Venturers of Arasys Episode 1: Village of Liars

Over the last century, few times or spaces have remained uncultivated by the "attention merchants," contributing to the distracted, unfocused tenor of our times. Tim Wu argues that this is not simply the byproduct of recent inventions but the end result of more than a century's growth and expansion in the industries that feed on human attention. From the pre-Madison Avenue birth of advertising to TV's golden age to our present age of radically individualized choices, the business model of "attention merchants" has always been the same.

He describes the revolts that have risen against these relentless attempts to influence our consumption, from the remote control to FDA regulations to Apple's ad-blocking OS. But he makes clear that attention merchants grow ever-new heads, and their means of harvesting our attention have given rise to the defining industries of our time, changing our nature--cognitive, social, and otherwise--in ways unimaginable even a generation ago.

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Attention Merchants , please sign up. Be the first to ask a question about The Attention Merchants. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. This book is basically a general history of advertising in the West.

It covers newspapers, magazines, radio, and television is some detail and at the very end dives into social media.

The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads by Tim Wu (1 star ratings)

It provides little analysis or discussion of the information provided. Not the book I thought it was going to be, and not well-written enough to enjoy anyway. Wu points out that propaganda evolved from an earlier term, "propagating the faith," which came from the church as did some of the earliest ad men prior to being excommunicated or renouncing their faith, only to take up their zeal on Madison Ave. Perhaps we should not be surprised that one of the most successful advertisers to admire that earlier iteration of Uncle Sam was Adolph Hitler, who envied the British talent which was able to amass an army to defeat Germany in World War I.

I was just as shocked when Wu mentions Edward Bernays, an American nephew of Freud's, who has recently gained some deserved viral attention in the form of a documentary that has gotten some bounce on the internet, entitled "The Century of Self. The gripping documentary, even more so than this book, caters to the conspiracy theorist, as it explores much more in depth how psychology could be properly exploited to enhance propaganda's role in stirring the masses towards war and their own destruction, at the time of the Industrial Revolution and World War II.

With the much of the world now involved in conflict and looking poised as ever towards danger, a renewed interest in world war periods seems very much in vogue, particularly upon esoteric themes like that of Operation Paper Clip, which call into question the mysterious relationships between once war-time enemies, The US and Nazi Germany, and their more recent friendship on the world stage.

On the subject of news, Wu brings up that of Trump towards the middle of his book, discussing the way that Mark Burnett, the American producer of Survivor, first offers him a job as a reality star, as a way to sell his brand, only to return to this all-roads-lead-to-Rome topic by its end.

This is the part of the book, specifically the penultimate chapter, full of promise up until this point, where it falls calamitously short of the mark. It is as if he were applying a similar schtick as that of Jimmy Kimmel or Fallon, stepping out of character to warn us that Trump is the apotheosis of media's debasing influence. Though the argument may be valid the conclusion is unsatisfying because of so much that it omits. In Wu's original and superior work, The Master Switch, which more focuses on the industries behind inventions, the book examines some inherent dangers and weaknesses of capitalism, namely the dangers of monopolies and patents.

Somehow, Wu fails to examine in this sequel, the monopolistic tendencies of media and gives too little attention to the ways that Facebook has been used during an election year riddled with problems. Though he is great in tracing the evolution from the time of genesis of social media, perhaps his book was published prior to these social media sights and their reliance upon news as being a central focus of parts of that election, but lack of exploration of that topic is disappointing nonetheless.

Though it is overall very much worth reading as are its final few pages of the last chapter on the subject of "The Human Reclamation Project," which is an effort to reclaim more space from our gadgets and to consider our time much more carefully, it ultimately doesn't deliver on what Wu's first book promises. Having laid bare that propaganda best works when aimed at the lowest common denominator it is a shame that Wu himself aims low, ending his brave exploration with a shallow and cliche rebuke of Trump, failing to capitalize on examining deeper systemic problems which led to his rise.

