The war of the attention economy

in #informationwar6 years ago

In the past, there were many ideological battles but when it came down to it, it was all pretty much about land, resources and of course, tax payers. Perhaps people don't often think about the people captured by land grabs but, Kings and Queens would go to war to expand their territories and by doing so, increase the tax paying population. It is kind of like getting paid residuals for the wars. For the most part though, the land grabs of the past are largely over but are the wars?

There is often the claim that many of the wars are actually over resources and oil tends to be a common one that comes to mind but, is this true? It is hard to say and I am having trouble finding precise numbers but, oil may only be the third largest industry in the world, however, what are the two above it?

Well, number one is pretty obvious considering that there is one thing that everyone needs and most spend more on it than oil for their car and that is, food. Add to this retail shopping and it is an absolutely massive industry that dwarfs the oil industry. It is no surprise, we are consumers after all. Interesting though, the second largest industry in the world seems to be a bit of a surprise, alcohol.

Yep, drinking is big business and just think, according to a report in 2009, the top 10 companies control 66% of the global market and with all of the mergers and acquisitions over the last decade, I would say they have expanded their market share since then. Are the largest two industries in the world worth going to war for?

I don't know, but it is interesting to consider in this day and age where borders (despite the news) are becoming largely irrelevant, especially concerning the consumer markets. For all intents and purposes, the barriers between countries largely do not exist when it comes to the majority of products and of course, most information.

When it comes to information, we can see how much companies will change in order to comply with restrictive governments and privacy issues in order to get into places like China. The information gathered is mostly not to create dossiers on us for the governments, it is to create them for the corporations so that they can better target, segment and increase sales. The government sales are a bonus or perhaps, the price of access to the market itself. When it comes to making money, something needs to be sold and, we are it.

Perhaps this is really what the political battles are about, the Kings and Queens of old are no longer engaging in border skirmishes, they are manipulating the people in order to increase sales, convince people to buy this over that. Indirectly of course... mostly. However, each side tends to champion certain industries over others which likely comes down to, who lobbied the hardest, who offers the largest kickbacks.

Wars are over resources but, the resources are increasingly becoming us, not gold mines and oil reserves. It is us as consumers who will buy and have our information mined so that it can be traded. That is the driving force behind the scenes. All wars are just of economy of one sort or another and we are now in an age where what were invisible lines in the sand to mark country borders are being replaced by the invisible lines between market segments.

Even the reporting of war has been turned into a business model to monetize and expand market segments. And the ratings wars are viscous with each media conglomerate in a race to the top while their quality and objectivity is in a reflected race to the bottom.

What I find the most interesting about the possibility is that the process itself tends to make us blind to it, the drive of consumerism, the development of its products and the churn of the lifecycle means we are largely becoming oblivious to the crush. In the past when a government would raise taxes, there would be protests in the street but, increasing consumerism has an identical effect with barely a word said. Rather than increased taxes pushing us into a crushing debt cycle, it is our endless thirst for new products that does it and all they have to do is advertise a new must have item.

Not only that, the most important factor with this particular process is that unlike taxes that we are forced to pay, when it comes to consumption, we willingly pay. It is a buy-in process. The more we consume, the less pressure put on the need for direct taxes (loss of jobs through automation hints at this) until perhaps the point we are just consumers with no more needs to satisfy than that of our desires. We will not have jobs so, there will be no need for schools and all of the services we do need will be monetized, tokenized most likely. The governments as middlemen vehicles for banks and corporations can be cut away and we can deal with the real authorities directly.

Is there a way out or is our future one to be continually herded and corralled to forever being cash cows for an elite group to control through the products and services they offer or, don't offer as the case is likely to become. There are wars going on for our resources by targeting our attention and perhaps by design, it is a cold war where the propaganda is the advertising and the threats the law suits. At what point does it become open warfare? Will we realize when it happens or, is that already happening. It is hard to tell considering our attention is pulled conveniently elsewhere to be entertained in any number of ways.

Here, have another drink.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]

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It is striking, @tarazkp, that although it is a time of economic crisis for many countries, for example my country Venezuela, there are a large number of people buying the best products on the market, from cars, clothes, drinks, to beauty products. All this in order to maintain a social status that requires it to be fashionable. We are naive consumers, bombarded daily by false premises that seduce us. Food fashions make us celiacs and enemies of gluten and carbohydrates. We are easy targets for this war that we have lost! Nice Sunday.

Yes, that has always boggled my mind.

We are easy targets for this war that we have lost!

The more we buy-in, the easier we are to target. it feeds itself.

I think we are heading to a time where "money" will be obsolete. I also like to think of the human population as one big organism which is very similar in government to our own trillion cell organism. The same goes with "law", obsolete. I only see 2 possibilities which are total destruction or the garden of eden. Energy exchange, hmmm. Ty kindly

I only see 2 possibilities which are total destruction or the garden of eden.

