Top 10 Reasons I Like Making Top 10 Lists

My friend @MarkHeartofBiz wants to know why people like to make “Top Ten” lists.  What better way to answer him?

mob-top-ten-list-icon10.  I can be an irascible old man without having to endure the numbing cold of the Ed Sullivan Theatre every day.

9.  Pretty much anything can be shoved into the format, even a Chappaquiddick joke.  (Won’t hear THAT on Letterman, you betcha!)

8.  People really, really like bullets if they’re not coming at them from the end of a Glock.  I read that on CopyBlogger, I think.

7.  Making a list implies that you’ve got some kind of authority or knowledge.  God knows why people think that, but they do.

6.  Like anything rythmic, people get caught up in it.  Ask the Catholic Church.  Or Amway.

5.  Once you reach the half-way point, it’s all downhill from there.  I’m 54, and I can state that as an incontrovertible fact.

4.  Only one sentence per paragraph!  WOOT!

3.  Two words:  Two Words!

2.  In most cases, people are only going to look at #1 and #2 to see if their favorite is there — and that will decide whether or not they agree with your list.  So the rest is pretty much filler.

…and the #1 reason I like making Top Ten Lists:

1.  When people link to them, there’s a chance someone will buy Thesis and I’ll get a tiny little affiliate commission.

UPDATE: Apparently the spell-checker in WordPress can’t spell “irascible” any better than I can. Or there’s a parallel universe where the “s” is completely optional.

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Sonia Simone August 26, 2009 at 4:03 pm

Laughing. I think these are all excellent reasons! I particularly like #3.

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Jeff Hurt August 27, 2009 at 6:43 am

Hilarious. Great way to start the day. Snarky, biting, sarcastic, fun.

I like #8.

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