The Economics of Attention

This was an interesting article. It tells us that during the twentieth century, artists developed their art to gain attention. In 1917, French artist Duchamp, along with two of his friends, purchased a urinal, painted R. Mutt on it and turned it upside down. This was entered in the Independent's art exhibition as a joke. This entry set the stage for the art show which was to show that art could be whatever the artist wanted it to be. Throughout the twentieth century, more pieces of art were simple things such as soup cans or bicycles. The things were used to attract attention which made them more meaningful. The things that were more commonplace showed the public that the physical object was truly insignificant. Duchamp wanted to diminish the seriousness of art and make it a game, and in 1923, he became so disillusioned with art that he stopped creating it. He became famous for taking an ordinary object, such as a bicycle wheel and displaying it so that everyone looks at it and says, "isn't that amazing" or "I wonder what the artist is trying to say", when the artist is laughing at the observers and thinking they're stupid for admiring a wheel.
The first futurists of the 20th century were led and financed by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, who presented his utopian vision in a "futurist Manifesto". He was determined to bring Italy into the future and many of his ideas sound like they could be from the 1960's. He spoke of the world being shrunk by speed and of global awareness. Looking into the future he realized that with scientific advances that man gained sense of his home, of the district where he lived, his region and his continent. Today, man is aware of the whole world that is available at his fingertips. He doesn't need to know what happened in the past, but wants to know what is happening all over the world.
Andy Warhol is called an economist of attention He wanted to be successful in business, which he considered the most fascinating kind of art. He asked his friends what he should paint and they told him to paint what he liked best in the world. He started painting money, but that wasn't his most favorite thing. In 1960, he began to paint pictures of Campbell's soup cans, all different flavors. In the beginning, the New York galleries would not display his work. No-one knew what to do with the mass-produced commercial still life. The Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles first showed Campbell soup cans in 1962. Being the somewhat wacky 60's, the art became a success. Warhol did not mock the objects of his art, as Duchamp would have done, but knew that what you saw was what you got. After Marilyn Monroe's death, Warhol purchased a 1950's publicity photo of her and had it converted into a silkscreen. He imprinted her portrait hundreds of times and furthered her status as a cultural icon.
These objects allowed Warhol to convert attention into money by representing the attention in physical objects.
The end-all attention grabber is to create a public personality that functions as an attention trap. The person actually becomes the art exhibit. The sad thing is that this kind of art exhibit is on the surface only, There is no substance behind it.
The rules of attention-economoy art as practiced by Andy Warhol are:

• build attention traps
• understand the log of the centripetal gaze and how to profit from it
• draw your inspiration from your audience and keep in touch with them
• turn the masterpiece psychology of conventional art upside down
• objects do matter
• live in the present.

This article could be written about many of the movie stars and artists of today. Their entire life is a fabrication. There is no substance to their thoughts, actions or morals. Their focus is on the attention they can gain for the moment.

CyberDemocracy

Different issues such as access, technological determinism, encryption, intellectual property, anarchy and ethnicity have been impacted by new communications technology. In the instance of encryption, the United States government has tried to secure its borders from terrorists who might use the Internet and threaten it. The case is made, though, that ordinary citizens have been improperly abused and had their civil rights violated worse by our own government than by terrorists. The author of this article believes that terrorism is an effect of government propaganda which convinces the American people that there are big, bad terrorists out there and by doing so, shields them from government abuse. Since this article was written in 1995, I wonder if Poster's opinion of terrorism has changed since then. We know now that terrorism is a reality and there are evil people out there who will attack us simply because we are Americans.

The article asks questions such as " will the telephone companies, the cable companies or some almalgam of both be able to secure adequate markets and profits from providing the general public with railroad timetables, five hundred channels of television, the movie of one's choice on demand, and so forth?" That question has already been answered and it is Yes! Telephone companies and cable companies and, in most instances, a combination of the two, have probably gained markets and profits by providing those very services. Can commodities be sold on the Internet and can it be used to function as an electronic retail store or mall? Again, the answer is Yes! Commodites are not only bought, but also auctioned and sold daily. Just about any product one might be interested in purchasing, can be purchased on the Internet. Since I live in a 120 year old house, I recently purchased antique looking light switch covers and register covers. I was unable to find them in a retail store, but found a fairly good selection online.

