Attention is asymmetric at times. It can flow out of the system, as when the living pay attention to the dead. I was very painfully reminded of this just recently. Ten days ago, a very close friend of mine died by her own hand; six days after that I found myself driving down the hill on which I live heading for the cemetery at which I would help choose a plot for her. It was […]
Back in 1968, Peter F. Drucker in The Age of Discontinuity [New York, Harper and Row] invented the term “the knowledge economy” to describe where he saw American society heading. By this he meant that more and more people were making use, not of knowledge simply, which everyone has always used, but rather that kind of knowledge that can be systematically acquired through taking college and university courses, as well as possibly by further specialized […]
There is only so much attention (available from other humans), and many or most of us want more than we have. In order to get attention one needs to express or do something — let us say, perform in some way. (This can be putting forth information, but that is not particularly what, e.g., a trapeze artist does.) The more attention we get in comparison with the attention we pay in putting together our total […]
I personally have not turned on my TV in months. I have to admit one problem is that I cannot abide commercials. But I have some subscriptions to premium, commercial free channels. About a year ago I realized I could watch most of their programs whenever I chose, using the cable system’s “on-demand” feature. But that has made TV rather like paintings in the local art museum. I can always go and look at the […]
I have decided to use another blog of mine to cover the Iraq situation and perhaps other politics without an obvious link to the Attention Economy. If the topic is of interest please go there . I should add however, that one reason differing opinions on Iraq are now getting exposure is that that is now an excellent way to get attention. Even before the war began, dissent to the prevailing wisdom was one way […]
I have added yet one more draft installment to Chapter 3 of my book, covering many topics having to do with how attention works, how we pay att to things that emanate from more than one mind or from no mind, along with how attention relates to reputation, recognition, information, time, style, etc. Also, a new draft of the whole chapter is here.
A move towards a more complete Attention Economy seems implicit in this Taiwanese idea for “web 3.0.”
We have reached a crucial turning point in American history. The November elections and current polls have made clear that Americans have soured on the Iraq war, and want the troops to be withdrawn rapidly. One question now is how best to try to influence the new Congress to act successfully to help end, if not the complex of war, revenge and banditry now swirling through Iraq, then at least direct American participation. But that […]
A key element of an economic system is the nature of the basic transactions, if any. So it might be worthwhile to attempt a brief explanation of the difference between a typical monetary transaction in the familiar (market-money-industrial) economy, and a typical attention transaction, of the type that characterizes the new economy. Here goes. A monetary transaction, normally involves two parties and an actual or implied contract between them (often in the form of a […]
Michel Bauwens’ P2P has EXCERPTS of my draft BOOK as book of the week on the P2P foundation site. The new projected title of my book is ALL THE WORLD A STAGE:The Emerging ATTENTION ECONOMY, Why It’s Coming, Its Deep Difference from the Familiar Market-Money-Industrial Economy, and What the Changes Mean For Our Lives. MEANWHILE, the site Blau Exchange has an INTERVIEW with me conducted by Paul diPerna.