Celebrity functions as stored attention convertible into commercial influence

Evidence

It is the past accumulation of collective attention concentrated on the prominent figure of George Clooney that enables him to concentrate our collective attention on Nespresso coffee machines. This is what Jean-Michel Espitallier expresses scathingly in his extraordinary little book On Celebrity [De la célébrité]: It is because I am renowned [reconnu] that I am known [connu]. It is because I am known [connu] that I am renowned [reconnu].’ — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 150

Categorization

• XREF: The Clooney/Nespresso mechanism anticipates influencer marketing and creator-economy dynamics. — connects to: Micro-celebrity status is seen as convertible currency for real-world goals like funding — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 300; Fame now precedes wealth in the attention economy — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 139; Public attention is a self-reproducing form of value convertible into fame — Michael H. Goldhaber, The Attention Economy and the Net, 6 (+8 more)
• SHARE: The reconnu/connu circularity pun is a witty line to send to someone working on celebrity studies.

Broader Connections

• Public attention is a self-reproducing form of value convertible into fame #corroborates (0.88) — Michael H. Goldhaber, The Attention Economy and the Net, 6
• Advertising industrialized attention by converting it into a resellable commodity #epitomizes (0.82) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 24
• Mass media function as banks for the attention economy #qualifies (0.78) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 159