Attention does not equal worth

It used to be that when we read about some new thing in the papers or heard about it on the news it actually was newsworthy. A new miracle drug, a news event, an invention, a new discovery, even a new product that might capture our notice. Over time, marketers came to understand that they might take advantage of our eagerness for the new and started posting ads that mimicked news stories. That lead to the always present disclaimer atop the ad reminding us this is a paid announcement and not news. Few people today read newspapers. Instead, we get our dose of the new on the internet and now the floodgates are opened wide. We're deluged with look at this! Hey, check this out. Let me amaze you! Have you heard? I probably spend a tenth of my email hours identifying SPAM and removing it. Because something gains our attention doesn't any longer mean it's necessarily worth our time to check it out. Which is really unfortunate because the new products, ideas, and truly newsworthy subjects often get lost in all the noise. I actually do want to know about new products that I am interested in. And so we sequester ourselves in safe havens like those found here, on our forums, stereo magazines, or other audio sites we trust to not inundate us with the cruft and detritus we're not interested in. I wish it were not so because I fear we're likely missing out on the small bits and bobs of product announcements, news events, and discoveries we would like to know about. Hopefully, some of them will bubble up through the myopic walls we've crafted to keep noise levels at a dull roar. Attention levels do not equal newsworthiness, but neither does silence mean something isn't news.