However, here are the top ten So Good blog posts written in 2011 in terms of direct traffic:

1. Snack Madness: The Final Vote – by Eick
2. McDonald’s Fruit & Maple Oatmeal Violating “Maple Law” – by Eick
3. Shake Shack DC – by Eick
4. Eating Styles: Pizza Edition! – by Sam
5. The Greatest Food Truck Ever? – by Eick
6. Would You Rather: Pineapple vs. Grapefruit – by Eick
7. New Domino’s Chicken Wings – by Eick
8. Various Snack Madness Posts – by Eick
9. Triple Double Oreo – by Eick
10. Would You Rather? Chicken vs. Beef – by Eick

Thanks everyone for reading in 2011! With lots of great new writers (Mark, Andy, Peter) joining the team this fall and Sam and JT still going strong, we should have a great 2012 in store for you.

- Eick

Hello SoGooders (ies?),

I thought it best to do a quick intro.  As my belt will attest, I’ve been a food enthusiast for a very long time. Growing up in a small fishing town which, at best, could be generously described as low income, there was often a day I would find cabbage with peanut butter in my lunch box. Yes, raw cabbage slathered with Skippy. The flip side of the coin was that during Lobster season we had so many extra crustaceans in the house for sandwiches it had the street value of Bologna. You couldn’t even trade lobster at the cafeteria table for a bruised apple.

 Feast and Famine sums up my formative years. It only makes sense that once this country mouse hit the big city, I devoured and immersed myself in as many diverse culinary finds possible. It’s been a tasty journey so far and I welcome the opportunity to share with you many more snack size news and notes.  Just don’t expect any scathing exposes on the nutritional value of cabbage and peanut butter.

- Andy

1. The Fast Food Bracket

The follow-up contest to our wildly successful Meat Madness tournament in 2009, the Fast Food Bracket absolutely dominated 2010. In addition to heavy traffic for our initial post and 32-chain bracket, various  match-ups, including the finals and final four made up four of the ten most heavily trafficked posts overall for 2010 and the dominated the top 25 and top 50 most heavily trafficked posts. Our Final Four voting post drew 172 comments. So who won the final vote? You’ll have to check out that post, which garnered a stunning 263 comments to find out.

2. The Chipotle Facebook/Cat Issue

So Good’s in-depth take-down of Chipotle’s EPIC FAIL handling of a PR crisis (that should have never been) came late in the year, but still drew heavy traffic, was widely shared on Facebook and Twitter and was THE primary source online for those reporting or commenting on the story.

3. Governor Tim Pawlenty Talks Spam, Fast Food & “Disgusting” Eating Habits

So Good’s exclusive, entirely food based interview with likely 2012 Presidential contender Tim Pawlenty revealed some interesting details about the Minnesota Governor’s eating habits.

4. On Cheese, the USDA and Domino’s Pizza

So Good’s in-depth analysis of wide-spread (and untrue) reports that Domino’s Pizza was using “taxpayer money” to promote a new 6-cheese pizza helped set the record straight and changed the online narrative. Thanks in part to So Good’s reporting and analysis, many bloggers and reporters walked back earlier criticisms and revised their reporting on the issue in the three weeks that followed.

5. The 7 Types of Groupon Buyers

So Good’s post profiling 7 different types of individuals who buy Groupons drew a healthy amount of traffic and links from other sites and humorously answered the question “just who ARE these people buying Groupons?”

6. All Things KFC

The fast food chicken chain’s controversial but talk-worthy marketing tactics inspired multiple posts on So Good that drew traffic, links, attention and other coverage. Just 5 days into 2010, So Good had one of its most heavily trafficked posts of the year, KFC: Helping You Survive Awkward Black People Since 1952! about a KFC commercial in Australia that many American’s saw as perpetuating racial stereotypes. KFC also released the Double Down, changed its slogan to the name of this very site (So Good) and offered women $500 for a piece of their ass. So Good also weighed in with a KFC-themed rant titled Who Eats KFC on a Bus?

