Economy Attention. Introduction
Note: Below is the translation of the article “The Attention Economy: An Overview” , which deals with the problem of exponential growth of information and its possible solution in the form of creating a platform for analyzing user preferences.
It is no secret to anyone that we live in an era of information boom. The rapid emergence of new information on the Internet is like a double-edged sword. We get more information and drown in the abundance of news, blogs, podcasts, photos, videos and fashion pages on MySpace. And the problem is only getting worse as more and more people are discovering the Internet. As an illustration, you can consider the two graphs below. The first of them demonstrate the rapid growth of the blogosphere as a whole, and the second - the number of articles and notes published on the technical innovations blog - TechCrunch:
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Due to such a staggering increase in the amount of information, we stop reading - we are only reviewing the materials. News that has become outdated in a day is now obsolete in a few hours simply because we are paying attention to newer news. It is becoming more and more difficult to keep track of all news sources and keep up to date. This leads to the law of information, first formulated by Herbert Simon : the rapid growth of information causes a lack of attention .
Everything becomes even more interesting when we realize that our attention crisis is not only our problem. This is a big problem for news sites, blogs, search engines and online stores. Lack of attention hurts their economic model. Websites that have the content we need are deeply concerned about bringing it to us. Consider the following scenario. You go to the news site and start reading the headlines. What is the likelihood that you will leave as soon as you see the wrong title? Is high. Another example. You go to Netflix ( note: Netflix is the largest online DVD rental ordering service that offers fixed-rate delivery throughout the US ) and read reviews about the film. What are the chances that you stop your searches right after Netflix shows any movie that you don’t like? Again, quite high.
When there is too much information around, the cost of its incorrect submission is very high - it can nullify the entire credibility of the source. Users will be happy to leave the site, knowing full well that outside it they will find hundreds of alternatives. Unfortunately, this is a win-win situation: since users rarely find anything satisfying, sellers cannot profit from them. The idea behind the Economics of Attention is to create a market space in which users are happy , because they are shown the information they need - and the sellers are happy, because users are spending money!
Basic Economics Ideas Attentions are relatively simple. As an economy, it offers a market in which users agree to pay for the services provided with their attention. The ultimate goal is, of course, the sale of something to consumers, but this sale will not necessarily be direct or momentary. For example, news feeds well illustrate this point. They require users of their attention in exchange for the possibility of displaying advertising. Search engines do this: they show ads in exchange for helping them find answers online.
But it is important to realize that the key point in the game for attention is relevance. As long as the user sees relevant content, he will be somewhere nearby - and this will increase the likelihood of selling him something. In fact, the more a user is on the site (reads news, follows links, etc.), the higher the chance that he will click on any advertisement. So, the main question: how to show this most relevant content to the user? This is a complex problem that can be partially solved by a recommendation system . However, for the sites themselves there is no way to create relevant, personalized content of the pages until they know at least something about the user. To make the issue more personalized, websites should know you: your browsing history, which books you like, which wines you drink, which music you listen to, etc. The more information, the better.
Another key point for Economics of Attention is privacy. The problem is not only to protect information about users, but also to provide users with control over information about them. The idea that in the Economy of Attention user information is intended only to obtain it, and can be subsequently bought or sold, is fundamentally wrong. On the contrary, the user must be able to choose which services he wants to receive in exchange for information about his attention. In order to convey these ideas and protect users, Steve Gillmor and Seth Goldstein formed the AttentionTrust organization.
Something solid, like the Economy of Attention, requires a good foundation. The market requires participants who are ready to play according to the rules established on an independent basis. The founders of AttentionTrust have achieved some success in defining a simple, elegant, as well as compact, set of principles that define the rules of the game by creating basic user rights in the Economics of Attention:
These principles define the rules for any company that wants to participate in the Economics of Attention. For example, as follows from the rules, services should provide a way for users to extract ( export ) their information. Another consequence is the fact that the user must be able to delete his account along with all their information. So, these seemingly simple rules ensure that participants behave honestly and do not try to gain complete control over user information.
