Bitsy Knox’s interview, In conversation with Michael Goldhaber: Everything you need to know about the Attention Economy is an edited version of what follows: -How would you define now the Attention Economy now as opposed to when you first spoke about it in 1997, given its current multiple interpretations and recent mainstream popularization? Let me put this in context. I actually came up with the Attention Economy idea in 1983 or 84 —nearly thirty years ago. At that point […]
Esther Dyson briefly discusses the Attention Economy here http://bit.ly/U26kBN Here’s my comment: Esther, I’m a bit surprised you didn’t credit me with the Attention Economy idea. Twenty years ago, you asked me to and I did write most of an issue of your “Release 1.0” on this topic. You had learned about it from my ill-distributed “Letter on Post-Industrial Issues.” I had already been referring to the Attention Economy since the mid-80’s, when the thought […]
(this is a draft of a paper I’ve recently submitted for publication) Where did the Occupy Wall Street movement gather its strength, and where might it be going? Starting from a handful of people, it has captured worldwide attention in a very short time, and has had remarkably rapid effects on the political scene. While it took both the Civil Rights Movement of the 50’s and 60’s and the movement against the Viet-Nam war in […]
The war between Google and Microsoft is really heating up with Google’s promise of a new operating system and Microsoft’s new bing or ping or whatever it is. Out of sheer lazniness in trying Ping, I searched an article I wrote a decade ago in Wired. In both google and bing I found a Polish article referring to my work. Each search engine allowed a translation. bing’s was “As Michael Goldhaber: the importance of our […]
To continue my study of the causes and possible cures of the meltdown, I want to discuss how there have seemed to be three different routes to making money. I do this in the context of my general prediction for over a decade, which has been that the attention economy will eventually replace the money-industrial economy, in all variants, including capitalism. This means that money will eventually be outmoded. For an early version of this […]
Item: In certain places, bar and bat mitzvah celebrations had become intensely competitive, with parents generally responding to kids’ needs to up the ante by spending ever-more money on more lavish and far-out parties. According to a recent report on the public radio program, Marketplace, that included having the celebrant jump through a hoop of fire or be escorted thorough a Polynesian -themed entrance by scantily clad dancing girls. In this competition for attention, the […]
In response to my comment on Kelly’s blog post he asked: “Michael, do you have a sense of under what conditions attention does not pull money along? You mentioned infants and terrorists. Don’t infants eventually get money from their parents, and wouldn’t terrorists get money if there was an easy way to pay them?” I replied Kevin, in reply to your question about when money does not follow attention: when money is not especially wanted […]
Kevin Kelly’s blog recently cited my work, in piece called “Where Attention Flows, Money Follows” My comments: “HI Kevin, “Thanks for the citation of my work. You always find neat ways to put things. As the old adage goes ‘Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.’ People who want to see more recent thoughts of mine can start with my blog http://www.goldhaber.org Details on what attention is and […]
In the book, “The Hyperlinked Society,” which I read at Michel Bauwens’ urging, there is an article by Martin Nisenholtz of the NY Times extolling that publication’s all-out push to integrate with the Web. To some degree they have done a good job, but one thing they do terribly badly is exactly their use of hyperlinks. I do not know the mechanism, — it could be ten-year -old children of the webmaster, underpaid workers in […]
Dear Readers, For too long, comments have not worked on this site. That happened because of my lack of technical knowledge and too much comment spam coming in. I think I’ve fixed those problems. So please comment now. (I will still moderate comments.) Best, Michael