Three and a half years ago I launched So Good as a fun way to share my humor and passion for food with friends.  What was a complete labor of love that first year slowly grew to be more and more work and a bigger weekly time commitment. While I’ve gone through stretches where I haven’t been as active as I’d like, I’ve always worked hard to keep So Good going so those who enjoy the site can check in for an “absurd look at the world of food.”

How much reading enjoyment have you gotten from So Good over the years? More than some of the magazines you might shell out $5 for in an airport? Or that mediocre hardcover book you paid $25 for? In 3 1/2 years of writing this blog I’ve never asked for reader donations. But this year it would mean a lot to me if you could donate something, even if just a little, to help support So Good and the thousands of hours I’ve put into it since 2007.

In the mean time, your support will help me pay for a faster server for the site and allow me to continue creating awesome tournaments like Meat Madness and the Fast Food Bracket. Or help me break news stories that force national chains to apologize to a superstar athlete and an entire city. Or educate readers about a quiet young college kid who vowed to eat all 12 McDonald’s value meals in one sitting. It will also mean lots more of So Good’s classic Would You Rather? questions and food-based Rants.

I want to extend a warm holiday “thank you” to all So Good readers over the years. Whether you started reading in 2007 or last month, I’m honored that you enjoy  the website. Thanks in advance to those who are able to make a donation to help support So Good and the days, weeks, months or years of enjoyment you may have gotten from it.

For those that aren’t able to donate (and those that are!), please “Like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter so we can continue sharing everything we write with you! Happy Holidays!

• Monday: New “John Q. Foodblogger: Adventures in Mediocrity” comic
• Tuesday: New “Brand vs. Generic” column
• Wednesday: New “Would You Rather” question
• Thursday: New “Eating Styles” survey

Enjoy!

Hello So Good readers!

So Good is looking for a few good men & women to join myself, JT and Cary on the So Good blogging team.  Are you a food blogger looking for more exposure? A college student with rabid opinions on food? A bored housewife looking to do something creative with your time during the day? Someone who just likes to eat shit and give your opinion on it? If so, So Good is interested in having you join our team.

Benefits include receiving free samples of food & beverages from random companies (I bombarded Cary with more free food to eat than he could handle his first couple months), occasional press passes to food events in your city (restaurant openings, festivals etc.) and the ability to add some pieces to your writing portfolio (or start building one if you don’t have one yet).  Cons include no pay and me getting mildly annoyed if you format stuff wrong.

I’m looking for writers who might be interested in reviewing products, writing about interesting stories in the news, aggregating links every few days for our “News Round-Up” posts and/or an ability to spot interesting and humorous videos, pictures and stories. I’m not hyper-focused on people filling specific roles, I’m just looking for the best, most enthusiastic, humorous writers who can ideally write a minimum of once a week. If you have an idea of what kinds of topics you’d like to focus on or even an idea for a re-occurring column or feature, let me know.

If you read So Good you know that a sense of humor, if not a direct part of your writing, then reflected in your editorial judgment, is a must.  I want writers with a casual and fun(ny) but poignant and informed voice. Strong, occasionally over-the-top opinions a plus.

If you’re interested, send an e-mail to sogoodblog at gmail dot com and let me know your background (not necessarily just writing background, but who you are, how old you are, where you live, what your “deal” is and your attitude towards food etc).  If you have a writing sample or two please send those my way as well, also along with your idea for what type of writing/stories you see yourself focusing on.

If you’re a regular reader but aren’t interested in being a contributor, feel free to use the comments section of this post to let me know what types of stories or content you’d be interested in seeing more of on the pages of So Good in the future. Or just share your hopes, fears and dreams. Whatever dude.

Via zzzlll.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

But don’t worry, I’m all about rest and relaxation, so I’ll make sure to do plenty of trekking around this fine continent:

I’m going to be spending time in Sydney, possibly Melbourne, and will be spending a relaxing 4 days up at Byron Bay:

I am, however, open to suggestions for things to do, things to see and foods to eat.  Are there any So Good readers living in Sydney who want to buy this wacky American a beer? Anyone live up near Brisbane, Byron Bay or other areas of Australia? Any readers who have traveled down under before? (Update: I’ll also be in and around Auckland for 5 days so suggestions there are also welcome) If so, let me know your suggestions for things I must see, must do or must eat!

