Attracting and commanding attention signals significance and quality in status systems.

Evidence

The ability to attract and command attention is highly valued because it demonstrates significance and information quality; informants assumed that people with very high follower numbers were “good at Twitter,” which entails attracting a wide audience through interesting content and ongoing interactions with the audience. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 230

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the early-Twitter notion of ‘good at Twitter’ as the ability to attract a wide audience through content and interaction.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s understanding of status metrics in creator culture; follower counts as proxies for quality. — connects to: Attention is more valuable when it diverges from others than when it aligns — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 526; Conference attendance functions as visible status display in the tech scene — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 197; Social media broadcasting transforms status by prioritizing attention and visibility — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 30 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Attention is more valuable when it diverges from others than when it aligns #complicates (0.72) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 526