The Internet as a public sphere is discussed. Can the Internet take the place of town hall meetings? The Internet serves its purpose of bringing together people who would probably never have the opportunity to meet in person. They are able to discuss anything and everything, from politics and religion, to schools and child rearing. For some people, this may be the only form of public interaction they have. Others may participate in online chats and follow the latest political blunders and forums, but may also have an active life outside of the Internet. The Internet is great, but nothing totally takes the place of face to face conversation. Traditional town hall meetings may be something of the past, but there are still many other venues in which unorganized political discussions are held. Lunch groups, Rotary meetings, social and civic meetings, local churches, unions and around the water cooler are all places where unorganized, casual democratic meetings are held daily. Don't forget, this is America and we exercise our freedom of speech just about anywhere.

Information

There was so much material included in "Selling Wine Without Bottles on the Internet" that I needed to blog a little more on the subject of information. The author tells us that information is an activity, a life form and a relationship. He explains that information is a verb, not a noun, and is something that happens in the field of interaction between minds, objects of other forms of information. Information has to move and has to be shared, but I'm not sure I agree that it is a verb. I think of it as a ball, that has to be moved or thrown to be in motion. We personally have to throw the ball or share the information. We all benefit if information is shared. If one person shares his ideas with another, they both are informed and by more than one person possessing the information, they may be able to expand on the idea.

Information is a life form. When ideas are shared and more people have that knowledge, it spreads. Information is able to spread to all areas of the world within minutes and once it has gone out, there is no restraining it. Digital information is a continuing process similar to stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. No one knows exactly what happened originally, but has a vague sense of the story.

Information is a relationship. Receiving information can be as creative an act as generating it. Only people understand the information being sent to them. If it is nothing they need or can use, their perception is that it is meaningless. Based on the point of view and authority, people are willing to pay for that which they believe to be worthwhile. The author makes a valid point...owning a fabulous CD of your favorite artist may be enjoyable, but paying the price to attend a live concert is more than worth it.

Another valid point was that those who act on their information and ideas are the ones who reap the rewards. It is not enough to have a good idea and sit on it. Patent it and get it out on the market! If you don't act on it, someone else will.

Defining digital and visual rhetoric II

I am a little late for this blog as I was out of town for a week with no computer access. I read "The Economy of Ideas: Selling Wine Without Bottles on the Global Net." The article focuses on how we can protect our ideas and property when it is reproduced and distributed all over the world. Intellectual property law cannot be revised to encompass digital technology. In the past, it has been easier to protect physical expression with a patent or copyright because it always resulted in some thing such as a book or other physical object. The article tells us that for something to be patented, it has to be a thing and it has to work.

It is increasingly difficult to enforce existing copyright and patent laws that cover the free exchange of ideas. By attempting to solve the problem of protecting the ownership of speech, forms of more vigorous enforcement may threaten freedom of speech. In Cyberspace, there are no national or local boundaries to contain a crime and to determine a method of prosecution, and no clear cultural determination of exactly what the crime might be.

There now seems to be a world economy that is based on goods that have no material form. It may be hard to determine how to reward the creators based on the use of their products. Copyright and patent law were developed in most western countries for the purpose of promoting the creation of ideas and inventions and to help ensure those responsible would be compensated. Since we can now convey ideas to each other without them being physical, claims are made to own the ideas, not only their expression. This makes it difficult to determine actual ownership.

Laws regarding unlicensed reproduction of commercial software are harsh, but rarely observed. It is not reasonable to assume that laws made to protect physical things would also be appropriate for ideas communicated on the web. Unbounded intellectual property is different from physical property and cannot be protected the same way. If the information and ideas are not protected, the creator cannot be compensated for his work. When currency is meaningless, people will go back to bartering. Societies develop their own unwritten codes, practices and ethical systems when they develop outside the law. Technology may undo law, but it also offers methods for restoring creative rights.

Defining digital and visual rhetoric

Chapter Two: Daily Life in Cyberspace - This article outlined the emergence of a new computer service in 1985 called WELL begun by Whole Earth publisher Stewart Brand. The charge for this service was originally $3.00 an hour. The public online service was launched because two people from a previous cultural revolution noticed that the technology of computer conferencing had potential beyond its then current uses of military, scientific and government communications. They originally wanted the WELL to become a vehicle for social change and used the WELL as a cultural experiment. They selected different individuals and offered them free accounts. Instead of advertising, they gave journalists free accounts to encourage them to drawn in new subscribers.

The original design goals of the WELL were:
1. It should be free or as cheap as they could make it.
2. It should make a profit.
3. It would be an open-ended universe.
4. It would be self-governing.
5. It would be a self-designing experiment.
6. It would be a community that reflected the nature of Whole Earth publications.
7. Business users would bring in the money, but that did not happen.

