Rankings Generate Controversy

Shaan Puri shares insights from his media industry experience about how rankings and lists are often manipulated for engagement. He explains how media companies intentionally create controversial content to drive traffic and discussion.

• Lists and Rankings Are Often Manipulated:

  • Rankings and polls are largely "bullshit"
  • Primary purpose is generating clicks, links, and controversy
  • Not meant to be accurate or truthful

• Strategic Content Creation:

  • Logical, expected rankings don't get shared
  • Controversial placements (like Baltimore as 4th most desired city) generate:
    • More clicks
    • More discussion
    • More controversy
    • More backlinks for SEO

• Two Main Motivations:

  • Paid placements: Companies pay to be featured at the top
  • Engagement bait: Intentionally outrageous rankings to spark discussion
    • Example: Putting New York in 9th place to make people outraged

• Media Industry Incentives:

  • Understanding the incentives explains why lists are often outrageous
  • Focus is on generating shares and engagement
  • Truth and accuracy are secondary to viral potential

The key insight is that media companies intentionally create controversial or unexpected rankings because they drive more engagement than accurate ones. Once you understand these incentives, you can better interpret the validity of such content.