We were all impressed earlier this week when we reviewed the incredible achievements of the WordPress.com community in 2013. Even as the year drew to a close, though, many of you found the time to win a few more (symbolic) trophies for your collection of blogging accolades. Before we clear the stage for the great things you’ll accomplish in 2014, let’s celebrate those WordPressers who made a splash in the past few weeks.

A blog-to-book success

Transforming one’s blog into a published book is always an impressive feat. To have that book project published by the prestigious Oxford University Press is doubly so. Ben Ramalingam did just that with his blog, Aid on the Edge of Chaos, now also the name of his book. A researcher who works in the field of international development and humanitarian aid, Ben’s work has been endorsed by Nobel laureates and lauded in the British press, including, most recently, in New Scientist.

23 ways to go very, very viral

Unless your internet connection has been down for the past few weeks, chances are you’ve crossed paths with Vanessa Elizabeth’s lightning rod post, 23 Things to Do Instead of Getting Married When You’re 23, the viral hit from her blog, Wander Onwards. With an addictive list format and a provocative argument to boot, this was the post heard around the world. Picked up and republished on The Huffington Post and dissected on Jezebel‘s Groupthink blog, this post inspired dozens of replies, from every imaginable perspective. You know you’ve hit a nerve when even some of your rebuttals attract hundreds of thousands of readers.

Planting the WordPress.com flag around the web

Vanessa’s post was far from the only one to make the rounds on the eve of the new year. Ben Irwin‘s informative post on poverty, 20 Things the Poor Really Do Every Day, also found its way to The Huffington Post. Continuing the tradition of WordPressers’ visibility at that publication, former pastor Ryan Bell had one of his posts from his blog, A Year Without God, also appear on The Huffington Post.

Ryan’s recently launched site, where he records his thoughts on a yearlong experiment to lead an atheist life, has already attracted the attention of other media outlets. It has also been discovered by hundreds of bloggers who’ve tuned in to the thoughtful debate inspired by his posts.

Nothing is rotten in Michael Hobbes’ kingdom

Image by Phil Sexton (CC BY2.0) via Billfold.

Michael Hobbes, the writer behind Rottin’ in Denmark, has been very busy these past few weeks. While one of his earlier posts from last year landed him a spot on WordPress.com’s list of top posts from 2013, his more recent pieces have been popping up all over the web.

His devastating account of the aftermath of a colleague’s death was published on Billfold, and then picked up by the Harvard Business Review Blog Network. Michael’s 2014 is already off to a prolific start, with another absorbing piece, How Did Zimbabwe Become So Poor?And Yet So Expensive?, up on New Republic. 

Has one of your recent posts made a splash on WordPress.com or on social media? Are you transforming your blog into a book? We’d love to hear about your accomplishments!

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