YOUR FAVOURITE POSTS OF 2011

Welcome to 2012. As usual, let's start by reviewing what you read here on Riscario Insider in 2011.

Overall

After nearly five (!) years, blogging feels like a normal part of life.

The Top 20 Posts

Normally, we only look at the top 10 posts. As in 2010, five of the ten are repeats (this time #1-4, 7). To show more variety let’s look at the top 20 instead.

Here's what you read most.

1. Quotes related to The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (#1 in 2010)
2. Does Warren Buffett "Buy Term and Invest The Difference"? (#3 in 2010)
3. Napoleon Hill: The six basic fears from 1937 (#6 in 2010)
4. Secret 7: The best tax sheltering in Canada (#7 in 2010)
5. Should you switch to an actuarial career?
6. Does billionaire Seymour Schulich help you “Get Smarter”?
7. Toodledo does more than Remember The Milk
8. The right way to view Netflix in Canada
9. The Globe and Mail on Canada’s Insurance Loophole: What else is wrong?
10. Napoleon Hill: Fear #2 (criticism)
11. The pros and cons of financial leveraging
12. Napoleon Hill: Fear #3 (ill health)
13. The pitfalls of mortgage life insurance
14. How to save on your next Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz
15. What happens during a paramedical exam for life insurance?
16. The problem of “trapped” retained earnings
17. Me an actuary? Seven questions from a student
18. PersonalBrain 5: data to information to wisdom
19. The two drawbacks of investing in life insurance
20. Warren Buffett’s tough career choice: actuary or billionaire?

Insurance was the most popular top with six appearances (#2, #11, #13, #15, #16, #19). Napoleon Hill made the list three times (#3, #10 and #12). Actuarial items are there three times too (#5, #17 and #20).

Work A Peek

Here are the 2011 posts categorized for your convenience.

Career

1. Two ways to stay visible (and employable)
2. Mailbag: career advice for students
3. Interviewed by the Toronto Star
4. Be proactive within your circle of influence
5. Tell to win: Peter Guber and the art of storytelling
6. The talent myth-conception
7. Escape from the cage of mediocrity
8. Break through your speaking barrier at Toastmasters

Various

1. Two ways to show gratitude
2. How to fight cynicism and Reasons to be cynical
3. Noxious Chinese drywall and beyond
4. How to save on your next Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz
5. You must see the Tim Burton exhibit at TIFF
6. Your digital tapestry is your legacy
7. Surviving a week without a dial tone
8. Maker Faire Detroit 2011 disappoints
9. Lessons from the demise of HP’s TouchPad
10. Is your car built to last?
11. 9/11 and the end of innocence
12. Dad’s 75th birthday and Life lessons from a 50 year old
13. The perfect smartphone: bye bye Blackberry. Hello Android and iPhone
14. The horrors of Rogers “Ultimate” Internet

Insurance

1. The Globe and Mail on Canada’s Insurance Loophole: What else is wrong?
2. Why after-sales service stinks for life insurance
3. Does your insurance company win when you cancel your coverage?
4. Do you care about long term case?
5. Case study: The doctor the insurance advisor mistreated
6. The pitfalls of mortgage life insurance
7. Two types of insurance you may have but can’t own
8. How Lamar Odom’s mom saved his life
9. Rate hikes: Is your advisor sleeping on the job?
10. RIP: What happens if your insurance advisor dies?
11. RIP: Steve Jobs “buttoned up”. Have you?
12. Income replacement: A guide to disability insurance
13. Where does your insurance advisor get advice?

Financial

1. The ABCs of 1-2-3: The key to financial literacy / numeracy
2. A short quiz about your financial foibles
3. The cost of getting advice from your banker
4. Longevity over the last 100,000 years
5. What’s worse than fine print?
6. Where are the customer ratings for advisors?
7. How the wealthy feel about their advisors and The wealthy reveal how their advisors fail them
8. How CRA identifies issues that concern them (and then you)
9. The risk of financial innovation
10. Is the best advice free or for-fee?
11. What are you doing about your high investment expenses?
12. Keeping promises: Corporate governance 2011

The Top 5 Podcasts

If you prefer, you can listen to podcasts. Here are the top five.

1. Does billionaire Seymour Schulich help you "Get Smarter"? (#1 in 2010)
2. "The Snowball" rolls into Warren Buffett (#2 in 2010)
3. The three major obstacles to growth according to Brian Tracy (#4 in 2010)
4. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell: Mastery plus Opportunity trumps Talent (#5 in 2010)
5. Warren Buffett’s touch career choice: actuary or billionaire

The Top 3 Countries

You read from 138 countries (up from 128).

1. United States: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston (#2 in 2010)
2. Canada: Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton (same order as 2010)
3. United Kingdom: London, Kensington, Manchester, Edinburgh, Lambeth

For the first time, the US is the leading country for traffic. For 2007-2010, Canada was #1.

Sources of Traffic

1. Search engines: 69% (up from 43%)
2. Referring sites: 14% (down from 22%) [main sources: LinkedIn, Taxevity, Twitter]
3. Direct: 17% (down from 20%)

For the first time, social media is the main source of referrals.

Keywords

Here are the top keywords typed into search engines to get here.

1. 7 habits of highly effective people quotes (#1 in 2010)
2. seymour schulich (#2 in 2010)
3. quotes from 7 habits of highly effective people
4. seven habits of highly effective people quotes
5. career change actuary
6. the 7 habits of highly effective people quotes
7. warren buffett life insurance
8. quotes from the 7 habits of highly effective people
9. napoleon hill
10. 6 basic fears

Notice the variations of "7 habits" and "quotes"? Different paths lead to the same destination.

Browsers Used

1. Internet Explorer: 37% (down from 44%)
2. Firefox: 25% (down from 32%)
3. Chrome: 20% (up from 12%) [was 2% in 2009]
4. Safari: 14% (up from 9%) [was 2% in 2009]

Operating Systems

• Windows: 76% (down from 83%)
• Macintosh: 12% (up from 11%)
• iOS: 7% (up from 3%)
• Linux: 1% (down from 2%)

Screen Resolution

• 1280x800: 19% (down from 20%)
• 1024x768: 12% (down from 18%) [was 35% in 2008]
• 1366x768: 12% (up from 5%)
• 1440x900: 8% (unchanged)
• 1280x1024: 8% (down from 13%)

Mobile Devices

In 2011, 9% visited with mobile devices (up from 3.5%). Apple devices still rule (76%) followed by Android (18%) and Blackberry (5%). The iPhone is the most popular device (25% of mobile visits) followed by the iPad (20% and the longest visits).

Links

• Your favourite posts here: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007
• Your favourite posts for entrepreneurs: 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007
• image courtesy of Billy Alexander (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Podcast Episode 150 (9:45)

direct download | Internet Archive page | iTunes

PS Back to regular posts next week