I am hoping for the best, expecting the worst.

I think in the future (and even present day) these wars you envision wil be phantom wars. They will exist outside of the immediate visibility of the victim. The victim will be unknowingly coerced through natural-looking advertising placements, and we will find outright blantant advertising an ineffective thing of the past. Corporations which control and disseminate this targetable information will be doing the actual fighting with each other, but as far as victims go, as always, it will remain the consumer feeling the most damage.

The end-user nearly always pays the cost, whether consumer or citizen.

Spot on. Ultimately we the product for the 21st century empires. Perhaps there is a way we can turn it to our advantage

Perhaps there is a way we can turn it to our advantage

I think there is but, how that is for another night perhaps :)

These big businesses are like governments on their own. They hold power and influence which they use to squash any resistance. The consumer has made them who they are today and will continue to make them even more powerful.

Just a sidenote:

In the old days, one important reason to go to war was that it was expensive to feed an army. Because armies would live off the land, it made economic sense to have one's army to feed off someone else's land. Also, wars were a convenient way for the younger sons of noble families who would not inherit their fathers to gain a fortune of their own or die trying. The so-called honorable life of the nobility of old (in comparison to the banal life of modern middle-class) was to a large degree about things like threatening to kill some poor peasant's children in some foreign country to get them to tell where their last sacks of grain were hidden.

On the topic:

Yes, attention is the new land, or oil. I suppose we still have something going for us. The day when we ordinary people have nothing to sell will see the beginning us us being quarantined and prepared for extermination.

The so-called honorable life of the nobility of old (in comparison to the banal life of modern middle-class) was to a large degree about things like threatening to kill some poor peasant's children in some foreign country to get them to tell where their last sacks of grain are hidden.

Strange world we have created.

Yes, attention is the new land, or oil. I suppose we still have something going for us. The day when we ordinary people have nothing to sell will see the beginning us us being quarantined and prepared for extermination.

There is a point where the cost of us is higher than the benefits of keeping us and then the crush from bottom to top really happens.

The only way out of this is ownership. The old power pyramid must follow the dinosaurs. Decentralize everything.

I agree with that. Impossible or not, the current path (for the majority) is not going to end well for anybody.

Really interesting article. You are dead on. What I was thinking during reading this piece was the massive companies like Apple and Amazon(that is currently causing shopping centres to close all over the world). Apple owe the Irish exchequer 13 billion in a fine ruled by the EU Court . Apple was funnelling money through Ireland to avoid taxation but that tax was payable in Ireland therefore they have to cough up 13 billion. Small change to Apple but it would go some way to paying off Irelands massive national debt. Hears the thing, the Irish government is appealing the decision! No not apple. The Irish government. It's mad. Apple employ 5500 in Ireland so it is against the governments interests to take 13 billion off them. Big companies are the new powers. Elon Musk will soon put an end to the troubles in the middle east as oil will be in less demand. And we wonder why the Saudi's are getting into property, airlines, casinos in Dubai. The third biggest industry is declining.

Elon Musk will soon put an end to the troubles in the middle east as oil will be in less demand.

The troubles are just beginning. There is tentative peace between essentially tribes (families/groups) there paid for by oil money. the prices now have them running at a loss and when they can no longer pay for peace, 300 million people are going to revolt. It is going to likely cause the largest mass migration of war and economic victims the world has ever seen. China aren't going to take them, nor russia. They can pretty much just come to Europe. Funny isn't it, as the US keeps increasing its production to control prices and release their own reliance.

Hence the reason for the diversification. Whats the timescale do you reckon? Europe can't have another migration crisis. Germany and Belgium have taken too many refugees for their own reasons and the suburbs of their cities and turning into unpleasant places. Brexit might not be as much of a disaster as first thought if this is the case . Wonder if it is more the brainpower and financial backing of silicon valley with new eco tech that is decreasing its reliance or government policy?Either way its a win win .

I reckon in the next 10 years or so but, hard to say. It isn't just a migration crisis issue. The numbers will make Syria look miniscule of it happens. Even without Brexit, UK is an island and would have likely Brexited then perhaps anyway. It is going to be turmoil and vicious.

Agreed, we have sort of become willing unknowing pawns in the consumerism game. Most people don't even know that they're now the price of the corporate bigwigs and the elites

I love your photos and the wine 🍷 looks very nice with colors of the sky in the background.

The wine is from our wedding dinner. We secretly got married and told people when we were on honeymoon in Italy. Much cheaper than the shilled world of wedding ceremonies and receptions ;)

Ps in a bad economy tobacco and alcohol skyrocket :).

If only Steem would also. It is just as addictive. ;D

Hahaha, yup. We may be heading there as well hahaha.

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Salt... Salt.... thinking beyond a bad economy tho

Of course. We create "it" either way. Ty for bringing this to Light.

Soap ;) often over looked too