L’économie de l’attention : entre protection des ressources cognitives et extraction de la valeur

This general survey of the economics of attention presents the major theoretical models for exploring the mechanisms for “allocating” attention in an economy where it is a scarce resource. Writers have emphasized various means for attracting attention: the recognition, relevance, style and power of the emitter of information. The economics of attention subjects parties on the Internet and in the electronic media to two apparently opposite rationales. The first seeks to protect the attention of users from an information overload and improve its allocation. The second seeks to capture, for firms, the attention of customers or audiences in order to make money from it. Reconciling these two approaches is a challenge for innovation and an asset for competing in the digital economy.