In the Attention Age paradigm, there is a new axiological value, a central object of commerce, what the film industry used to call "The MacGuffin". In "The Maltese Falcon", that ugly statuette was the MacGuffin.
Public Atrocities as Crimes of Power
Individuals vying for power in the Attention Age do so on a scale measured in increments of momentary mass aggregated attention. This may account for the increasing horror of mass shootings in America, as the individual perpetrators compete for market share against the entire field of contenders, including the President of the United States. Since… Continue reading Public Atrocities as Crimes of Power
The Paradigm Shift
Ages are named for their dominant technologies, e.g.,Bronze Age, Industrial Age, Atomic Age. Some time during the Obama Presidency communications infrastructure reached critical saturation, and the balance of power shifted profoundly. The Attention Age has begun.
Dawn of the Attention Age 