REDEF ORIGINAL: The Attention Economy Crisis: The Future of Content, Commerce and Culture

Most of this came to him in the mid-1980s, when Mr. Goldhaber, a former theoretical physicist, had a revelation. He was obsessed at the time with what he felt was an information glut — that there was simply more access to news, opinion and forms of entertainment than one could handle. His epiphany was this: One of the most finite resources in the w... See more

Ponder this: “If it’s true that attention is the only scarcity we have in this world of abundance, how come you and I are giving our attention away for free?” – Kevin Kelly

His biggest worry, though, is that we still mostly fail to acknowledge that we live in a roaring attention economy. In other words, we tend to ignore his favorite maxim, from the writer Howard Rheingold: “Attention is a limited resource, so pay attention to where you pay attention.” 

The way the world counts and values attention has to be completely rethought. As the market reevaluates how it counts and values attention, the companies that get it right will be well-positioned to grow and their investors will profit handsomely

Because attention is scarce, it is valuable. Every media organization — big or small, reputable or untrustworthy — is using every tactic at hand to engage us.

They need our attention to sell ads and subscriptions, to create value for their brands so we will become loyal consumers of their products.