Web is where attention rules

Distribution is key to a simple understanding of much in modern world economy. And information distribution is where the web has taken over, for instance, removing the need for a physical CD, which shook the music industry, when audiences could just download music direct.

And our association between money and attention to the levels I took for granted growing up, in the 20th century, were ALL about that century, as inventions arrived where for a time, information distributed better through channels requiring heavy capitalization, like radio and television.

Global information distribution arrived with heavily capitalized areas, and then the web simplified, for many like myself, and solved the information distribution problem.

And money in its modern form arrived with the US Federal Reserve System, which is so effective, concepts it embodies took over global monetary systems.

Today people wonder how money gets created when they don't understand that system, and before it, money really was like an IOU to something physical considered valuable, like gold, versus in our times being more of an idea of value exchanged in the abstract.

You cannot have the modern global economy without money as invented in the 20th century.

Yet have considered the simple abstraction that money is a social IOU backed by society, as can be seen with US dollar which is a US federal reserve note backed by the US Government.

Money people were important for distribution in the heavily capitalized system, but today a music artist for example, can conceivably simply have fans download more or less direct and pay, with it questionable, what good are the money people in the middle then?

Worse, some of the greatest excesses in abuse of power can be seen with the money people, like movie producers whereas before information distribution on the web allowed a bigger picture, people were more likely focused on excesses from the celebrities. Now can get nasty picture about whomever.

Now we know as much about producers, agents and executives conceivably, as the web doesn't care.

Web is where attention rules. And unlike with a television station where powerful executives could control content to protect themselves and their friends from scrutiny, on the web? That information flows.

Getting proper remuneration for efforts is the social problem to be solved for the 21st century though, as BIG corporations still rule plenty of areas simply because the people who create lack the ability to get paid for their efforts, without a massive system designed simply to thwart thieves and piracy.

That will change am sure. My own analysis is that MOST people will return value received, when they make a buying decision, with proper remuneration, if is possible.

Such a simple sentence to type, but in those abstractions are a world to come, so much different from the one still here, which to me is just about social inertia, while people learn to choose better.

On the web is not so much about money as to value, but attention received, held and appreciated.

Here on the web? Attention rules.


James Harris