"Once you figure out what respect tastes like, it tastes better than attention. But you have to get there."
Pink, 2006
I was fairly profoundly struck by these words when reading the Observer on Sunday. While Pink was actually talking about feminism, and women making choices, it seems to me that she identifies something very important about living and working in the digital era.
It is easy to obsess about attention. Attention after all seems to drive money and opportunities – just ask Kate Moss, David Beckham, the winner of the latest reality show or the startup just got pointed to by TechCrunch. I bet 18 Year Old Kristopher Tate doesn’t worry about attention all that much though.
David Weinberger says, pace John Hagel, that we need to focus on attention: "The big shift is from fighting for shelf space to fighting for attention." But what really matters is the right kind of attention.
Even Steve Gillmor is realising the limits of attention as basis for anything. After all, we all have ADD…
Respect is what matters. Trust emerges from respect.
Respect is a more important than attention. Who gives a shit if you’re Technorati 100? Really.
Attention is, like, all about being "popular", which is fine if you’re in high school in Santa Monica but is really no basis for living.
You should probably write, work and even play with respect, rather than attention in mind.
Respect can underpin attention but attention shouldn’t underpin respect. Make a contribution. Don’t obsess about inbound links, column inches or TV appearances.
Let me ask you; the biggest sporting event in the world starts today. Do you think the team destined to come out as eventual winner is full of players thinking about winning right now, or just getting famous? The team that wins will certainly be worthy of our respect. Its going to be a great month. Come On England!
Disclaimer: I would be a liar if I said I didn’t worry about attention but I would like to think I prefer respect and act accordingly. Anyway, take it easy while I go check out my feedburner stats… 😉
Tags: John Hagel, David Weinberger, Steve Gillmor, FIFA World Cup 2006, RedMonk, Kristopher Tate, Pink, TechCrunch
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