Annual Creme de Creme Plea

As certain as the CVS leftover candy sale on November 1st or Black Friday post Thanksgiving, this is my annual plea on the day before the opening of the Creme de la Creme list to read the post in full when it goes up tomorrow.  Because things change from year to year.

This will be the seventh Creme de la Creme.  For those new to the community, the Creme de la Creme list has been the answer since 2006 to those ubiquitous “best of” lists that come out every winter.  Instead of honouring a small handful of people, the Creme de la Creme points out that every single one of us has a post that is our personal best post of the year, the one we would be devastated if it were to be accidentally erased.  Please don’t get hung up on the word “best.”  We are talking about favourites.  About the post you love.  The one you’d want people to read if they could only read one post from your blog.

Because what the Creme de la Creme list becomes when it goes up on January 1st is a speed dating list.  It introduces people to your blog and gives them a single taste of what 2012 meant to you.  The point of the list, beyond celebrating every single member of the community, is to also make connections.  To help you find new blogs to read.  To help people find your blog to read.

If you want to peruse old Creme de la Cremes, you can see 2006 or 2007 or 2008 or 2009 or 2010 or 2011.

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There are two reasons why I write a yearly pre-list opening post:

1. There is some truth to the fact that those higher up on the list (the list is shown in the order in which the submission was received) receive more eyes on their post.  If you care about being high up on the list, you may want to choose your post today and be ready to go when the list goes live tomorrow morning with the submission form.

2. The list will close for submissions on December 15th this year.  This is different from all other years when I took submissions after the post went live on January 1st and updated the list.  Instead, the list will be closed for submissions at 11 pm EST on December 15th, and every entry will be on the list when the it goes live on January 1st.  Which means that if you want to be on it, don’t dawdle.

And it also means that I need your help now to spread word when the list goes live tomorrow.  Tweet it, Facebook it, Pinterest it, blog about it, email about it, tell your sister about it.  I am a little worried about closing the list early since I know a bunch of people only find out about it when people start to tweet or blog about it come January 1st.  But I also know that I suck lately at getting up the stragglers, and I want all the entries to be together when the list goes live so all will be read.

So… read the whole post when it goes live tomorrow.  Then submit your favourite post.  And tell other people about the list so they submit their favourite post.  And then sit back and relax until January 1st when you get to read the most fantastic post of the year; a condensed, delicious, panoramic verbal view of the ALI community.