Attention functions as currency in prestige-differentiated social groups

Evidence

As a form of capital. it is difficult to compare with more tangible forms such as money, land, physical resources or even labour power. Franck notes that attention capital exists in any social group where there are distinctions in prestige, and where attracting attention constitutes increased recognition of that prestige, but that attention capital’s role has expanded along with the development of the mass media, effectively functioning as its currency. — Michael H. Goldhaber, The Attention Economy and the Net, 13

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘attention capital’ as a currency operating in prestige-differentiated groups, expanded by mass media.
• XREF: Connects to the reading purpose’s interest in the originating essay of attention-economy discourse; also echoes Bourdieu’s symbolic capital. — connects to: Attention works as a needle weaving global links at the price of inequality — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 560; Attention functions as a currency that compounds like interest. — Michael H. Goldhaber, The Attention Economy and the Net, 10; Attention functions as a political economy embedded in specific temporal contexts — Annual Review of Anthropology contributors (⚠ verify author line), The Political Economy of Attention, 25 (+5 more)

Related

• Attention operates as a form of capital that accrues interest and concentrates inequality. (similarity 0.89)
• Attention functions as convertible capital that individuals and institutions can bank and trade (similarity 0.88)
• Attention functions as a currency that compounds like interest. (similarity 0.88)
• Attention now functions like money as a common metric for cultural value. (similarity 0.87)
• Attention operates as an addictive wealth of increasing returns (similarity 0.86)
• Attention cannot function as currency without homogenizing measurement (similarity 0.84)
• Michael H. Goldhaber — The Attention Economy and the Net (similarity 0.84)
• Attention works as a needle weaving global links at the price of inequality (similarity 0.84)
• Attention only becomes convertible capital through homogenizing measurement devices (similarity 0.84)
• Attention inequality forms a distinct axis of class alongside money (similarity 0.84)
• Attention functions as a political economy embedded in specific temporal contexts (similarity 0.84)
• Fame now precedes wealth in the attention economy (similarity 0.83)
• Media function like banks issuing credit denominated in attention (similarity 0.83)
• Attention is a currency that is always being spent and cannot be saved (similarity 0.82)
• By the mid-2010s attention was openly proclaimed the universal currency across industries (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Attention functions as a political economy embedded in specific temporal contexts #expands (0.85) — Annual Review of Anthropology contributors (⚠ verify author line), The Political Economy of Attention, 25
• Attention functions as convertible capital that individuals and institutions can bank and trade #corroborates (0.80) — Michael H. Goldhaber, The Attention Economy and the Net, 14
• Contemplation access forms gated communities of attention divided by inequality #exemplifies (0.78) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 665
• Likes measure engagement, not goodwill, in the attention economy #complicates (0.75) — Grant Bollmer, Katherine Guinness, The Influencer Factory, 375