Lists
Have you noticed how much of our information has become lists — TV, magazines, the interwebs love lists? The ten most amazing, most marvelous, most something this or that . . . is ingrained in every media. Even children’s learn-to-read books have started to favor lists. David Letterman has the best of them … click the image to check them out.
Here’s a list that lists why lists have taken center stage in the world of content.
- Lists are easy to build.
- They don’t require segues or transitional phrasing.
- They don’t require deep research or extensive fact checking.
- Most lists match the average attention span of a bus ride, coffee break, or other infosnack.
- Lists can be built in a fraction of the time a piece of depth might take.
- Lists are very bottom-line oriented.
- A quality list is . . . what you see is what you get.
Lists are the sound bytes of print. They’re easy, quick, and often useful. The writer makes a point and readers move on feeling satisfied that they’ve heard something complete and whole — without too much work.
What’s not to love about that? Hmmmmm.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!