Dec 08, Gary Foss rated it really liked it. I've been reading a few texts more oriented towards the "how" of the attention merchants that is, the psychology of attention so it was nice to get my hands on this much more history oriented text. Wu does go into a few tidbits of the "how" attention works, but his main focus is on the development of attention over the past century, and in that context he's put together a fascinating if somewhat broad overview of the topic, and he gives it a nice coverage.

Certain specific topics are, maybe, g I've been reading a few texts more oriented towards the "how" of the attention merchants that is, the psychology of attention so it was nice to get my hands on this much more history oriented text. Certain specific topics are, maybe, given less attention than they deserve as attention vectors. He does cover a few magazines, for instance, but the full range of that particular media gets a somewhat cursory amount of attention compared to others. TV, of course, is the big monster of attention in the 20th century, but newspapers, radio and eventually the internet all get covered.

Of course, the elephant in the room for a book with a topic like this one is the rise of Donald Trump. Though he's mentioned in the GR blurb, the rise of the Orange One is incidental to the existing text as of this writing—a proviso I feel obligated to make because I'm quite certain an addendum or sequel is in the works.

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It's simply too significant an event to ignore for this topic, so unless Mr. Wu has trundled off to live in a cave somewhere, I'm sure he's working his fingers to the bone about now. That said, the moral qualities of this book moral as in the moral of the story, and as in the economics and socio-political ethics of the information age are deeply relevant and should be a running conversation these days, but remain far more muted than is healthy for our culture or ourselves. As such, I highly recommend picking up this one even if the history of the rise and fall of Amos 'n' Andy isn't necessarily of interest to you.

At the very least, such matters are stand-ins for a whole new set of similar issues that need to be considered carefully now more than ever. Oct 22, Art rated it it was amazing Shelves: A terrific history of marketing and consumer behavior over the past hundred years, from a time when attention merchants barely existed. Tim Wu connects disparate dots, adding context while foreshadowing developments to come. The question raised by this book: Where and when should attention merchants conduct business?

In the end, Wu writes, we should reclaim our time and attention. When we read a book, become engrossed in work or play with children, we reclaim attention from the merchan Excellent. When we read a book, become engrossed in work or play with children, we reclaim attention from the merchants. We need to avoid engagement in the propaganda state and celebrity culture, Wu writes fortuitously.

We must make our attention our own again and reclaim the experience of living. Now, in this new century, we hold the internet in our hands and become citizen creators. Twenty years ago, content was declared king, writes Wu. Now, junk and clickbait dominate. Clicking leads to ads that follow the clicker. Ad blockers push back against the attention merchants.

But now I get pop-ups asking me to turn off the ad blocker. Twitter sparked microframing and the measuring of it. People built their own brands. A terrific and timely book, as we enter a trump era that demands constant attention from a celebrity who abuses his bully pulpit. Looking forward to a new or paperback edition of this book, which may include updated thoughts from Wu. Fresh Air, on Monday, Oct 17, http: Oct 29, Lams rated it it was amazing Shelves: Great summary of the history of media and advertising - highly relevant for everyone in the media business.

I expected some more details on how the latest generation of attention merchants work to track down their targets and where the industry is moving now, but the great historical chapters make up for it. Wu did not mention this, but we might now also be at the first time in history when readers actually pay for quality news reporting - with their wallets and not their attention to our ads. With falling ad-prices, advertising might turn out to be almost irrelevant. This of course hurts in the short run - but imagine the products we can make when free from banner ads and constant click chasing.

My biggest concern in this new era is that we optimize too hard on the subscription side, ending up with tons of self help and emotional stuff and that newspapers will not prioritize traditional breaking news and common stories - it is hard to sell subs on news that is covered by all other outlets as well. Apr 12, Matthew rated it it was ok Shelves: Disappointing, lazy, and superficial.

This highly selective history is not even justified by a clear theory or argument. It's not that it's selective because it is trying to cherry pick facts to make an argument, there is no argument, it's just a weak history. I was waiting for a big redeeming discussion at the end, but it never came. That said, it begins well: Though chapter 18 on Oprah was interesting, but probably because i'm not American — it's unlikely to add add much for anyone who's already familiar with Oprah's career.

