Two discoveries: the power of actually tracking spending for *every item* for a year, and the power of using a modern smartphone (Android, for me) to manage my life

22 Dec. 2010 | 10:22 AM Will Chen

My mom used to track every penny (literally) that we spend while I was growing up. It is also a good way to figure out your priorities in life.

22 Dec. 2010 | 6:55 AM Kathleen P

My favorite discovery is how good exercise makes me feel. I joined my local Y and found that exercise equipment and classes are much more FUN than they were years ago.

22 Dec. 2010 | 10:24 AM Will Chen

I found out recently that my local Y waives membership fees for families facing financial hardship. Now there's no excuse for any of us to not be healthy next year. (Though I just know I'll find an excuse not to work out.)

22 Dec. 2010 | 7:07 AM Ernest Weill

My truly favorite discovery of 2010 is the micro-fine line between life and death. After two near death experiences from a multiple dissected aorta, I awoke to find my grateful family and astonished doctors. My son says I'm just too stubborn to die.

22 Dec. 2010 | 10:25 AM Will Chen

That's wonderful news Ernest. Thank you for sharing that with us! Has the experience given you any unique perspectives on what you'll be doing with the rest of your life?

22 Dec. 2010 | 7:53 AM Guest

I think that my biggest discovery was Mint.com, it has been super helpful with tracking everything: purchases, payments, income and budgeting. Its been even more helpful since I got married and have more spending to track.

22 Dec. 2010 | 10:27 AM Will Chen

Mint is amazing. It is so much easier to check all my accounts all at one place. I feel like I'm in complete control of my finances whenever I open up my Mint dashboard.

22 Dec. 2010 | 10:00 AM Jennifer Phillips

My favorite discovery is the iPad and all of the other technology that has come out. I didn't know how to use any of it at first, including iPods, but after you learn they are so amazing and do so very much. Life is really going forward with these! I just love learning about all of the new tech and science out there. Now just find a cure for juvenile diabetes please!!!

22 Dec. 2010 | 12:13 PM Brian Lang

I discovered LastPass this year and boy was I glad I did. Their random password generator saved me a lot of time and effort when the Gawker database was hacked and released. Thankfully I only had to change a handful of older passwords on sites that I don't really care much about.

22 Dec. 2010 | 1:59 PM Jane

I think my favorite discovery this year is how easy it is to use the new ice cream makers!! I love knowing exactly what goes into what I'm eating, and it's really fun to play with :)

22 Dec. 2010 | 3:00 PM gina

I discovered that I actually enjoy running!

22 Dec. 2010 | 3:37 PM Nicholas

My favorite discovery this year would have to be gardening. Not only is it a chance to do something I enjoy (very relaxing) but I also receive the benefits of the harvest. It gives a sense of accomplishment and it is fun to be able to start it from scratch and watch all the plants grow for you to eat later.

22 Dec. 2010 | 4:02 PM Keith

really enjoyed walking dead. unfortunate that the first season was only 6 episodes.

22 Dec. 2010 | 4:42 PM One Frugal Girl

My biggest discovery... Was learning to enjoy the every day moments of life. A lesson I learned from 'The Untethered Soul' and 'Coming to Our Senses'. Two very interesting books.

22 Dec. 2010 | 5:56 PM Betty

Oh so many! I think #1 would have to be 7 Presidents Beach in NJ. It's a state park/beach, which isn't common in NJ. I discovered it at the end of the summer. Which brings me to #2...Windmill hotdogs! Best hotdogs in NJ. It's a real windmill, and you can sit on top and look at the ocean.