Frankly, I think they’re a symptom of laziness on the part of writers and readers alike. But I do have to admit that with all the info we have to process these days, they’re sometimes better than nothing. It’s true that, as Umberto Eco (who loves lists, BTW, and is no slouch) says, they “make infinity comprehensible.” I guess people can always dig deeper into a subject if they want something they can sink their teeth into. I wonder how many do.

Anyway, you gotta do what you gotta do, and I’ve been known to write a list post or two in my day. In fact, the last two I wrote for Web Worker Daily were just that: 5 Japanese words that start with S, and 3 words uttered by Mel Gibson that start with E (and might help you get a content strategy, which you should do).

The theme of the conference was Connecting Communities. I chose my topic because I wanted to emphasize what is undoubtedly obvious to many: communities are made up of individuals, and you have to construct your digital self before you can join the online reindeer games.

It’s kind of amazing to me how many people are still not aware that they’re being Googled, despite the fact that most of them have Googled an ex boyfriend or girlfriend at least once… (I know you have too.)

I’m also surprised when I meet tech professionals who are still trying to stay under the radar online. I told my audience of technical communicators that it was in their best interest to start creating a professional online identity because a comfy, in-house tech writing job could simply vanish in this economy.

I just love tech events in Paris. They all seem to end with champagne.