technology · Staff Pick

The Attention Economy Is Dying: And What Comes After

By Eleanor Whitfield

Adunni Okafor pressed her thumb against the glass and held it there for a beat longer than necessary, as though the act of posting deserved some small ceremony. It was 11:47 p.m. in Lagos, and the ceiling fan above her desk stirred the humid air without conviction. She had spent fourteen hours on this video. Within ninety seconds, the algorithm had made its assessment: 200 views. Dead on arrival. This book is about the system that made that possible, why it is failing, and what is already beginning to replace it.