L I C E N S I N G P U B L I C S PAC E I N T H E AT T E N T I O N E C O N O M Y CITY
The ad-based business model of most tech companies rests on the convenient assumption that the value generated by their users happens in a “vacuum”. But users are real people, and before being present in the digital space of tech platforms, they are always actually present somewhere in the physical space of the real world…
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ASSUMPTION
REALITY
Human activity (i.e. value) happens in the vacuum of digital space...
Because users are real people, they are always in physical space first!
THINK ABOUT MINING... Gold = Resource with Potential Value
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In order to extract valuable resources from the earth, mining companies need a temporary license from the state, to which they pay royalties in the process… THINK ABOUT TOLL ROADS... Access = Financial Compensation reinvested in Road Maintenance Ac ces s fe e
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In order access the road, drivers are charged a fee for this resource, which is reinvested back to recoup the cost of the road’s construction and maintenance.. SO THINK ABOUT PUBLIC SPACE... Access to Presence = Resource with Potential Value Financial Compensation reinvested in Space Maintenance
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If users are the new resource and raw material of the information economy, what if the value generated by their activity (data + attention) within the bounds of public space was proprietary (#mining), and part of its profits were reinvested back into its spatial point of origin (#toll roads)?