I heard Chris Anderson’s new book is going to be called “Free”. Isn’t that discussion a little bit old. Aren’t we living in an attention economy – and don’t come and tell me there are free things in our contemporary attention economy – well, perhaps if you’re living in the outskirts of outer Alaska or Siberia…
On 02.06.09, In Other, by Peter Giger
I heard Chris Anderson’s new book is going to be called “Free”. Isn’t that discussion a little bit old. Aren’t we living in an attention economy – and don’t come and tell me there are free things in our contemporary attention economy – well, perhaps if you’re living in the outskirts of outer Alaska or [...]
On 01.01.09, In Photo / Design / Art, by Peter Giger
Some say we’re living in a market economy. I say we’re living in an attention economy at the market place of our lifes.
Some say we’re living in a market economy. I say we’re living in an attention economy at the market place of our lifes.
On 11.02.08, In Other, by Peter Giger
When I was a teenager we lived in a suburb outside of Stockholm. This was in the end of the 80’s. There was absolutely nothing to do for a teenager, who didn’t want to play the flute or sing in a choir. My friends and I usually hang out at someone’s place, or in some [...]
When I was a teenager we lived in a suburb outside of Stockholm. This was in the end of the 80’s. There was absolutely nothing to do for a teenager, who didn’t want to play the flute or sing in a choir. My friends and I usually hang out at someone’s place, or in some public area supposedly built for some completely different activity than teenager “hang outs”. Fridays and Saturdays it was party somewhere, but on weekday evenings we always was somewhere doing absolutely nothing – just hanging out together. We were bored to death. Sometimes someone asked into the air – what shall we do? And someone answered ironically, why don’t we play some soccer – as if this was the most laughable suggestion imaginable. Wasting time was the last thing in the world we were worried about.
This world is gone, at least in my part of the universe. We are now living in a time where attention and moments of time is the motor in our economy. This is generally described as we are living in an Attention Economy. In that respect I was immensely wealthy as a teenager. I had all the time in the world and could easily spend it on doing nothing, just as economically wealthy people today easily spend their income on things many of us consider as “nothing”. When I was a teenager I could spend an evening doing nothing as easily as a wealthy yuppie buys an Armani suit.
Today every moment is gold to spend on something I really cherish. That is why I’m becoming more and more aware of people (companies) trying to steal my attention without my consent. I am an amateur photographer and I could easily say that I would rather have property rights on my attention than on my creative work.