What clicked with you
FROM crocs eating crocs to monster barramundi, dramatic footage of a car crash to news about an FNQ legend. These are the stories you clicked on, read, liked and shared most
from 2015. They may not be the Far North Queensland Cowboys, but you still love them. Coming in at No.10 was the surprise visit from NRL superstar Johnathan Thurston at a Cairns Taipans game. This year was a big year for Cowboys support – before we won the premiership … after winning, you went berserk. But there were a couple of people who couldn’t just enjoy the celebrations quietly, they just had to put in their two cents about the Cowboys being Townsville’s team and that we shouldn’t have anything to do with them, let alone celebrating their victory. They’re the closest thing we’ve got, OK! Is it an article, or just a list? It’s a listicle! No wonder Buzzfeed almost exclusively produces listicles – they rate. This was our second listicle of the year – a list of ten waterfalls to visit in Far North Queensland. There are some stunners in there, but don’t worry, we didn’t give away the local secret spots. With seven stories in the top 100, fishing is a popular topic in the Far North. There have been a series of monster catches this year, but the mystery surrounding the identity of the fisherman in this picture was what made this one go off on social media and on our website. In August, police led a largescale search for a two-year-old boy abducted from an Edmonton home. Police held grave fears for the young boy and were on alert as far south as Townsville as reports filtered through of sightings of the sedan driving at dangerous speeds as it headed south. Thankfully the boy was locat-
ed safe and well the next day. In the lead-up to Anzac Day one of our Facebook followers snapped this photo of a cloud shaped like a Digger while on a fishing trip off Cape York. The Anzac 100 commemorations had us all thinking about the Diggers a little more than usual, but something like this evidently has an effect on the heart strings. This large scrub python died after swallowing a pet cat in the backyard of a Clifton Beach home. A snake story had to be in the top ten, but what this list doesn’t show is that there were eight snake stories in the top 100 stories of the year. Everyone loves to hate a snake story and among all the likes, shares and tags there are always plenty of comments questioning the worthiness of reporting on snakes. All I can say to that is stop clicking on snake stories and we’ll stop publishing snake stories. This was our first listicle of the year, and what better way to kick it off than with a list from our newest recruit, Nick Ansell, on the things they don’t tell you when you move to FNQ. We’llWe ll be producingp g more, because with a reach of more than 120,000, over 550 shares and over 1700 likes in two days – you clearly liked it. Coming in at No.3 was a car crash, but not just any old car crash. It was an amazing car crash in which the driver misjudged the traffic at high speed and rolled … and the whole thing was caught on video. Jump on our website and type ‘Redlynch car crash footage’ in the search bar because it is definitely worth a watch. The second-highest rating story of the year is just the sort of random thing that goes viral. On July 15, a young boy did what every little boy thinks about doing – he climbed into a vending machine. The problem is, he couldn’t get out. The most popular story of the year, had to be a surprising one … Tarzan. It isn’t that Tarzan isn’t a popular topic, the life of the legendary FNQ bushman is exceptional, and definitely worthy of clicks. But this wasn’t a story on his amazing life, or a never before seen video interview, or even a new picture. This was just an update to say he is alive and well living in a nursing home. But the e clicks have spoken; Tarzan was the most popular story of 2015 by a long shot.
There wasn’t one in the top ten, but the crocodiles of FNQ deserve an honourable mention for having the most stories in the top 100 of 2015.
There was the Ellis Beach croc stuck in the stinger net, bonus croc clinging on to a fisherman’s catch, the annual Lake Tinaroo croc rumours, the golf course croc bite, the dog saved by owner after croc attack, the crocodile hit-andrun, the crocodile eating an echidna, even a croc eating another croc.
My personal favourite was the crocodile stuck in a dry creek bed for over a month without food or water. It was an awesome demonstration of the reptile’s ability to survive extreme circumstances.
There were so many weird and wonderful stories in the top 100. The black marlin, the sleeping cop, the bong in the boat, the two-faced bull, the mystery garbage collector, and the dog-friendly restaurant banning kids.
Three mates flew up from Melbourne to search for a missing friend on a psychic’s advice, two miners did a Whitney Houston lip-synch video and a toad was painted onto the road.
We look forward to seeing what you like most in 2016. Sure there’ll be crocs, snakes and barra, but it is what we can’t predict that we really look forward to.