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.