My 2021 awards
One of the personal traditions I continue following is recalling the finest things that happened in my life during the year that is almost over. I reminisce and cherish emotions and thoughts. Then I select the best ones going through categories. It’s a sort of my life’s Oscar :)
OK, now let’s go straight to the point!
Book of the Year
The Book of Joy by Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Carlton Abrams
Runner up: Obviously Awesome by April Dunford
Won-der-ful! One of the most stunning books I have ever read. It covers spheres of mental, emotional and spiritual life, shedding light on many questions and topics like:
- How joy is different from happiness
- Why suffering is only your decision
- How generosity and gratitude affect your life
- Powerful compassion stories
- Friendship of Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu which is full of fun
Later on I am going to write an extensive blog about the book in 2022. Huge thanks to my wife, who presented me The Book of Joy!
Conference of the Year
IT Arena 2021
Runner up: Savvy Bootcamp event
I visited the biggest Ukrainian IT conference five years in a row: 2015–2019. 2020 event was sacrificed to the pandemic going online, which is no fun at all for me. 2021 turned into a hybrid thing with the 3rd offline day. And I’ve enjoyed its vibe, people and interesting talks.
It’s fantastic to be back! Hopefully, IT arena will revert to the complete offline mode in 2022!
Podcast of the Year
Rework from Basecamp
Runner up: ПИЛИМ, ТРЕМ
I can stop enjoying Rework. In 2021, Basecamp recovered from the team crisis and made their podcast even better.
Tech trend of Year
Runner up: Podcasts getting even more popular
NFT builds upon communities, helps making Internet distributed and digital assests valuable. See how it went up in Google Trends in 2021.
Hardware of the Year
Runner up: Samsung S21
Our Atola team created DiskSense 2 hardware unit against all odds, despite the pandemic issues and global chip shortage. What I like in particular, it is the only hardware forensic imager in the world released in digital forensics in 2021!
Work decision of the Year
Hiring the first HR for our company
Runner up: New recruitment strategy
Typically, 20+ people companies run HR processes ourselves. It was our case in 2019–2020. But then our leadership team decided it’s time to transform the team and continue making work happier place.
So here I am with Katya Servetnyk — smart, joyful and caring HR!
Insight of the Year
Mixing work creativity with excellent leisure time in 50/50 proportion for a few days made me relaxed and inspired at the same time. With hindsight, I have marvelous memories of Odessa business retreat and fruitful results at work.
Quote of the Year
Video game of the Year
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
Runner up: Days Gone
The most detailed and complicated RPG. To be fair, I am not a fan of complexity but I cannot stop playing the game. The plot is unexpected being full of adventerous stories connected with multiple characters. Turned-based fights are sometimes really tough yet exciting due to overwhelming quantity of tactical options.
If you want to learn more, read the game journalist reviews aggregated on Metacritic:
That’s all folks! 2021 is over. 2022 promises many positive things happening. Let’s embrace daily moments of life together!
Sincerely,
Vitaliy Mokosiy
