I really enjoyed reading the chapter about attention. It is interesting that anything we want to learn is at our fingertips but sometimes it does not get our attention. Attention is also a big part of sales, marketing and business. As a Business Education teacher, this is link of attention in education and in business is especially fascinating to me.
"...having the attention of other turns out to feel very good..."
I help coach a Kids on the Run club at my children's elementary school and we have been talking about the students who clearly need attention- but what student doesn't. We know students don't always get it at home and then demand more attention from teachers- positive or negative attention.
This quote also makes me think of Facebook. The book mentions everyone having their own "customized channel for each individual" to get attention- sounds like Facebook to me.
"...advertising faces ever-increasing competition for attention."
Anyone in business, from running a car dealership to selling candy bars for Girl Scouts, knows they need to get their client's attention yet in all my business classes, I never studied the literacy and economy of attention. I think Apple has done a great job in the attention economy. I think the Ted Talk below shows a great way some companies have gotten the attention of consumers.
Additionally, I was really excited to read how the text talked about the changing role of librarians. I have recently taken and passed the Library Media Specialist Praxis test. Some people have given me a concerned response the future of libraries/librarians when I tell about considering a career in this field. I still believe there is a future for libraries and librarians. I believe the future librarians will navigate all these literacies of our future learners. I know my library is working on an update. It will be interesting to see what the future holds.
I also thought of Facebook when the chapter was talking about the attention economy. Those guys were really onto something early, and had their pulse on what young people were excited about and looking for, and it was just another way of getting and giving attention. Most of the social media apps and sites turn out this way in the beginning. They are a place for people to display themselves and their opinions to the world. The problem just seems to come with kids getting involved with these tools before they are old enough, or completely literate in them, because their emotions can overrule their common sense. I really have seen that development in my own kids, and when the tools were new to me...like Facebook and MySpace, I even saw it in myself. I STILL see it in many people my age who are just now experiencing Facebook for the first time. They post EVERYTHING they are doing, everywhere they go, every new outfit, everything they cook for supper, etc... I'm sure you know what I mean. Getting and giving attention has always been a great driver for people, and with the internet, has created it's own growing economy.
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