#WhatTheInternetWants: Attention

Winning in marketing today means playing according to the rules and implications of the technology that has transformed the world. 

Before the Internet can get people to productively act and react to the endless incentives it provides, it needs to get, focus and sustain our attention.

While the gesture of continuous “making” is a huge part of creating an effective signal, even that isn’t enough. That’s why the Internet operates in line with what generally attracts human attention.

It “wins” when it presents meaningful novelty, real utility, deep escape and true intimacy. The Internet knows that we’re hardwired to scan for “new,” that we desperately need help, that we love reality breaks, and that we are ultimately fulfilled only by other people.

From there, the Internet presents offerings in line with the ways people tend to pay attention. To stories. In bursts and clusters. Favoring sources we know personally, then those validated by strong track records and large followings.

The marketing lesson: play within established attention behaviors, vs trying to create new ones.

A hybrid, multi-disciplinary creative/brand strategist with skills developed across the entire marketing ecosystem, Todd Lowe does everything from brand, connections, campaign and content strategy to communications/content ideas and marketing innovation.

As he decodes the marketing lessons from #WhatTheInternetWants, offline he unpacks the underlying strategic implications and applies them to building solutions on behalf of brands, agencies and consultancies.

View all #WhatTheInternetWants posts

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Background/sources:

“In this world we simply cannot deal with all good things. There are more good songs than we can ever listen too. There are more good movies than we can ever see in our lifetime, even if it was our full time vocation. There are more useful tools than we have time to master. There are more cool websites than we have attention to spare…

…New things that don’t work or serve no purpose are quickly weeded out of the system. But the fact that something does work or is helpful is no longer sufficient for success. Good, useful stuff is now the minimum standard. I might even make the argument that great stuff is the minimum. Now anything that lasts has to also maintain our attention…

…Where attention flows, money follows.” -- Kevin Kelly