The idea and principles of Economics of Attention sound tempting, but a reasonable question arises: how feasible is all this? Obviously, many great things must be born in a place that is suitable for this. Attention technology and architecture plays a key role in market promotion. Ideally, basic standards and protocols should be the technology behind the Economics of Attention. But now talk about attention is gaining momentum, so there are no standards at all. Below is a sketch of how approximately the Attention Architecture should look like (a detailed article on a topic was published on my blog last year ):
This diagram shows how the hidden (clicks, the path through the site), and explicit (bookmarks) attention is tracked and stored in the database. Users control what attention received in this way should be used. For example, AttentionTrust has created an extension for Firefox, Attention Recorder , that tracks the user's path through the site and displays the saved move history. The user can also choose where to store this information. A standard exchange protocol between the attention-tracking application and the application that stores the data ensures that the user has a choice.
User information stored in the database can be accessed by trusted services. Such services, which have been approved by the user, have the ability, using user information, to provide personalization. For example, the same Netflix can use this information to show more user-oriented reviews. Newsvine using custom OPML can personalize news, and Google can prioritize its filters on its basis. On the technical side, the key to ensuring market attention is the separation of attention gathering, storing attention, and issuing it to relevant services.
Despite the large number of difficulties and great complexity of the Attention Economy, it is coming. The economy of the Internet and the information boom is leading to it. To create a healthy future market, it is necessary to understand the aspects of the Economics of Attention, its fundamental principles and technology of implementation. Below are some of these important aspects that need to be addressed.
All these aspects are far from simple or trivial, and all of them will require (considerable) time for resolution. In particular, the creation of a round table in this industry will be very important for creating standards and infrastructure for attention. Some major Internet companies are already doing preparatory work in this area, but so far nothing has been announced. Now also a large number of smaller companies are developing services for attention. They have not yet entered the market, but they will become the practical implementation of future standards.
Thanks to everyone who read to the end. I will be glad to see your comments on the topic.
Information boom
It is no secret to anyone that we live in an era of information boom. The rapid emergence of new information on the Internet is like a double-edged sword. We get more information and drown in the abundance of news, blogs, podcasts, photos, videos and fashion pages on MySpace. And the problem is only getting worse as more and more people are discovering the Internet. As an illustration, you can consider the two graphs below. The first of them demonstrate the rapid growth of the blogosphere as a whole, and the second - the number of articles and notes published on the technical innovations blog - TechCrunch:
')
Due to such a staggering increase in the amount of information, we stop reading - we are only reviewing the materials. News that has become outdated in a day is now obsolete in a few hours simply because we are paying attention to newer news. It is becoming more and more difficult to keep track of all news sources and keep up to date. This leads to the law of information, first formulated by Herbert Simon : the rapid growth of information causes a lack of attention .
Economy of attention
Everything becomes even more interesting when we realize that our attention crisis is not only our problem. This is a big problem for news sites, blogs, search engines and online stores. Lack of attention hurts their economic model. Websites that have the content we need are deeply concerned about bringing it to us. Consider the following scenario. You go to the news site and start reading the headlines. What is the likelihood that you will leave as soon as you see the wrong title? Is high. Another example. You go to Netflix ( note: Netflix is the largest online DVD rental ordering service that offers fixed-rate delivery throughout the US ) and read reviews about the film. What are the chances that you stop your searches right after Netflix shows any movie that you don’t like? Again, quite high.
When there is too much information around, the cost of its incorrect submission is very high - it can nullify the entire credibility of the source. Users will be happy to leave the site, knowing full well that outside it they will find hundreds of alternatives. Unfortunately, this is a win-win situation: since users rarely find anything satisfying, sellers cannot profit from them. The idea behind the Economics of Attention is to create a market space in which users are happy , because they are shown the information they need - and the sellers are happy, because users are spending money!
Main provisions
Basic Economics Ideas Attentions are relatively simple. As an economy, it offers a market in which users agree to pay for the services provided with their attention. The ultimate goal is, of course, the sale of something to consumers, but this sale will not necessarily be direct or momentary. For example, news feeds well illustrate this point. They require users of their attention in exchange for the possibility of displaying advertising. Search engines do this: they show ads in exchange for helping them find answers online.
