This week we evaluated the study of attention economics. In the past, various forms of media production was primarily developed and produced by small amount of people and organizations which would then be consumed by the mass public. With the strong emergence of the web and its relative ease to transmit digital forms of media, the clockwork of production to consumption of media content has been reversed (Huberman 2013). The internet allows limitless supply of information or media at zero/low cost of entry. This promotes the act of the mass market flooding the web with excessive amounts of content. The abundance of content would result in the scarcity of attention. This phenomenon is brings forward the notion of attention economy where attention is treated as a scarce commodity and information will be managed in accordance to it.
“In short the money in this network economy does not follow the path of the copies. Rather it follows the path of attention and attention has its own circuits”
Kevin Kelly (Mitew 2014).
For businesses dwelling within an economy that feeds on attention, products generated by them would have to be successfully differentiated which is done via adding attributes that generates value. One of the methods that would provide generative value is the immediacy of the product. A product with immediacy is one that is first to respond to a demand in the market. First-in-line products that successfully meet the new demand in the market can result in that product carrying a major qualitative value over the other subsequent competitors and followers. With that qualitative value in place, it generates further distinction of the product and the perceived value that it carries which subsequently means more attention being generated towards it. Those first in line generally is able to charge a higher premium for the same goods compared to the subsequent entrants and competitors. A great example for a first-in-line product is Coca-Cola (the cola drink). Coca-Cola (the company) was the first cola producer which began distribution to the public in 1886; and today has blossomed into a recurrent powerhouse in that industry.
It is agreeable that attention is something that is constantly sought after by businesses given the current scenario of attention scarcity. By being able to provide a high enough generative value to its products, the company may find itself in a much better light in comparison to the many others in the industry.
Reference:
Huberman, B 2013, ‘Social Computing & the Attention Economy’, journal of statistical physics, vol 151, no 1-2, pp329-339, accessed 5/9/14, http://link.springer.com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/article/10.1007%2Fs10955-012-0596-5
Mitew, T 2014, ‘DIGC202 Into the cloud: the long tail and the attention economy’, lecture notes, accessed 5/9/14, http://prezi.com/nm7rgdlnxhdf/digc202-into-the-cloud-the-long-tail-and-the-attention-economy/
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