Is it too late for yet another ‘best of 2004′ list?

I was on iFilms list of 2004 Best Viral Videos just this afternoon, so I guess we can ride it a little longer. Considering that we are barely two and a half weeks into the new year and this being my first blog entry on this site, it seems appropriate to start things off with something that pays respect to all that has come to pass. So I am going to do a top 10 list of websites that had an impact on me personally in 2004. They will include brilliant design, concept, content and in more cases than not, a slick combination of all three.

Indeed, looking back on 2004, it would seem as though design went through a minor rennaissance; one that I hope will continue in the years ahead. As blogger.com proudly announced ABC News named Bloggers their ‘People of the Year’. Blogging does indeed seem to be where its at. Websites are no longer static entities. They breathe. They encourage dialogue. And the web is a friendlier place for it.

In terms of design trends, 2004 marked the return of glam with my personal adage that all one needs is a gradiant, a starburst, script-text-used-as-decoration and a few birds in the sky to create cool design holding true wherever one looked. Add a harajuku reference or graffiti influence and you were golden. But in all seriousness, it really seemed like people were having fun with design this past year which is both encouraging and inspiring.

So on with it. Over the next ten days, I will be posting the list of my Top 10 Most Important Websites of 2004 in descending order. As already stated, these are sites that had a personal effect on me, so you the user may walk away shaking your head muttering that I have no business throwing URL’s around so casually. But stick around and see what churns up.