Economics of Attention Style and Substance in the Age of Information by Lanham, Richard A. [University Of Chicago Press,2007] [Paperback]

by Richard A. Lanham

Richard A. Lanham here traces our epochal move from an economy of things and objects to an economy of attention. According to Lanham, the central commodity in our new age of information is not stuff but style, for style is what competes for our attention amid the din and deluge of new media. In such a world, intellectual property will become more central to the economy than real property, while the arts and letters will grow to be more crucial than engineering, the physical sciences, and indeed economics as conventionally practiced. For Lanham, the arts and letters are the disciplines that study how human attention is allocated and how cultural capital is created and traded. In an economy of attention, style and substance change places. The new attention economy, therefore, will anoint a new set of moguls in the business world - not the CEOs or fund managers of yesteryear, but new masters of attention with a grounding in the humanities and liberal arts.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Communication, Economics

Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Michael Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Give the author some room here to explain the undertaking: "This book had its origins in a narrow question: What's new about digital expressive space and what's not?" It's obvious that print, publication and authorship are now constantly challenged as old-fashioned. The conventions and organization have changed a good deal due to the developments in technology. People will continue, of course, to speak and listen, read and write, but it will not be as it was fifty years ago. How could it be? Why is the postal service stressed out?

Another way to face this issue is to ask a slightly different question: "What's next for text?" Now textual affairs are largely conducted on screens rather than printed pages. Lanham mobilizes the by now trite observation that we are currently "drowning in information." In order to rescue the hopeless reader and writer from the deluge, he suggests that we focus on forming human attention in such a way that it can make sense of it all. Advertising know that ninety percent of the effort is gaining someone's attention.

Reformulation: Instead of thinking of the "digital revolution," a term that makes only limited amount of sense, we should instead think of this as an "economy of attention." How much time and in what ways should we pay attention to things? "Attention," as Lanham says, "is the one thing in short supply."

Lanham trots out the old story, Rhetoric being that art, first conceptualized by the Greeks to provide the ways and means of being an effective public person. So it's with Rhetoric that we should begin the formation of the economics of attention. The approach is simple. Begin with what has got your attention, then step back and think about the entire process of how x gained your attention and how you reacted to it. For instance, I was immediately impressed with Lanham's work not for its excellence but because it signals a desire to move Rhetoric forward. I'm all for such efforts. Nothing could be better for a community that a better informed Rhetorical Sense. The fundamental oscillation in this new environment is between capturing attention and reflecting on how the seduction takes place. In my case I was predisposed to open Lanham's book because I've been studying Rhetoric for over twenty years and getting nowhere.

[Vadim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ричард Лэнгем один из исключительно редких профессоров английской литературы, которому доставляет удовольствие наше время со всеми его переменами и которому симпатична рыночная экономика.

Будучи противником доминирующего в образовании подхода к общению "коротко и по делу", в котором лучшая "форма" как платье короля должна быть незаметной и не отвлекать от "содержания", Лэнгем представляет убедительные аргументы в пользу важности формы.

Если литература нам напоминает, что мотивы человека многообразны, о том же нас учит и рынок. "Коротко и по делу" -- это продуктовый паек, конфеты на развес. Однако люди всегда ищут большего, особенно когда не слишком голодны. Люди любят играть друг с другом и играться. Компьютер, который задуман как большая счетная машинка, для многих оказался домашним театром, в котором можно симулировать события и участвовать в них.