Nobody is anonymous on the WELL. Each user must attach their real userid to their postings.
The author goes on to describe several of the people he has met on the WELL site.

Virtual communities are places where people meet and they are the tools. Some people use the WELL for the community and friendships that have developed and others use it as an information source. Virtual communities' members are workers whose professional standing is based on what they know. A virtual community can be like a living encyclopedia where the members help each other. This is a great way for a large, diverse group of people to multiply their individual degree of expertise.

The premise of experts on the well is if you have a problem or questions concerning any topic, you pose it. Nothing may happen or you may receive the answer that is exactly what you need. The answer to your question may be found in the community librarian service or may be answered by another WELL member. Experts compete to solve problems. For only $2.00 an hour, you have access to your own think tank.

The evolution of the WELL and its' community was interesting but it was hard to follow the writing of the author.

Book III

The first sentence of chapter I of the Index to Chapter III is a comment about style that I try to remind myself of every day. "It is not enough to know what to say; we must also say it in the right way." In my job, I deal with customers and my staff daily. I may have to find the right words to say to a customer when he is upset about a fee or there may be an occasion when I will need to coach an employee. In these circumstances, I not only need to say the right words, but also pay attention to the tone I use. As stated in chapter 7, the words I use must be appropriate for the situation. I am appealing to the emotion of the customer or employee and his character, the topic or subject must be understood, and I should be tactful with the situation. In this type of setting, I am trying to persuade the customer that the fee is reasonable or with an employee, that this is procedure we must use and by doing it correctly, it will affect our customers positively.

It is always important to speak clearly, using correct pronunciation, understandable words, and a pleasing volume. Correctness of language is the foundation of good style which includes: the proper use of connecting words, calling things by their special names, avoiding ambiguities, using correct nouns, and using the correct wording for plurality. A written composition must be easy to read and easy to deliver.

Using descriptions and representative words adds to the impressiveness of language. When trying to engage an audience, add liveliness to help your hearers see things by using expressions that represent things as in a state of activity.

Speeches have only two necessary parts - the statement of the case and the argument. At most, it can consist of an Introduction, Statement, Argument, and Epilogue. The introduction and epilogue are used to introduce the subject and to draw it to a conclusion. When stating the case, use plain facts, indicate a moral purpose, use emotions, and guarantee the truth. The duty of the arguments is to attempt demonstrative proof. Make your conclusion distinct.

Some of the comments in both Chapters I and III are hard to understand until I think of how long ago Aristotle captured his thoughts. Even though some of thoughts are kind of obscure, so much of what he says is relevant to today's world of speech.

Aristotle's rhetoric - Book-1

Rhetoric is the ancient art of argumentation and discourse...The earliest known studies of rhetoric come from the Golden Age when philosophers of ancient Greece discussed logos, ethos, and pathos.

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/resource/rhet.html

Aristotle describes rhetoric as being useful because, when a judge decides against a speaker who speaks the truth and believes just things have a tendency to prevail over their opposites, the speaker is to blamed for his failure. When persuading an audience, it is noted that some people are simply not educated and must be instructed through persuasion. Persuasion must be used to clearly state the facts so that people are able to understand the clear facts.

There are three kinds of modes of persuasion; the first depends on the personal character of the speaker, the second involves putting the audience into a certain frame of mind and third is the proof that must be provided by the speech itself. The speaker must be able to reason logically, understand human character and its goodness, and to understand emotions. Persuasion must come through the hearers after their emotions are stirred by the speech.

The speaker, the subject, and the person addressed are the three elements in speech making. The hearer must be a judge who determines the speech's end and object.

Aristotle stated that the main matters on which all men deliberate and politicians make speeches about are ways and means, war and peace, national defense, imports and exports, and legislation. It seems as if subject matter has not changed much since his days. He believed that one must study the history of his own country as well as be familiar with the history and current affairs of other countries.

Happiness was important to Aristotle, with importance based on good birth, plenty of friends, good friends, wealth, good children and plenty of them, a happy old age, health, beauty, strength, large stature, athletic powers, fame, honour, good luck and virtue. He wanted it all.

Aristotle talks a lot about the concept of being good and what makes something good. Happiness is desirable and sufficient by itself. He believe that which most people seek after must be good and that which people praise must also be good because they would not praise it if it was not good. Things that are praiseworthy are noble and therefore, better. Men want to actually be better than they want to be seen because to aim at a goal is closer to reality. Summing up the definition of good is something that is dearly prized is better than what is not.