The Attention Economy Is Here
By: Barry Welford
2009-03-20
Twitter as Flashpoint for the Attention Economy is the title of an interesting blog post at Internet Evolution by Andrew Keen.
"'Attention Economy' was invented by the futurist Michael Goldhaber in December 1997 to describe a new arrangement in which the "flow of attention" replaced money as the currency of the Internet. Twitter Inc. - with its medieval-like armies of followers and followed - is a good example of how this new attention economy works. The value to us of Twitter is based on how many followers we have and thus how many people read our words. We all compete on Twitter for both attention and followers, of course, because time is finite, and there is only a certain number of people we can realistically follow and only a certain number of messages we have the bandwidth to read."
If you want to read more on the Attention Economy, then ReadWriteWeb has a good Overview.
As a pioneer of the Attention Economy, Twitter now is faced with the challenge of monetizing attention. For it to become a viable business, the VC-backed startup - which only just appointed a sales and business development team - needs to identify what it is, exactly, the company is selling.
Apparently Jason Calacanis with his 62,000+ fans is somewhat miffed that he does not appear on the Twitter suggested users list " a group of 20 A-list names given to all new Twitter users. So he has made a public offer of $250,000 to be included on the list for two years, thus suggesting a highly viable business model for the new attention economy.
Keen goes on to suggest that this is a radically more innovative business model for Twitter than trying to sell advertisements and sponsorships. Im not so sure since I could not even find this A-list of 20 names. I could find some suggestions of others I might wish to follow in the Searching for People section. The following list of 115 such suggestions includes some of the A-list but again not Mr. Jason Calacanis.
Defamer
LA is the worlds cultural capital. Defamer is the gossip rag it deserves.
Alison
hi there, im ali. im in a band called a fine frenzy. life is funny. lets have a laugh.
Jodrell Bank
Home of the worlds third-largest steerable radio telescope, and the MERLIN National Facility. Part of the University of Manchester.
Justine
New media chick & Apple fan girl " I make funny videos and blog about everything from technology to pop culture. Read my blog ijustine.com
Dell Outlet
Refurbished Dell computers & electronics.
Twitter
Always wondering what everyones doing.
JetBlue Airways
Have a question? Follow us and let us help! - Currently on duty: Morgan, Alex and Justin
FragDolls
Ubisofts all-girl professional gaming team. Were passionate about video games and geek culture, and love to see more women playing and making games.
Jason Goldman
Flipped my wig at age 22 and it never grew back. Also: I work at Twitter.
The New York Times
Steven Johnson
Writer. (Six books, most recently Invention of Air.) Web site creator (3 companies, most recently outside.in.) Dad (three boys.)
Has Cheezburger?
This is the official ICHC TwitFeed. Check out @icanhaschzbgr for moar conversation.
John Dickerson
Political correspondent, Slate
NPR Politics
Political coverage and conversation from NPR News
Brandon J. Mendelson
Twittering across North America to fight cancer. Project nformation provided at the link above.
Agent M
Marvel.com writer/editor/blogger. Comics! See also: @Marvel and tacosporvida.wordpress.com
Pete Cashmore
Follow Mashable for the latest news on Twitter, social networking and social media.
someecards
When you care enough to hit send.
BBC Click
The BBCs flagship technology TV show. Click is on BBC1 Sat 06.45 & News Channel Sat 11.30 in the UK. International times are at bbcworldnews.com/click
Michael Arrington
Breaking Technology News And Opinions From TechCrunch
Hammer
http://mchammer.com
Sockamillion
I am Jason Scotts Cat.
THE_REAL_SHAQ
Very Quotatious, I Perform Random Acts Of SHAQness
Evan Williams
CEO of Twitter
Felicia Day
Actress, Filmmaker, Gamer, Misanthrope
CNN Breaking News
CNN.com is among the worlds leaders in online news and information delivery.
Al Gore
Ana Marie Cox
There is no such thing as adventure. Theres no such thing as romance. Theres only trouble and desire.
Zappos.com CEO -Tony
www.zappos.com blogs.zappos.com twitter.zappos.com
Dooce
Mommyblogger, tyrant, snugglebunny
Whole Foods Market
Fresh organic tweets from Whole Foods Market HQ in Austin, TX.
woot.com
Woot : One Day, One Deal. Also see our other feeds: twitter.com/wootoff twitter.com/wootshirt twitter.com/wootwine twitter.com/wootsellout
Lance Armstrong
7-time Tour de France winner, full time cancer fighter - LIVESTRONG!
Britney Spears
Yes! This is the real Britney Spears! Weve got updates from her team, her website and yes, even Britney herself!
DaveJMatthews
Sara Bareilles
Veronica Belmont
Host of Tekzilla on Revision3 and Qore on PSN. Also, a geek.
Jimmy Fallon
Snork.
Tony Robbins
The Official Tony Robbins Account
Brooke Burke
todays modern mom
World Economic Forum
Official Twitter account of the World Economic Forum, best known for the Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland (@luefkens tweeting)
ashton kutcher
Penn Jillette
PennSays, P&T: Bullshit!, more than half (by weight) of Penn & Teller
The Moment
Where Style Meets Culture
Coldplay
The official Coldplay twitter page.
John McCain
U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
Kevin Rose
Founder of social media site digg.com. Random ideas, entrepreneur, climber of rocks, video blogger, & tea drinker.
Chris Sacca
SF based early stage tech investor and adventure sports addict
Dave Morin
20-something Internet entrepreneur. Current, Facebook Connect. Past, Facebook Platform. Distant past, Apple.
