There are some marketing efforts that just fall into the category of Gimmicks. Marketers use these cheap little "tricks"  to get an action out of people (purchase, share, whatever). These tricks range from taste-testing products to sappy stories made for a few heart-string tugs. Most of us are aware of these gimmicks. We allow them work on us occasionally, but usually we ignore them.

However, there's a reason that these marketing tactics have endured. Sometimes, they work.

Twitter gives us a great example of a gimmick not only used by marketers but by parents of four-year-olds as well. You've probably even said it to someone in the pas month. It goes like this, you tell someone "don't" when you actually mean "do". In other words you tell people to do the opposite of what you want them to do, in hopes that they'll do it just because you said not to.

Twitter hopes by saying don't do it! More people will tweet and blog about their new Lists.

I'm sure you've gotten this little message on your twitter page. I'm not going to talk about lists because Twitter got exactly what they wanted, there's a million blog posts covering it. But do check out the little highlighted section on Twitter's notice.

Yeah, Twitter, way to use the oldest trick in the book.Oh and congrats, since its apparently working.

So what DO you think of Twitter lists? If you blogged about it, feel free to share.