Attention

Characteristics of Attention

By Michael Goldhaber:

"Here are some conclusions about the economics of attention that follow from what I have said so far:

1. Attention that is desirable comes from other beings who are themselves capable of receiving attention, that is they have minds and are social beings; in practice this means we want attention from other humans. When we face them, we expect various degrees of evidence that they are indeed paying attention, and this remains desirable at a distance, which is one of the great advantages afforded by attention–seeking and paying over the Internet. Thus the value of counting the visitors to a site, allowing comments on blogs, etc.

2. Attention wealth is in the minds of the beholders, not in any bank; because memories persist, that wealth survives and can be drawn upon in various ways much later on;

3. Attention is not the same as reputation. It might be possible to look up in some list, say, that you have a reputation for repaying your loans on time, without having any real idea about who you are or what your thoughts are.

4. Even if you in some way choose to remain anonymous, putting out your thoughts to the world allows other people to think them, which enlarges you. Even with some degree of anonymity, if you are canny, say, in your use of the Internet, you may draw on this attention as well.

5. At the same time, to activate others’ attention it helps to present as much of yourself as possible, so as to increase the number of associations that will connect various memories to you, so as to reawaken attention, etc.

6. The more people pay attention to you, the more they want what you want, whether this is something for the good of the world or something personal.

7. Paying attention slips easily into heeding, serving, waiting on, waiting for, satisfying, taking care of, etc. It is through that adaptability that having enough attention can guarantee you whatever you want, at present with or without converting attention into money.

8. When pure communing can be achieved, most members of the communing group can benefit, but it is always a target for would–be attention grabbers. So it is generally unstable, transforming into unequal star–fan relations." (http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_6/goldhaber/)

More Information

The value of openness in an attention economy by Michael Goldhaber http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_6/goldhaber/

Diversity, attention and symmetry in a many-to-many information society by Philippe Aigrain http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_6/aigrain

See our related entries on the Attention Curve, the Attention Trust