Tim Wu shows how advertising is manipulating us and our spending habits. With “Fake News” and bogus web sites and FACEBOOK there’s a storm of “content” swirling around the Internet to grab our attention and our dollars. Tim Wu documents how advertising has grown more sophisticated and savvy at targeting audiences for their products and services. The use of “celebrities” and actors to “push” a product is refined by advertisers to draw the maximum interest. Smartphones offer new ways to reach consumers. If you want to learn how you’re being manipulated and marketed to, The Attention Merchants reveals all the tricks of the trade. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction Here’s the Deal 3
PART I: MASTERS OF BLAZING MODERNITIES
Chapter 1 The First Attention Merchants 11
Chapter 2 The Alchemist 24
Chapter 3 For King and Country 37
Chapter 4 Demand Engineering, Scientific Advertising, and What Women Want 51
Chapter 5 A Long Lucky Run 65
Chapter 6 Not with a Bang but with a Whimper 73
PART II: THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE
Chapter 7 The Invention of Prime Time 85
Chapter 8 The Prince 95
Chapter 9 Total Attention Control, or The Madness of Crowds 108
Chapter 10 Peak Attention, American Style 123
Chapter 11 Prelude to an Attentional Revolt 144
Chapter 12 The Great Refusal 151
Chapter 13 Coda to an Attentional Revolution 170
PART III: THE THIRD SCREEN
Chapter 14 Email and the Power of the Check-in 183
Chapter 15 Invaders 191
Chapter 16 AOL Pulls ‘Em In 198
PART IV: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING FAMOUS
Chapter 17 Establishment of the Celebrity-Industrial Complex 217
Chapter 18 The Oprah Model 227
Chapter 19 The Panopticon 237
PART V: WON’T BE FOOLED AGAIN
Chapter 20 The Kingdom of Content: This Is How You Do It 255
Chapter 21 Here Comes Everyone 267
Chapter 22 The Rise of Clickbait 276
Chapter 23 The Place to Be 289
Chapter 24 The Importance of Being Microfamous 303
Chapter 25 The Fourth Screen and the Mirror of Narcissus 308
Chapter 26 The Web Hits Bottom 318
Chapter 27 A Retreat and a Revolt 328
Chapter 28 Who’s Boss Here? 335
Epilogue The Temenos 340
Acknowledgments 345
Notes 347
Index 387
Don’t need it! I’m impervious to trends, styles, hype, and commercials! I’ve been noticing how commercials especially have been using annoying techniques to drive home their point/brand! That’s why I talk back to the screen!
“You could save 15% by switching!” “Could,” not will. Liars, all of them!
Bob, I admire your resolve in the blizzard of advertising. Sometimes they trick me, I admit it!
do you have recipe from Fisher nut raw peanut bag? Can’t find the recipe because I bought different brand by mistake.
I just read an article on how the Trump campaign used these new techniques – it’s in German however and I’m still trying to find the info on a US site:
http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/wahl-in-amerika/donald-trump-siegt-bei-us-wahl-2016-durch-social-media-14559570.html
They call it “artful digital manipulation” – Jared Kushner (Trump’s son in law) and Bannon used the specialist company Cambridge Analytica to produce individual prodfiles of millions of people and addressed their fears …
Wolf, exactly! “Fake News” is written to appeal to certain audiences. The advertising matches the interests of the group targeted. It’s insidious!
I keep away from social media. Also, I’m not stupid like most people who believe the crap “fake news” they see and read.
But it is inevitable. Jackie went online to see if Macy’s had a sweater she wanted that wasn’t in the stores. For the next two days pop-up ads for that company and those sweaters (not in the right color or size) keep turning up, just as ads for books, hotels, etc. do. Once they see you’re interested, they are relentless.
PS – Just had to type my information in again!
Jeff, it happens to me too – once I’ve googled some product I get lots of ads for it and similar stuff …
And facebook always tries to sell me crazy t-shirts etc with logos like “I’m an old mathematician” …
We have to get used to that it seems.
