No More Anonymous Toiling in Anyone's Attention Factory
"You’re toiling anonymously in an attention factory, while billionaire overseers mock your efforts and celebrate their growing net worths.” -Professor Cal Newport
Last month in this newsletter, we looked at words like “gerrymandering” and terms like “fascist erasure.” I’d like to add Surveillance Capitalism to the observation list now. Let’s call it what it is so we can dismantle it.
Surveillance Capitalism, according to Google’s AI Overview, describes a new economic logic where human experience is claimed as free raw material, translated into data, and used to predict and influence future behavior for profit.
This model relies on the unilateral collection of vast amounts of personal data by corporations, which is then packaged into prediction products and sold in behavioral futures markets to customers like advertisers and other businesses.
Oh, advertisers.
❦
One place that advertisers look for personal data is Facebook, Instagram, and other social networks. According to TechCrunch, Instagram now has 3 billion monthly active users. That’s a whole lot of scrolling and resulting data points to track.
At the start of July, I stopped posting to or looking at Facebook and Instagram. I also removed the apps from my phone, along with WhatsApp, Messenger, and Twitter. The broligarchs who run these companies are not our friends, and I don’t want to feed them or give them any attention whatsoever, mine or yours. Enough with the mindless scrolling. Enough with the excuses. It’s time to act and to act differently.
Sam Harris’s recent essay, “We Are Losing the Information War with Ourselves,” pulls no punches when it comes the downsides of social media.
Harris is a philosopher, neuroscientist, and author. He wants us to stop gazing and howling into the digital abyss. And I share this desire, and while I continue to use Substack and LinkedIn, I try to do it with restraint and with purpose.
Here on Substack, I cultivate a collection of monthly essays and enjoy the process of putting this writing into play and hearing from you, in return. On LinkedIn, I’m looking for my (work) people, which I typically find through search and the site’s other tools and features, and also by writing about my experience building brands.
❦
It occurs to me that one of the traps of expertise is thinking that you know enough about the topic. How can anyone ever know enough? What matters is that we keep learning. Any expert ought to know this and advocate for it.
Curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge are gifts bestowed upon us. Let’s honor these precious gifts. At the same time, we owe it to ourselves to “own our expertise” and share what we know with others.
❦
Executive coach Wes Kao recently wrote about reverse imposter syndrome.
If imposter syndrome is worrying that you’re not good enough or don’t know what you’re doing, then reverse imposter syndrome is the opposite: You know what you’re doing, you’re confident in your ability to deliver (and have the track record to show for it), but your external ‘brand’ doesn’t reflect the strength of your actual abilities.
Even the most accomplished among us ask, “Are we sending the right signals and are they strong enough to be picked up by others?”
Since the dawn of the commercial Internet, I’ve invested a lot of time making and sending digital signals. It’s a sandbox that I like to play in, even though I’ve pulled back considerably over the past few years.
What occurs to me now is how the signals I am sending aren’t as fresh as they once were. I’m not working to fix this.
❦
Lagniappe (pronounced LAN-yap) is a French-inspired noun that means “a little something extra.“
Darby and I recently visited the Texas Hill Country with the intention of drinking delicious—maybe even inspired—wines. We were able to do that at Ab Astris and Adega Vinho, both in Stonewall, which is also home to the LBJ Ranch.
The Stello white blend from Ab Astris is a new favorite. The 2021 vintage contains 45% Clairette Blanche, 22% Roussanne, 18% Marsanne, and 15% Picpoul Blanc.
Big tip of the fedora to Texas Monthly writer Paula Forbes for pointing us in the right direction.
❦
Do you want to assist me with my current job search? I’m looking for a leadership role in brand communications. After nearly 30 years on the agency side of the conference table, I am eager to move to the client’s side at an organization of merit, where change agents do incredible things.
Thanks for being here now!