But it is important to realize that the key point in the game for attention is relevance. As long as the user sees relevant content, he will be somewhere nearby - and this will increase the likelihood of selling him something. In fact, the more a user is on the site (reads news, follows links, etc.), the higher the chance that he will click on any advertisement. So, the main question: how to show this most relevant content to the user? This is a complex problem that can be partially solved by a recommendation system . However, for the sites themselves there is no way to create relevant, personalized content of the pages until they know at least something about the user. To make the issue more personalized, websites should know you: your browsing history, which books you like, which wines you drink, which music you listen to, etc. The more information, the better.
Another key point for Economics of Attention is privacy. The problem is not only to protect information about users, but also to provide users with control over information about them. The idea that in the Economy of Attention user information is intended only to obtain it, and can be subsequently bought or sold, is fundamentally wrong. On the contrary, the user must be able to choose which services he wants to receive in exchange for information about his attention. In order to convey these ideas and protect users, Steve Gillmor and Seth Goldstein formed the AttentionTrust organization.
Credibility
Something solid, like the Economy of Attention, requires a good foundation. The market requires participants who are ready to play according to the rules established on an independent basis. The founders of AttentionTrust have achieved some success in defining a simple, elegant, as well as compact, set of principles that define the rules of the game by creating basic user rights in the Economics of Attention:
- Own. You have your own attention and can keep it wherever you want. You have control over it.
- Mobility. You can safely transfer your attention from one place to another. You have the ability to move your attention.
- Economy. You pay attention to what you want and get paid for it. Your attention has a cost .
- Transparency. You can always see how your attention is used.
These principles define the rules for any company that wants to participate in the Economics of Attention. For example, as follows from the rules, services should provide a way for users to extract ( export ) their information. Another consequence is the fact that the user must be able to delete his account along with all their information. So, these seemingly simple rules ensure that participants behave honestly and do not try to gain complete control over user information.
Technology of attention
The idea and principles of Economics of Attention sound tempting, but a reasonable question arises: how feasible is all this? Obviously, many great things must be born in a place that is suitable for this. Attention technology and architecture plays a key role in market promotion. Ideally, basic standards and protocols should be the technology behind the Economics of Attention. But now talk about attention is gaining momentum, so there are no standards at all. Below is a sketch of how approximately the Attention Architecture should look like (a detailed article on a topic was published on my blog last year ):
This diagram shows how the hidden (clicks, the path through the site), and explicit (bookmarks) attention is tracked and stored in the database. Users control what attention received in this way should be used. For example, AttentionTrust has created an extension for Firefox, Attention Recorder , that tracks the user's path through the site and displays the saved move history. The user can also choose where to store this information. A standard exchange protocol between the attention-tracking application and the application that stores the data ensures that the user has a choice.
User information stored in the database can be accessed by trusted services. Such services, which have been approved by the user, have the ability, using user information, to provide personalization. For example, the same Netflix can use this information to show more user-oriented reviews. Newsvine using custom OPML can personalize news, and Google can prioritize its filters on its basis. On the technical side, the key to ensuring market attention is the separation of attention gathering, storing attention, and issuing it to relevant services.
Possible problems
Despite the large number of difficulties and great complexity of the Attention Economy, it is coming. The economy of the Internet and the information boom is leading to it. To create a healthy future market, it is necessary to understand the aspects of the Economics of Attention, its fundamental principles and technology of implementation. Below are some of these important aspects that need to be addressed.
- Drop out User information must be “sifted” to make it matter.
- Round table. You need to create some sort of round table in this industry so that organizations can manage the standards for the technological and business aspects of the Economy of Attention (for an example, take a look at the Java Community Process ).
- Education. People should get an idea of the importance of their attention and the principles of Economics of Attention. There will not be able to avoid the problem of user privacy, because it must be solved first.
All these aspects are far from simple or trivial, and all of them will require (considerable) time for resolution. In particular, the creation of a round table in this industry will be very important for creating standards and infrastructure for attention. Some major Internet companies are already doing preparatory work in this area, but so far nothing has been announced. Now also a large number of smaller companies are developing services for attention. They have not yet entered the market, but they will become the practical implementation of future standards.
Thanks to everyone who read to the end. I will be glad to see your comments on the topic.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/31231/
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