Attention as a Currency

This article will explore the idea of attention as a currency- Where attention serves as one, when money fails as one, how attention resolves these problems, and the shortcomings of this model.

As defined by the New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, "A currency is an asset or object that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services or for the settlement of debts. Its acceptance derives from the expectation that others will also accept it in future exchange."

Attention as a currency is part of a broader field: the economics of attention. It studies how an excess of information creates a relative deficit of human focus. Herbert Simon introduced this idea in 1971. However, existing theories remain incomplete and often inadequate. This essay, therefore, proposes attention as a complement to monetary currency, not a replacement. From the direct exchange o0f goods in the barter system and monetary exchange, using attention as a currency could be the evolution of economics.

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First, let’s look at where attention already acts as a currency

1. Social media This is the most common example of where attention is exchanged. Transactions take place as views, likes, comments and shares. This attention is then monetized by platforms and creators are paid according to the attention they received. More importantly, however, attention calcifies and acts like a stock resource. This calcified attention ultimately becomes capital. Securing high engagement on one release creates a predictive model, signalling a high probability of capturing attention with the next. A self-reinforcing feedback-loop of attention attraction is formed.

   
   

2. Commercial strategy Businesses allocate resources and expand product lines wherever attention flows. News media tracks the metrics of public interest. The entertainment industry develops exclusively where the consumer's focus goes. For example, cryptocurrency. It was a fringe technical project for many years. Nothing changed except the attention it received, from speculation, from media, and from institutions. The entire market cap of crypto today is arguably a lagging indicator of accumulated attention more than of any underlying utility.

   
   

3. Politics Here, attention is not traded for money but acts as a means for something that isn’t considered under economics. Roughly, more positive attention means more votes. It is proportional to power and influence. For example, in a coalition government, it is traded in the form of votes for control over parts of the government.

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Where money falls short and attention can act as a replacement-

1. Money is artificial While this seems like an obvious fact, one limitation of money is that its importance is reliant on supporting institutions. The value of a monetary currency can be manipulated, making it elastic. On the other hand, the supply of attention is roughly fixed and equal for everybody. This makes it a measure that is not affected by inflation or fluctuations. It is irrelevant to ask how much money Shakespeare, Mozart or Van Gogh earned. The attention they have received through the centuries, through several monetary systems, shape their image today.

   
   

2. Money is not qualitative Attention as a currency can possess several characteristics. Positive, negative, depth, duration. Each says something about the nature of what it is spent on. However, all money shows is a number. It is a one-dimensional concept. Some of the biggest decisions in the world are influenced by this. The financial aftermath of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster in 2011 was a bounded number. Yet, the attention it received for other humanitarian aspects, far exceeding the monetary cost, brought about several changes to the nuclear energy model. Countries like Germany started denuclearization as result.

3. Too many currencies There are currently over 175 currencies in the world. None of them are comparable without a conversion layer, exchange rates, and a measure for the cost of living. All these figures constantly changing, making global calculations highly unpredictable as well as inaccurate. Attention, being a constant for people across the world, is a useful tool to analyze certain outcomes. Which is why the success of a big event like the World Cup or The Olympics is measured in viewership, and not the revenue in currencies that differ for every country.

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Attention cannot replace money. Fiat currencies are still required for the settlement of physical debts. However, as a complementary currency, attention fills the gaps left by traditional finance. It provides a universal, qualitative, and stable metric. In an economy defined by information surplus, where we spend our attention is the truest economic indicator.