Focus On Attention First, And The Money Will Follow

from the indeed dept

Wed, Oct 1st 2008 4:58pm — Mike Masnick

Kevin Kelly's latest post tackles a pretty common subject around here, about how the most important thing in a business model is getting attention, and from there, the money will follow. It's a response to those who insist that everything needs to be paid for up front. The problem is that that doesn't work when no one understands why they should give you any money. In some ways, it's just another way of saying the phrase that obscurity is a much bigger threat than piracy. As with most of Kelly's writings, it's a worthwhile read. I'm hopeful that he'll take this further and start to note how attention is very much a part of the economic equation as well, because attention is a very important scarce good.

Filed Under: attention, business models, kevin kelly

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Eric Goldman (profile), 1 Oct 2008 @ 5:19pm

True, but...
The importance of attention is unquestionable, but wasn't this clearly articulated almost 10 years ago in Goldhaber's article *in Wired*? Eric.
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- Mike (profile), 1 Oct 2008 @ 10:48pm
  
  Re: True, but...
  The importance of attention is unquestionable, but wasn't this clearly articulated almost 10 years ago in Goldhaber's article *in Wired*? Eric.
  
  Hell, it goes back even further than that. But, it's one of those things that's worth reminding people about, because they often forget. :)
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Derek Kerton (profile), 2 Oct 2008 @ 11:05am

Eyeballs
The term "eyeballs" was the scourge of the dot-bomb era. However, it was never entirely stupid. Eyeballs are necessary, important, and very often a precursor to profitability. The problem with the late 90s was that eyeballs were seen as an end in themselves.

Today, VCs and smart start-ups still value eyeballs, since they represent poof of real demand, traction, an useful product or service, product maturity, and a marketable customer base. But good start-ups usually have a "phase 2" that can explain how to monetize the eyeballs to be profitable in the medium term.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Dec 2009 @ 9:40am

BUS
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