And my personal info was also lost again – maybe George has sold it to someone? (That’s just a bad joke of course, sorry)
Typing in the first letter however recovers it – so it’s not too much of a nuisance.
Wolf, I’ll contact WORDPRESS again, but they don’t seem every responsive about our info problems.
Jeff, the same thing happens to me on AMAZON. Once I search for a book or CD or Blu-ray, I’m bombarded with advertising for similar items.
I’m still getting ads for something I looked at on Penney’s website over a month ago
my info didn’t show up either, but all it took was the first letter. somehow, though maggie has disappeared and only mary shows up, so unless i remember to change it
it’s different. It’ll keep you on your toes
Maggie, WORDPRESS works in mysterious ways.
This sounds like a very timely book. I remember 20 or so years ago hearing about how commercial actors and “voicers” were being made obsolete by well known hollywood stars doing commercials. At first the A+’ers were only doing commercials in Japan etc, but now there seem to be no restrictions. And there are some commercial actors who are now on TV or in movies.
I may try to get this, and dip into it when I have a couple of spare minutes. Thanks.
Maggie, you would learn a lot from THE ATTENTION MERCHANTS. Tim Wu gives readers a look behind the curtain and shows the techniques that are manipulating us!
This is nothing new.
I have had to type in my info for the last few days.
Rick, I think The Grinch has taken over WORDPRESS and stole your info!
I doubt it, the Grinch is too busy spreading cancer and fear.
It’s snowing here, but nobody cares about that because it’s worse everywhere else.
Ho ho *ucking ho. Can we just move on to January, please? Or better yet March.
Rick, we’re enduring an Arctic Blast right now. Schools closed early, cancellations everywhere. We should wake up to 8 inches of snow tomorrow morning. On the Plus Side, I’m officially done! Let the reading begin!
please send my recipe off the bag of Fisher Raw Spanish Peanuts that you posted comments about in 2012. I bought different brand by mistake and now no good recipe for peanut brittle with raw Spanish nuts.
Sheryl, I’ve used my FISHER RAW PEANUTS up so I’ll try to find another bag at the grocery store. But they might might have the recipe you’re looking for. I’m sure they’ve changed the packaging since 2012!
Congrats, George!!! You should be proud of the fine career you had.
Weather: same here, cancellations and early school closures. Freeways are completely clogged, people are abandoning cars. Though thank goodness there’s no icy rain here – there is down in Eugene – there is a lot of very dry snow, which gets slick when driven on and compressed. We got in at 1:30 and just made it up our hill. We haven’t seen anyone come up since. They say we’ll wake up to 4-5 inches. That’s a lot for here, and it’ll stay in the 20s.
Rick, I’ll be firing up Big Orange in a few minutes will snowblow the driveway and sidewalks in the neighborhood. It’s light, fluffy snow. But the windchill temperature is -11 so I’ll be bundled up!
My info is there!
George, I sincerely hope you and everybody else makes it through the weather!
We haven’t seen any snow yet here in Hungary and no sign of a “White Christmas” – I feel sorry for the children.
You’ll surely enjoy your new “freedom” – not like some people I know who don’t know how to spend their time after having retired. I always pity those who switch their tv sets on already in the afternoon – because they have no idea what to do with their newly won free time.
PS:
Now my info is there again – a kind of Xmas miracle? 😉
Wolf, snow and cold is normal this time of year in Western New York. We’re used to this weather. I have thousands of books waiting to be read so retirement won’t be a problem.
congratulations on retirement George. You’ll wonder how you ever got things done when working (if you’re anything like me).
Nice of you to clear the neighborhood of snow. We’re going to have rain today or tom.
my info (Maggie) is showing up
Maggie, I have great neighbors. I snowblow their sidewalks if there’s snow on them and they return the favor. I’m just looking forward to catching up on my reading in Retirement. This Last Semester has drained my Time and my Energy.