Jul 30

I'll admit it, I love to see a collection of cool websites or helpful articles that others have discovered...but recently, it's been getting out-of-hand. When the lists were 10 or 25 items long, that was OK, but now they're exploding to 50,100...200!

 

I mean, the purpose of making a list of the top ten or top twenty-five of something is to identify the best and most interesting. But the recent trend I'm seeing is to make a super list of "interesting" or "top" sites. The problem? How are these lists any better or more useful than my searching the internet or visiting a "gallery site" where I can skip through hundreds of sites. They're not saving me any time or being selective at all. It's just crazy!

 

The escalation has been gradual. As I said...it used to be the "top 10" of something. Then the norm became the "top 25." Now it seems the average list is 40 or 50 items long. How is that helping? I don't have time to look at 40 or 50 sites. And now I'm starting to see "top 100" or "top 150" sites or galleries? When 50 is the new norm, it's getting ludicrous!

 

Of course, not all top "mega quantity" lists are awful. Some are helpful, but only when they're something unique....like 100 Obscure and Remarkable Cd Covers or 101 Absolutely Breathtaking Infrared Photos. These are long lists of something I'm unlikely to be able to find on my own. But when you're simply making a list of 100 Amazing Wordpress Themes or 100 Sources of design inspiration - how's that making critical decisions or making a judgment on if something is worthy of inclusion?  I mean, come on....some of these are really just a list of other lists!

 

As I stated at the start...I've been fond of reviewing lists of what others believe are top sites. But recently, as the escalation in the quantity of the list has gone up, my clicking has gone down. If the list maker isn't going to be selective or choose only the best, then I don't have time to look at their mega list.