The Attention Merchants
by Tim Wu · first published 2016
66% recommend34% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Informative, well-written history of advertising and attention capture, from 19th-century penny papers and billboards through Facebook; suits readers wanting background on social media, ad-funded tech and persuasion.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"From Tim Wu, author of award-winning The Master Switch, and who coined the phrase "net neutrality"--a revelatory look at the rise of "attention harvesting," and its transformative effect on our society and our selves"--
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…specific book and say "here, read this for that". 3. I'm coming to suspect the media field itself is not of one, or even some low-n number of minds, about major elements of these matters. I think Tim Wu's Attention Merchants should get at much of the focus / diversity / attention element. I've found Robert McChesney particularly compelling, and his Communication Revolution a strong overview of recent (past 20-40 years) developments…
on “‘Success’ on YouTube Still Means a Life of Poverty” ↗…ever been in a startup you'll recognize bits of this story, but it quickly gets out of control in novel ways. Astonishing story. What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets by Michel Sandel The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu Who we are and how we got here by David Reich: ancient DNA and human history The Book of Why by Judea Pearl; liked it but I need to reread this one a few more times to comprehend completely…
on “Ask HN: Favorite nonfiction books of 2018?” ↗Some books you might benefit from reading on this topic: “Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us” “The Attention Merchants” by Tim Wu
on “Verizon suspends advertising on Facebook, joins growing boycott” ↗I found Newport's book to be so surface level for anyone with even a passing familiarity with the problem that it wasn't worth my time. What really helped me was these two books: (1) The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu (2) The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshanna Zuboff and the nextdns.io installed on all my devices. I literally blocked Reddit, et al to break the cycle of "I just woke up so I'mm scroll…
on “Why do you waste so much time on the internet?” ↗I just finished The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu and I cannot recommend it enough. It traces the history of advertising and attention capture from billboards through Facebook.
on “YC's Winter Reading List” ↗Suggested read on this topic, "The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads" by Tim Wu.
on “P&G Cuts More Than $100M in ‘Largely Ineffective’ Digital Ads” ↗…Fall of the Roman empire" and "Italy and her invaders" (by Thomas Hodgkin) have had huge impacts on my understanding of civilization. Couldn't help but; it took years to read them all. Recently "The Attention Merchants" by Tim Wu -how advertising has screwed up humanity since snake oil merchants, and how we're on the cusp of another revolution in this field. I actually strongly disliked Hofstadter's book.
on “Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?” ↗…'supercharge' our ability to accomplish what we want, but I do not trust any company dependent on ad-revenue (or backed by Wall Street in general) to help with that. I'd also recommend checking out The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu and Addiction by Design by Natasha Schull for background on the history of the commodification of attention and of the
on “Manipulating Human Psychology To Turn Users Into Addicts” ↗…Behavior That Lasts--Becoming the Person You Want to Be - The Power of the Other: The startling effect other people have on you, from the boardroom to the bedroom and beyond-and what to do about it - The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads - The Compassionate Achiever: How Helping Others Fuels Success - The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free…
on “Ask HN: What are some interesting books you read in 2017?” ↗Actually, that's not (historically) the case. From The Attention Merchants (a great book, by the way), page 12: >"Day's idea was to try selling a paper for a penny...he felt sure he could capture a much larger audience than his 6-cent rivals. But what made the prospect risky...was…
on “What do we really know about the effectiveness of digital advertising?” ↗"The Attention Merchants" by Tim Wu nicely covers some of Bernays' influence, in the context of advertising and other forms of attention capture from the 19th century through present day. Can't recommend the book enough.
on “Edward Bernays and the birth of public relations (2015)” ↗The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu edit: I should mention this is a book recommended by Yuval Noah Harari himself. I read it myself and it is a great companion to his fantastic books.
on “Ask HN: Which book helped you understand the world?” ↗I can recommend the book “Attention Merchants” by Tim Wu. People get used to Ads in any format over time like you noticed. But the fight for our attention will never stop. So in Google’s case, maybe their model won’t work in the future. The ad…
on “Alphabet’s Profit Falls 34% (fourth consecutive drop) Amid Ads Slowdown” ↗For those interested in this topic I might recommend Tim Wu's books "The Master Switch" or "The Attention Merchants". "The Master Switch" in particular is about the history of communications industries in the US and how the organization of those industries affected free speech. (Of particular interest: Bell had a…
on “The bad new politics of big tech” ↗…(especially one that is situated in places relatable to myself) makes this so much more meaningful than other, still excellent, but more View From Nowhere texts such as Stand Out of Our Light, or The Attention Merchants. Reading this post earlier this year stopped me in my tracks and would highly recommend the book if you enjoyed this!
on “How to Do Nothing (2017)” ↗