1. The Papa Johns/Lebron James “Crybaby” Story

Regular readers of So Good know that this story helped put So Good on the map.  After attending a Wizards-Cavs playoff game, I broke the story about a handful of t-shirts being passed around at the game calling Lebron James a “Crybaby” – that also happened to be emblazoned with the Papa Johns logo.

The story quickly spread from So Good to major sports blogs and the Cleveland media. Realizing I had created a firestorm and broken what was turning out to be a national news story, I stayed at my computer most of the weekend providing round the clock coverage.  The Cleveland Plain Dealer interviewed me, as well as WJW Fox 8.  At this point the story had hit CNN, ESPN, ABC and Papa Johns was forced to issue a formal apology to Lebron James and the city of Cleveland.

I stayed on the story, reporting a few days later on the chaos and controversy surrounding the $.23 pizza giveaway that Papa Johns offered to residents of Cleveland as part of their apology.  A week or two later I was asked to publish an op-ed for iMedia in which I dissected the controversy and explained why Papa Johns did an admirable job in tackling a tough situation. Check out the interview I did about the story:

2. Rants

I didn’t write rants very often in 2008, but when I did, the posts led to heated discussion both on So Good and by other writers across the blogosphere.  From my rants for 2008, three in particular got by far the most traffic and attention:

No I Do Not Want to Order Pepperoni Pizza – Do I Look Like I’m 12 Years Old?

Wherein I take on the once sacred cow of pepperoni pizza by informing everyone that no, it   isn’t that good, and no, it doesn’t deserve to be considered a default ordering option along with cheese.

It’s Time to Shut Up About Cupcakes

I alert the American public that this cupcake nonsense has gone too far.

New Rule: Until I Have Actually Been to One, Sonic Must Stop Advertising on National TV

Seriously Sonic, you’re killing me.

3. 12 Meals or Bust

In mid-February, Ryan Giesel was just a college kid. A college kid with a Facebook group titled “If 100,000 People Join My Facebook Group, I’ll Eat Every McDonalds Value Meal, #1 – #12.” The Facebook group was nowhere near 100,000 people. That’s when So Good decided to break the story in order to let the world know about this American hero.  What followed was a firestorm of interest, as radio and TV stations across the world reported on the story.

The story doesn’t end there my friends. Oh no, we needed to get the payoff. After the Facebook group hit 100,000 members, true to his word, Ryan headed to a nearby McDonald’s to attempt this great feat.  My post summarizing his attempt to eat all 12 value meals has been one of the most popular posts in So Good history – even Sports Illustrated couldn’t help but be intrigued enough to report on it.

4. Kraft Bagel-Fuls

When I heard that Kraft was planning on making a bagel pre-filled with cream cheese, I jumped on the story and bashed the seemingly insatiable desire of food companies to create products of convenience that no one seemed to be asking for.

But then the story got more intriguing. I quickly identified a pre-filled bagel product that was already on the market, that sounded suspiciously similar to what Kraft was proposing. This is when my inner Sherlock Holmes sprung into action.  My investigation uncovered the fact that someone already held a patent for a cream cheese filled bagel, along with the boiling, steaming and forming process needed to create it.

Shortly after, Kraft contacted me and explained they had bought out a smaller company already making the product. Kraft also sent me a sneak peak of the Bagel-fuls packaging.  Finally, several weeks before they hit the market, Kraft sent me two boxes of Bagel-fuls to review.

5. Orange Underground

In late January, I profiled the bizarre new Orange Underground commercials and website that had been launched by Cheetos.

A mere three weeks later I was ready to declare the campaign a total and complete failure due to the fact that basically no one at all was talking about it.  PC World agreed. In an article titled “Lame and Lamer: 10 Dumbest Viral Marketing Campaigns” they cited Orange Underground as the #8 dumbest viral marketing campaign, quoting my analysis as evidence of why it sucked.

It’s been a fun year, thanks everyone for reading.