Экономисты, как становится ясно из книги Лэнгема, при описании нынешнего мира делают непростительную экономическую ошибку. Они называют мир информационного изобилия "информационной экономикой", намекая на то, что нынче информация стала особенно ценной. В реальности же информационный взрыв, начавшийся уж как минимум после появления станка Гутенберга, делал все более дорогой не информацию (грубые "данные"), а "внимание". Если экономистам интересно, как распределяется это благо, как его получают при помощи стиля, выразительности, обертки конфет в самом широком смысле, им стоит чаще разговаривать со специалистами по искусству.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Analyzing information economically, Lanham argues for rhetoric as the best tool for understanding the shifts that have come about due in large measure to the interent. He contends that a method that oscillates between looking at (focusing on style) and looking through (focus on substance) yields deeper insights into how new mediums alter our consciousness and actions. His chapter on whither the bricks and mortar university in an open source age is a nice counterpoint to anti-technological lamentations about the loss of values and the demise of Humanism. Humanistic rhetoric, Lanham says, is actually a vital tool in the internet era.

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only hope I'm half as clear as Lanham as I try to apply one field's theories to another in my dissertation work. I liked not only what Lanham had to say but how he said it. The structure of the text is a model of scholarship I'd like to see more of. Excellent book for anyone interested in information, computers and/or rhetoric and composition.

[Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do agree about the clarity of the discussion. It is well written. Kudos to the UofC press! I have trouble distinguishing the takeaways from this book from an MBA text on marketing. I think it is a little pedantic. I was expecting an extrapolation of Tufte and I got Gladwell (Blink).

[Rtm Taylor-Manning · Rating 5 out of 5]

really a stunning synthesis of rhetoric . . .

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise is really interesting, but it's hard to plow through. Very dense.

[Robin Gane-McCalla · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book ignores economics and is more a review of style and substance of various art. There's some interesting stuff if you're into art forms but it's a pretty misleading title.

[Karla Kitalong · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can tell by my annotations that I read this book twice before. It had its moments. I am pretty sure I liked it better when I read it earlier. I found it repetitive in parts: style/substance, stuff/fluff, LOOKING AT and THROUGH. I wanted to add LOOKING WITH. I haven't explored that idea yet, but I think I will or should.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written several years ago (2006), this book foresaw what is happening now, and its still very relevant.

we used to compete for computing resources from a single main frame, and now numerous devices and inputs are competing for our attention.

well written and informative

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lanham has written an important book; one that uses a rhetorical perspective to understand life in the digital age, where we are constantly drowning in information. Rhetoric is essential because it helps us garner more attention to the information we produce. In other words, in order to adapt to this information-saturated age, we must become "economists of attention." Attention is a scarce resource, and we need to focus on arranging our arguments in a way to maximize the attention of the auditors of our messages.

Aesthetics are key here. Lanham argues that avant-garde artists throughout the 20th century created the work that they did (Warhol, John Cage, Christo being some of his exemplary "economists of attention" because they were able to grab and sustain our attention with their works of art on the periphery of traditional aesthetics, and yet, because of their centripetal gaze to the spotlight, they were able to effectively accomplish their goals.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Economics of Attention (2006), Richard Lanham argues that information is not scarce in our current economy, attention is. Thus, he argues we should understand our economy as one of attention, and he understands rhetoric as "the economics of attention" (xii). He argues that style (and design) are what attracts our attention.

[Tim O'Connell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible book, maybe a good idea to start with as title but I found the book mostly fluff after starting with a seemingly good idea for a book. After getting one half way through gave up I wasn't impressed with the intellegence of the writer at all after getting a good first start it sank from there.

[Laurice Taitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful read about the new economy. A book that validates and values creative people over bean counters and bridge builders. Its thesis: when you have an information suplus it's good to be the one with a map, or the one who can organise the information into a map.

[Kaye Adkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed the way I view our digital, "information economy" world. I think Lanham os right that it's about our ability to filter all of that information. I hope he's right about what this will mean for rhetoric and rhetoricians.

[Sam Berner · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book of lists of what to read. Skip it all except for the chapter on Barbie Doll and the Cultural Conversation. I fully agree with the guy!

[Sean Doherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important subject - at the base of many things in media. Lanham almost nails it.

[Dan Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like it more than I did, but ultimately the idea presented is far more impressive than the manner in which it was articulated.