Much of the writing is a bizarre conglomeration of stock phrases welded together in a glib aphoristic style … and that's the better bits. There are a couple of lb gorillas mentioned in the book, but a few lines later one of them is referred to as the tiger in the room. A screen is descried as being the size of a piece of bacon on its side …? Doubt is cast on the Huffington Post's journalistic rigour and im not arguing with that then in a different area Huffington Post is used as a source. Unless you've never heard of Buzzfeed, there's no reason to read this book.

Nov 14, Leftjab rated it really liked it. I have some reservations about the book more on that in a bit but read it quite quickly and it falls into that strange area I have been feeling about some non-fiction of late: It could have been either pages sho Thoroughly enjoyable er It could have been either pages shorter or like pages longer.

The book isn't really a history or a book on economics, or even a theoretical exploration of our contemporary age - it's a bit of all three. I would have liked a bit more depth into the arts reaction to advertising and the populace being made into a product, but then that's another book almost altogether.

Ballard and Mad Men? Dick, Thomas Pynchon, Baudrillard? The demiurge incarnate in the virtual mindscape? The added chapter on Trump was one of the more disappointing chapters in the entire book - primarily because it felt rushed. In the author's defense, Trump had very recently been elected when he was writing so the full disaster that is his presidency hadn't truly reared its ugly head and man is it ugly , and his comparisons between Obama and Trump were accurate but somewhat obvious.

I had some similar revelations when I moved from Indiana to New York and realized that the commercials on the major networks were different. Of course, they would be, but I'd never thought about how advertisers would tailor their geography to their audience. I'm on the more paranoid tip in that Big Brother isn't the government Not necessarily, though this is another reason why the whole 2nd Amendment defense of gun ownership in terms of a well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free state paraphrasing is out-dated.

If our government wants you, they will get you, which is true of probably The Internet has allowed this to happen - and most people do it willingly. Every credit card swipe, every text, every email is stored somewhere. The digital footprint - Wu seems to want to find where that came from and why we are so willing to give up that information. This being said by someone writing something to post online for the world to read, from a computer terminal that could easily be tracked! Then again, my conscience is largely clear so if there's nothing to hide, why hide anything?

One of the more interesting points of the book - which goes with my other realization that the shows one watches on commercial television aren't the point: The more people who by McDonald's, the more money they have to place an ad during primetime which will make the viewer then buy more McDonald's. Wu states repeatedly that the audience is the product. It took me a bit to wrap my head around that idea. Television creates certain audiences around the shows it shows which in turns influences which advertisements are run.

Because advertisements are removed from the buying of the actual product you don't buy a hamburger necessarily because you see a McDonald's commercial - you would have to unwilling buy the hamburger upon watching the commercial , the buying of the product is secondary to the gaining of the audience's attention, and the number of viewers which can be calculated through Nielsen ratings or now in the internet era by just seeing who is online on certain sites during certain times is the true object in the exchange between network and advertiser.

In the good ol' days, I would buy a chair because I needed a chair. A company would make the best chair so that I would buy their chair as opposed to an inferior chair. It seems that now the chair doesn't matter as long as the exchange of monies transpires. So we are the chair in the exchange between television and the advertiser. I have been able to make it so that when I am home and watching the programs I favor I do not ever need to watch commercials. Seeing commercials on Youtube or what have you drives me nuts.

So in that respect, I was extremely sympathetic to Wu's chronicling of the pure days of radio, the pure days of the Internet, before corporate interests got their hands on it.

