Friday, November 04, 2016

"Attention Economy": Time Well Spent vs Facebook (Organic vs GMO)

Building A More Ethical High-Tech Economy | On Point

How better tech could protect us from distraction | Tristan Harris - YouTube

Many apps and web sites are destined to get as much as possible from your time.
To create addiction, to keep you coming back.
Good for their "social network" business, not so good for you.

That is similar to approach of fast food and other addictive substances.
It does not need to be like that, for example organic food is a good business now.
So there could be a good business in making healthy apps, not addictive.
Save your time, make you more productive, not more distracted.

"Time Well Spent vs Time Spent == Organic Food vs GMO Food"

It is suggested that apps and web sites could be "certified" to be good for out time. 
Example: messenger app that prevents popups when in "focused" mode, 
unless they are marked as "urgent" and come from known sender. 

Good idea, I just think it needs a more catchy name :)

Design for Time Well Spent

"We live in an attention economy where products or websites win by getting our time. It's a race to the bottom of the brain stem to hijack our mind.

We're left constantly distracted.
...
We've had enough. We need to restore choice.

We believe in a new kind of design, that lets us connect without getting sucked in. And disconnect, without missing something important."


HUMAN INTERFACES AND A HUMAN ECONOMY
Using smartphones to take us out of the attention economy and towards an economy of time well spent.

Tristan Harris | Ethics for Designers


Alternative view: "it is just a business" (and so it was tobacco, sugar, ... )

book: Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products: Nir Eyal, Ryan Hoover: 9781591847786: Amazon.com: Books

Nir Eyal Bestselling Author and Behavioral Designer | NirandFar.com




This "design for time well spent" approach may be an opportunity for Microsoft, whose mission statement says: Microsoft Accessibility Mission, Strategy, and Progress

"...to enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential...."

A great step in that direction is to reduce wasting time, by using great apps.

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