David Gregory
Host of NBCs Meet the Press
Jack Dorsey
Inventor, Founder, & Chairman of Twitter
Biz Stone
Follow the wacky adventures of a Twitter co-founder!
Kevin Pollak
Stooge. Not one of the original 3.
GeorgeStephanopoulos
ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent and Host of "This Week"
Terry Moran
Nightline co-anchor
David Allen
Originator of GTD, founder of David Allen Co.
Zoe Keating
cello, computers, pancakes
LeVar Burton
Actor, Director, Educator
Dr. Drew
Board Certified, MD
Womens Wear Daily
The Official Womens Wear Daily Twitter
Chuck Palahniuk
Official Chuck Palahniuk Twitter, as run by his webmaster, Dennis Widmyer.
justjared
JustJared.com is the trend-spotting, hot online source for pop culture gossip, fabulous celeb photo galleries and breaking entertainment news.
Threadless
Were a tee company where artists worldwide submit tee designs to us for a chance at $2,500+! Anyone can submit, score, share and buy their favorite new tees!
Nightline
The Official Nightline
John Donvan
ABC News Correspondent
Padmasree
CTO of Cisco
adventuregirl
Hi Everyone! Travel Expert- Adventure Girl at your service!
Tony Hawk
professional skateboarder, dad, videogame character, husband, ceo, kid chauffeur
Michael Ian Black
The Official Michael Ian Black Twitter Page
Martha Stewart
50cent
The Real 50 Cent
John Mayer
UstreamTV
Official Tweets about the best live streams, updates and news from Ustream. If you need help, message @ustreamsupport
GavinNewsom
MO-RiS / ????
Im MO-RIS. Freestyle,Freeride,Freelife. MountainBike and BMX rider. My favorite Music is Jazz, Funk and Hip-Hop. Sorry, I use Japanese only.
SiliconAlleyInsider
Digital Business, Live From New York
Demi Moore
iamdiddy
King Combs
Perez Hilton
Perez Hilton is the creator and writer of one of the most famous websites in the world. And he also loves music - a lot!
Tim OReilly
Founder and CEO, OReilly Media. Watching the alpha geeks, sharing their stories, helping the future unfold.
The Onion
Americas Finest News Source
Rachel Maddow MSNBC
I see political people
RainnWilson
I am an actor. Im launching SoulPancake soon! My wife is Holiday and my son, Walter. Beets rule!
Ryan Seacrest
Get official tweets from Ryan and his producers about the radio shows, American Idol and breaking news from Hollywood!
Good Morning America
The Official Good Morning America Twitter Page
TIME
Breaking news and current events from around the globe.
Scott Simon
Host of NPRs Weekend Edition Saturday
Jimmy Eat World
A rock band from Arizona
Giuliana Rancic
Amazon MP3
Daily Deals and special sales on DRM-free, play-anywhere music downloads from Amazon. The official Amazon MP3 twitter feed.
Fred Durst
Member of Limp Bizkit
Brent Spiner
Trent Reznor
Musician / noisemaker. Nine Inch Nails.
Chelsea Lately Show
Comedian, TV personality and Author Chelsea Handler hosts The Chelsea Lately Show on E!
NBA
News and notes directly from the NBA. Find out as soon as Amazing Happens!
Ellen DeGeneres
Find Ellens monologue, celebrity photos and videos, games, giveaways, how to get tickets and more on The Ellen Show website.
Soren Macbeth
Co-Founder & CEO of http://stocktwits.com, Interested in Currency Markets, Hedge Funds
Gary Vaynerchuk
Wine guy, host of Wine Library TV. Video blogger & Businessman that loves people and the hustle
Soulja Boy Tell Em
18 & Rich.
Pitchfork
The essential guide to independent music and beyond.
Vote Woz
VoteWoz on Dancing With The Stars. "Dancing is very analog."
Kelly Ripa
American Daytime Emmy Award-winning actress, television personality and talk show host.
KevinSmith
Fat, married, make movies, I do.
Mark Hoppus
The Official Mark Hoppus Twitter Page. For What Its Worth..
trazzler
Explore the world with Trazzler.com. Get a new hand-picked dream trip every day.
A. Jo. Martin
Director of Digital Media & Research for the Phoenix Suns (Princess of Planet Orange)
CBOE
Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) is the largest U.S. options exchange and the creator of listed options.
CMEGroup
A CME/CBOT/NYMEX Company
soleil moon frye
twt.fm
Share music on Twitter
Joel McHale
Host of "The Soup" on !E
heidi montag
I love Jesus!
spencer pratt
Villain
Neil Gaiman
will eventually grow up and get a real job. Until then, will keep making things up and writing them down.
rob corddry
I am a gentleman
There are other places where those who Twitter can try to be visible, for example Twitter Grader has its Twitter Elite Top Users list. It notes that these have earned respect and admiration for having the highest Twitter Grade. Their power and reach in the Twitter community is truly awesome. .. and that list does include Jason Calacanis. That is a free listing so perhaps this Attention Economy is not as monetizable as it might first appear.
Comments
Tag: Twitter, Flashpoint
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About
the Author:
Barry Welford, President of SMM Internet Marketing Consultants works with business owners and senior management on Internet Marketing strategy and action plans to grow their companies. He is a moderator at the Cre8asite Forums and writes on current issues on the Internet and on the Mobile Web in three blogs, BPWrap, StayGoLinks and The Other Bloke's Blog.
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