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Essentially, before one could make LOTS of money from it. And the desperation to find work that supports the kids and family means that there will be an endless supply of the desperate and nefarious waiting to fill those positions in companies. Wu attempts to find a way out of it in the closing chapter, but that to me felt like it could be another book unto itself. One pet peeve I did have with the book was that Wu referred to his first book - The Master Switch - multiple times in the footnotes. I get that the Attention Merchants could be a pseudo sequel to The Master Switch, but I haven't read Master Switch so referring to it repeatedly felt like advertising his own work, in a book that essentially bemoans advertising Nov 03, Ilinca rated it liked it.

The Master Switch was interesting and original. This is just a bunch of stuff that's either been done better before read Michael Kammen's American Culture, American Tastes: Social Change and the 20th Century for a more interesting discussion of the beginnings of whatever Wu is talking about , or been discussed to death in the past decade - Google, Facebook a.

Advertisers are trying to get info about you so they can capture your attention and sell you stuff. Thanks, Professor The Master Switch was interesting and original. Nov 20, Marcelo rated it it was amazing Shelves: Succint and thoughtful history of the industries that profit on our attention, the scarcest resource in a world where information is abondant. The last few chapters are probably a bit more pamphletary than I'd make them, but this is definitely a book that deserves reading. Feb 05, T. I was mostly driven to Wu's book by the all the ads constantly pestering my peripheral vision, or jumping right in front, demanding an 'X' click.

I was also wondering about the tricks Facebook and others use to keep my attention Wu covers this, but he also more intent on the history of 'attention merchants: He goes back to the first newspaper men in NYC when the business model left subscriptions and focused on selling advertisements. By capturing the reader's attention, they could then sell that to the advertisers. There business wasn't informing us, their business was re-selling our attention. Facebook, instagram, google search all become ways to capture someone's attention and then sell to the advertisers. This isn't in itself news.

I couldn't find the quote Wu uses the book is back at the library already , but it's similar to this: This critical argument is the linchpin to Wu's claim we need to be aware of the attention merchants Wu's second claim is that the public has the power to renegotiate the terms of our relationship to the attention merchants.

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Think of the fight for net neutrality. Think of the music services, youtube, hulu, google I like Wu's book the most when he was philosophical. He's got a lot to say on the morality, quality of life, public verse private, but the book general focuses on the history. It will define our life. I first came across this book via a podcast with the author talking about Attention as a commodity. It was quite fascinating. The book too is a good read. Wu chronicles how mainstream media changed over the years and demanded the consumer attention via various means.

Wu starts with the first world war and how the British captured the attention of the nation's youth through the "Your country needs you" campaign that helped bolster the army through volunteers. This was the first instance of widesp I first came across this book via a podcast with the author talking about Attention as a commodity. This was the first instance of widespread state propaganda - a tool later employed by fascist and totalitarian regimes to control the masses via misinformation and fear.

Then we are told about the rise of the Radio - how from simple local programs that featured news and music, the race for Radio dominance saw the rise of the giant corporations like NBC and CBS. The war for dominance led to constant innovations, such as sitcoms and the concept of Prime Time. Some programs became so popular that theatres paused the shows during the broadcast or changed scheduled accordingly.

This also gave rise to sponsorship and ads. After that the battleground shifted to the television, which changed the way ads were served and consumed. Very soon, ads were not something to considered - they became essential for any brand, small or large.

The ad industry was born and had taken control of the manufacturing industry. Iconic mascots and themes like the Marlboro Man, Pillsbury Doughboy, etc. The next shift came with the Internet, which changed the way content was delivered. It proved to be an unpredictable battleground where minnows like AOL and Yahoo! This was a place where one had to keep running just to be where they are - there was no tolerance for slackers. This was a place where different models succeeded for a while and replaced by something completely different.

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In the s, where Facebook, Google and Apple are battling for consumers' attention via their products, it remains to be seen whose model would be triumphant in the end. In all, this a well researched book. Registry Cleaner Registry Mechanic? It is an opportunity for us to reflect on the language and ideas that represented each year. So, take a stroll down memory lane to remember all of our past Word of the Year selections. Super bright and long lasting. Low temperature, low power consumption. Suitable for all 12V vehicles. Durable power wires, red for positive pole and black for negative pole.