"If we apply that to our post-industrial, online economy where attention is the creator of value… then isn’t our attention, in fact, our labor? (...) That is to say: attention has value, and not just online."
this portion is really resonating with me today in all the anxiety over elon musk/twitter and thinking further back to the past decade of trump. it also seems to explain why letting them steal our attention is so draining emotionally and i know i have very little energy for 'me' at the end of the day. just another way capitalism siphons the everyperson's value.
Excellent take. It's a clumsy analogy, but I see a similar issue at my son's sporting events. My eldest is a junior. There is a parent that takes pictures throughout each game. She's been doing this since the boys were little. Put another way; she's watched her son grow up through a viewfinder. I'm not sure that's the best way to live. Same with going to a show. if you spend the concert taking selfies or filming clips to post on IG, are you actually there?
great! I think every experience that brings out the audience from being merely a consumer is super important. I played in a festival in Germany were audience were asked to partecipate: cook together, taking care of others etc. Lifting the barrier between performer and audience is this!
I feel really badly for these artists who have been conned into believing they wouldn't get sick if more people just wore masks. Do they expect that nobody will drink at these shows? If not, then they realize that just about everyone is going to remove their masks at some point to drink, right?
I do enjoy the part of your post about the community theory of value, though. I just think magical face talismans are not the best avenue through which to explore it.
are you familiar with any of the new tech in "web3" that's trying to use analogous solutions to remove middlemen between artists and their fans? I'd love your take if you have the time
a little late to the party here... I think it is an interesting parallel between not paying attention and not following the performer's wishes - but there's still some extra level of sociopathy between the two I can't quite comprehend.
Excellent piece Damon!
"If we apply that to our post-industrial, online economy where attention is the creator of value… then isn’t our attention, in fact, our labor? (...) That is to say: attention has value, and not just online."
this portion is really resonating with me today in all the anxiety over elon musk/twitter and thinking further back to the past decade of trump. it also seems to explain why letting them steal our attention is so draining emotionally and i know i have very little energy for 'me' at the end of the day. just another way capitalism siphons the everyperson's value.
Excellent commentary.
It would be really interesting for you and LM Sacasas to talk about this! Two of my favorite essayistic newsletterers: https://theconvivialsociety.substack.com/p/your-attention-is-not-a-resource?s=r
Excellent take. It's a clumsy analogy, but I see a similar issue at my son's sporting events. My eldest is a junior. There is a parent that takes pictures throughout each game. She's been doing this since the boys were little. Put another way; she's watched her son grow up through a viewfinder. I'm not sure that's the best way to live. Same with going to a show. if you spend the concert taking selfies or filming clips to post on IG, are you actually there?
great! I think every experience that brings out the audience from being merely a consumer is super important. I played in a festival in Germany were audience were asked to partecipate: cook together, taking care of others etc. Lifting the barrier between performer and audience is this!
I feel really badly for these artists who have been conned into believing they wouldn't get sick if more people just wore masks. Do they expect that nobody will drink at these shows? If not, then they realize that just about everyone is going to remove their masks at some point to drink, right?
I do enjoy the part of your post about the community theory of value, though. I just think magical face talismans are not the best avenue through which to explore it.
came across your SubStack today; glad I did!
are you familiar with any of the new tech in "web3" that's trying to use analogous solutions to remove middlemen between artists and their fans? I'd love your take if you have the time
a little late to the party here... I think it is an interesting parallel between not paying attention and not following the performer's wishes - but there's still some extra level of sociopathy between the two I can't quite comprehend.