vertical attention integration

Today, I looked back at some old notes from '97. Although we had focused much of our interest in the internet as the main culprit in our progressively diverted attention (with nods to TV and video games, of course), I see that the main arguments remain the same. A main one being that attention is scarce and each person should be aware and in control of her own. What has changed is the increased fragmentation of attention by even newer media: blackberries, instant messages, ipods, etc., all of which were virtually non-existent then.

So, in about an hour or so I managed to accumulate quite a few ideas we can flesh out, as well as some articles I've read recently that I should return to. One thing I found in the notes is a term I/we had defined.

"Vertical attention integration" (sounds so technical), which is keeping attention patterns related so that they can build off each other, allowing short-term and long term goals to align. Not necessarily revelatory, but I think it fits the stage we are in now. Short term goals of defining terms, researching current articles, and contributing fiction and comments can help align us so that long-term goals can be reached. And any early attention generated would be instrumental in the building process.

I have my hard hat on.

What's it all about?

To be honest, we're not sure, quite yet. But here's the deal.

Rob and I have thinking about the idea of the attention economy ever since it was brought to our attention in 1997 in this Wired article by Michael Goldhaber (A longer version, in the form of a conference paper appears here and here). For those who don't know, the basic premise is that we are changing from a capitalist to an attention economy, where attention becomes the new currency. Goldhaber likens this to the change from a feudalist to a capitalist society, which fundamentally changed the way people think about the world.

We started a project, mostly fiction, where we would each write installments, or vignettes, based loosely around the theme of attention economy, with interstitial pieces of dialogue and debate. We completed a few pieces, then drifted away from the project to do our own things, much of which still has a foot in this tpye of thinking. Now, we've decided to drift back in the form of this blog, which will probably include musings, critical approaches, creative writing, debates, links to examples or other thinkers, and who-knows-what-else.

Welcome to the attention economy blog. Please fasten your seat belt and keep your hands in the car at all times.

Attention

Now that we have your attention...