請依下文回答第 36 題至第 40 題 Some economists have pointed out that in a knowledge-based economy, the most valuable
commodity is not information, but attention. Michael Goldhaber (1997) proposed that we are not so much
living in an information economy, as in an attention economy, where value is created from the exchange
of attention and “[w]hat matters is seeking, obtaining and paying attention.” Digital media and the internet
facilitate participation in this economy, by creating new channels for distributing attention. In order to get
attention, you have to give attention; otherwise, your audience will lose interest and take their attention
elsewhere. This is an important point for advertisers, especially those launching social media campaigns.
The emphasis is on developing new kinds of relationships with customers, and in many cases, moving
towards engaging customers in the design of products for themselves.
Goldhaber notes that some people (he calls them “stars”) are better at attracting attention than others
(he calls them “fans”). Stars are able to command more attention partly because they pay illusory attention
to fans; that is, they give the illusion of personal attention even though they are addressing a large audience.
Goldhaber illustrates this concept with the example of a presenter at a conference, who, while talking to a
large crowd, makes eye contact with individuals in that crowd. In digital media, social media tools like
Twitter and Facebook provide opportunities to pay illusory attention.
If you accept the idea of an attention economy with attention as the valued commodity, then you have
to adjust your ways of thinking about certain concepts. For example, our traditional way of thinking of
privacy as freedom from the public gaze is not especially appropriate for people participating in an
attention economy. People have to be “out there” in order to attract attention. In addition, intellectual
property laws that forbid people from copying and distributing a creator’s work also seem out of place.
This kind of copying and distributing draws attention to the creator, thus increasing their “wealth” in the
attention economy. In other words, wealth comes not from the exchange of “intellectual property,” but
from the exchange of attention.
【題組】39 Which of the following can be considered a good example of paying illusory attention?
(A) Fans try to get attention from the stars by flashing their phones.
(B) Fans realize that the stars’ attention is on those who bring gifts.
(C) Stars avoid the audience by leaving from the back of the stage.
(D) Stars make eye contacts with individuals in the audience.