Thursday, December 10, 2009

5 reasons to make a "10 reasons" list

Those damn "10 reasons" and "top 10" lists pop up all over the net all the time. And there's good reason.  There are probably even 10 of them; but I can only think of 5.
  1. People are stupid. They need to be convinced that there are enough reasons to do something while still being able to count those reasons on their fingers. My list is only 5 reasons long, which, on the upside, makes it accessible to folks who missing up to 5 of their fingers.
  2. People can't resist Digging them. When people see that there are "10 reasons" to do something, they either get really skeptical or really excited. Either way, they'll be posting some hasty, unfounded comments on your blog. (or "site" for all you 1337 h4x0rz)
  3. You're really awesome. And because you realize how truly awesome you are, you owe it to yourself to blog up some "10 reasons" list that will show off how knowledgeable and awesome you truly are.
  4. Your opinions will spread like wildfire. Think about it. Have you ever read a "10 reasons" or "top 10" list and NOT suddenly changed your entire outlook on life? Me either. People see a list that they can count on their fingers, stop thinking, link it from their own blog, start chain emails about you, and eventually establish a cult. Being the object of worship in a cult is reason enough to start one of these lists ...
  5. A list of only 5 is bullshit. If you can't think of at least 10 items for your list, don't even bother — you're not qualified to make the list. We can't go starting revolutions or start using paper over of plastic if you can only think of 5 damn reasons. So make your list; but make it a list of 10, you nancy.
There you go, kids. Eat it up. Nom nom nom ...

2 comments:

  1. I'm not convinced. Although I tried to come up with the top 10 reasons why I disagree with you and I couldn't think of any. So I guess the fact that I tried to come up with a "Top 10" list means I agree with you on principle, but I'm not very knowledgeable about making lists. Hmmmm.... sounds about right.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I got a laugh out of this, and am thinking of linking back to one of my sites. Those top tens irritate the heck out of me, and I've smashed several chain letter lists which are much longer.

    ReplyDelete