Two new inventions in the late 1930s would exponentially expand the supply of attention
Evidence
Something had to change, and it would. But few in late 1930s advertising could have predicted it would be an explosion in the supply of usable attention. This happened thanks to two new inventions, the first one whose potential most doubted and the second whose potential they could scarcely imagine. A whole new attention economy would soon be born, and advertising would cling to it for dear life. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 283
Categorization
- QUESTION: Which two inventions? Wu teases them here (likely radio and television) — worth confirming the payoff in the next chapter.
- XREF: connects to: Mass-scale attention harvesting began with advertising in the 1890s-1920s — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 24; The attention economy predates digital technology by 150 years — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 62; The attention industry did not exist a century ago — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 14 (+1 more)
Broader Connections
- The attention economy predates digital technology by 150 years
#expands(0.85) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 62 - Mass-scale attention harvesting began with advertising in the 1890s-1920s
#expands(0.80) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 24 - The attention industry did not exist a century ago
#contradicts(0.80) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 14 - Attention scarcity plagued writers and scholars centuries before digital media
#expands(0.80) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 53