Happy New Year! As is my annual tradition, I’ve taken a look under the blog hood to find the 10 most-viewed posts in 2025.
1. One of my clients regularly surveys its members for the views on topical issues. The most-read post was a reprint of an article for this client, where I asked its members: If you could go back in time, what would you do over? Some of the answers were surprising, some inspiring, all interesting.
2. Another popular read was an article for this client where I shared members’ experiences with dating the second time around. As one retiree told me, “Being in love is no different whether you’re 20 or 60.”
Since August 2021, I’ve been running roundups of posts shared on social media. My original thought was, “What are the chances people were on the specific social media channel at the time I posted this link?” Now I also see these as helpful collections related to specific themes. Readers put many of these in the top 10:
3. The buzz about artificial intelligence seems to be increasing every year. In 2025, we had a better idea of the need to use it strategically, edit it and watch out for hallucinations. This post collects some links related to AI.
4. “Rainbow hushing” is the term when companies quietly drop or rebrand diversity programs, as happened a lot in 2025. This post collects links related to diversity and inclusive language.
5. This collection of posts looks at how companies can and should reach their employees. The posts touch on town halls, deskless workers, real life values and more.
6. These links about plain language and jargon include how to organize a web page so people can find what they need and how to help readers can understand complex events by putting them into context. Plus three links that made me smile, like We Rate Dogs and “corporate translations.”
7. In this collection, posts relate to better interviewing to start your writing (including the final “Is there anything I haven’t asked that you’d like to include?”), and writing tips themselves, like the surprising idea of obituaries as creative inspiration.
8. Here’s another roundup of links about artificial intelligence, including a reminder to add -ai to your online searches to avoid an AI-generated overview.
And for something different:
9. I’m always interested to see which words end up on the “Word of the Year” lists. Reflecting the year that was 2025, the top words include dissonance and polarization.
10. Here’s another annual tradition: My list of gift ideas for the readers, writers and word nerds in your life. Ideas include book lover items, a “magic” journal, inspiring mugs and a funny candle. I started this in 2015 and it always makes the top 10.
As always, thanks for visiting the Red Jacket Diaries in 2025. Cheers to a kinder, less dissonant 2026.
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images on Pixabay.
Related reading:
Top 10 posts of 2024
Top 10 posts of 2023
Top 10 posts of 2022