Get In Loser, We're World-Building

Attention Economics #1: Info-Sharing vs. World-Building

Attention Economics is a series of reference texts on the fundamental principles of CONTENT. You have to pay to read the whole thing. (Sorry!) 

Making real Content is a process of World-Building. Everything else is just Info-Sharing. 

CNN Shares Info. Business Insider shares that same Info, so do a ton of other places. Info is a commodity. You’ll accept Info from whoever gets it to you the fastest with the least amount of friction. The connection ends there. Have you ever rewatched the nightly news the way you would an episode of your favorite sitcom? Of course not. Why would you? There’s no world to crawl into, no emotion to relive, no Kramer and Jerry, no Ross and Rachel. There’s just Info that you already have.  

Info-Sharing is a crucial function in society, but it doesn’t have anything to do with defining a brand. If Axios came out with an Extra Virgin Olive Oil, would you unironically buy it over the one you use now? If Vogue came out with one, you’d at least be curious. One brand has spent decades building a World, the other hasn’t. 

But Thom, how do I just start… World-Building?