Attention

Herbert Simon, who Wikipedia tells me was one of the most influential social scientists of the 20th century, once said:

"...in an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth of something else: a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes. What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it."

Simon, H. A. (1971), "Designing Organizations for an Information-Rich World", in Martin Greenberger, Computers, Communication, and the Public Interest, Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins Press, ISBN 0-8018-1135-X., p. 40-41.

That seems to be an incredibly insightful statement considering the overwhelming amount of information that we are bombarded with today. 500+ TV channels, email, IM, text messaging, ubiquitous broadband connections, ubiquitous advertising... It's no wonder that Attention Deficit Disorder is on the rise.

I love being connected. I love learning random things here and there. I'm sure many of you reader(s) will agree. But, by being connected we are creating a profile of what captures our Attention.

Marketers, obviously, understand the concept of Attention very well. They would like to understand what has the attention of their target markets and how they can somehow get a piece of that attention. When you are connected, particularly in this new Web 2.0 social networking world, who is watching when you blog, or microblog, or IM, or purchase, or click? And how does your past activity affect what you are presented with in the future?

By choosing to participate in Web 2.0 services, you are, to some degree, agreeing to allow your web footprint to be tracked. Is Attention tracking a bad thing? How does a consumer win in an environment where their Attention is being tracked? How can a consumer manipulate their Attention information to their own benefit?

Microblogging

Wow! It's hard work to squeeze in blogging time between full time jobs, entertaining the kids, celebrating moms, etc... I can understand why so many blogs dry up after a couple of weeks. Starting a blog is almost like speaking to a coliseum full of screaming people and you are underneath the bleachers in the dark with your scarf wrapped twice around your mouth.

People like a bit of feedback. So, perhaps you pay someone to post a comment on your blog - which may be somewhat anti-climatic (Sorry, Dad). Or, perhaps, you get a comment from someone totally unknown and (...sad truth...) your inner cynic rises up and wonders "What kind of scam this person is pulling?" Is the investment in blogging worth it?

Perhaps, these facts are the key to the rise of "microblogging". Microblogging is any online application that allows a person the opportunity to post a short, informal statement of some sort. For example, with flickr, you can post a comment regarding a photo. On del.icio.us you can summarize your perceptions of a web link. Even commenting on some random blog gives you the opportunity to say something that may be read by others.

With Twitter or Jaiku, you have no choice but to limit your comment to 140 characters.

... But what is allure?