I haven’t been on Facebook for 3 day now.  I am very impressed with myself.  The first day was hard. I would look at my phone constantly, out of habit, wanting to click on the FB button and then I would just stop.  Yesterday, accidentally I did click on the button, but got out as fast as I got in.  I saw the name of a friend of mine and the words “Face Book” flashed a brief moment on my mind, Immediately though, as if I had accidentally placed my hand on a hot pot, I clicked out of there. Today, my desire to get on Facebook is much less than the first 2 days.  I’m more curious as to the notifications I have, but it all can wait.  I need to stay away for a week.  I do not like addictions.

Why would I start a topic of lists and talk about Facebook?  Well, when I used to do Facebook every couple of hours, ok, every hour, arghh, fine, every few minutes, I would come across articles that invariably had lists in them  Top 5 places to visit and why.  7 ways to get that raise.  6 things happy people do differently.  The funny thing with lists is that they have a strange mesmerizing quality to them. They give you the perception of something very significant in a very short time.  I know, I’ve always been told that there is no short cut to success, but sometimes the list gives you a sample and a starting point.  The number is what makes it, I feel.  A few points is easy to get through!

Time is the ultimate variable.  We are too busy in our lives to have time for anything longer than a half a page.  Maybe we can read a page.  With lists, somehow it makes our mind feel like a page is shorter.  Our mind just knows.  When we see the number 5 for a list, we know it’s easy to get through.  If we saw 22 ways to whatever, I would save it for later and never get back to it.

I understand that time is a significant variable.  What if time was not the variable?  What if the writing and the style mattered as much?  There are times I come across a list and I will go to it and invariable find the author long winded and just not making sense.  Even a list gets long!  Have you come across those lists that have 5 points, but all 5 points are essentially stating the same thing? That’s a whole another problem.  I believe authorship is important and in today’s world, lists make authorship less important.  Can quality suffer as long as it’s bite sized?  I don’t know.

I was considering writing a list but then what would I write about?  5 things every new blogger should know?  I’m a new blogger and I still don’t know the 5 things let alone write a list to populate it.  For now, I don’t have a hot ticket blog with a list that I can post on Facebook.  Maybe someday I’ll make that post and maybe it’ll be my lucky day when my blog gets shared all over the place.  Until then, I’m being hopeful.

Best all,

TTR