Ranking by People Magazine, Etc

We have an obsession to rank people in every possible way. This has been a trend for quite some years now. For example, the Forbes's list of the richest people in the world, the most influential women in the world, the sexiest man alive, 100 most beautiful women in the world, the highest paid actors, and so on and so forth. However, it has both a positive and negative side to it.

PROS:

1. There is a clear-cut idea as to who dominates which field. In this regard, the Forbes's list of the richest people in the world and the list of the most influential people are pretty straightforward.
2. There is a way of knowing who is improving according to the standards.

CONS:

1. There is no clarity about what the standards are. The exact nature of those standards is known to only those who prepare the lists. When we talk about the 100 most beautiful women in the world, what are we actually looking at? How are we defining "beauty"? Is it only about the weight / dress size, and the sense of fashion or the influence they have? Even for the list of the sexiest man alive, what do we mean by being "sexy"? I'm sure; the definition will vary from person to person. So, there is a lack of clarity and we are promoting confusion.

2. It seems like whoever makes it to the list is not held accountable for anything. We get hyped to prepare a list and grade everybody accordingly. In the process we forget that those persons on the list in turn have a greater impact on the society. They get followed and scrutinized more. They have the enormous potential to influence people. Therefore, any wrongdoing on their part can mislead the younger generation. Currently, it is all about making it to the list and then behaving in whatever way they like. THAT IS WRONG.
3. Even with the Forbes's list there is no scrutiny as to how the people are making money to make it to the list. For example, there is so much controversy about Wal-Mart's business policies. Still the Walton family has now been on the list for a long time.

WHAT WE ACTUALLY NEED:

1. Is to have a set guideline that has to be followed to generate a list. People who make it to the list should be evaluated thoroughly and the words like "beauty" and "sexy", etc. have to be defined properly.
2. The people who make it to the lists should be held accountable for their behavior. There should be a system to revise the list throughout the year just like the pageant lists get revised if the winner does not live up to the standards.
3. These lists should not be made just for the sake of rating. In depth analysis should be done to make these meaningful.