'The List Is All About Buzz...'
We could argue all day about whether or not Time's annual 100 Most Influential List -- or any list for that matter -- really says anything relevant about what's happening now. And what's up with that number besides being nice and round? Atlantic Wire commenter therantguy doesn't know and doesn't care!. Inspired by Richard Lawson's critical look at this year's Time 100, he wrote:
Add in Clare Daines, Jeremy Lin, Novak Djokovich, Lionel Messi and lots of others who have no discernable impact on anything let alone be influential (successful each but if they had never existed, does anyone think the world would be even the teeniest different?)
The list is all about buzz and getting people to talk about how stupid it is.
Well, we know some fans of the 1996 movie Romeo + Juliet who would argue with you about that first one, therantguy, but you do have a point about the buzz. Just ask our friends -- we're still friends, right? -- at the popular meme and news site BuzzFeed, lists are made to get people talking. Whether it's stupid or not, well, that depends on how influential the list maker is.
