Friday, June 27, 2008

Attention Surplus Syndrome: Definitions and Warning Signs, Part 1


When are you truly behaving like an A.S.S. for minding everyone's business? That's right. When you have too much attention to give to causes and effects that no one else seems to notice or care that much about. Wikipediasts take note -- Att: Surplus Syndrome will also acquire a marketing home brand as ASD for Adults when Big Pharma begins to position Ritalin as the cure for A.D.D. in non-teens (circa 2012).

A couple of telltale signs:

* You start to believe that the overlaps and cross-secting shapes that appear in analyst presentations are not only real but an actual destination point where your career aspirations are destined to meet your organization's strategic imperatives.

* You collect slides that cover all Roget variants on the term cohesion, including "fusion," "glue," "interdependencies," and that aspiring destination you arrive at from pulling the teamwork cart -- synergy!

* You begin to link together teams, groups, and offices that have no current efforts or plans to even recognize their mutual co-existence.

Receiving a diagnosis of attention surplus also means keeping your guard up against TMI ("too much information"). A sure sign -- you give out too much information (especially the kind that the people around you see little point in remembering). In fact the A.S.S. population is often compromised by its towering antennae, collecting dumpsterfuls of data that requires the touch of a sauvant or a model train enthusiast. Maturity can also help cover one's A.S.S. tendencies, steering a digressive strain of trivia back on the track to neurotypical comprehension.

So is attention surplus another term for the multi-tasking of focus? Is it the death of concentration? Is there a way to a dignified and productive use of A.S.S. in an otherwise A.D.H.D. world? There are twists and turns along the A.S.S. spectrum. Here's one recent thread with a colleague that brings out some interesting hybrids and variations in the profile:

From: A.S.S. Recipient To: A.S.S. Sender
What is she talking about…everything has already been transferred.

From: A.S.S. Sender To: A.S.S. Recipient
I’m stumped. All I know is that it was "user" generated (to coin an IT expression for customers).

From: A.S.S. Recipient To: A.S.S. Sender
It’s better for me to keep quiet.

From: A.S.S. Sender To: A.S.S. Recipient Subject:
But that mind – that mind!!!

From: A.S.S. Recipient To: A.S.S. Sender
I know…one of these days it will get me in serious trouble - LOL

From: A.S.S. Sender To: A.S.S. Recipient
You might have what I have – diagnosable as attention surplus syndrome (a.k.a. a.s.s.)

From: A.S.S. Recipient To: A.S.S. Sender
Belligerent and Desperate Attention Surplus Syndrome (B.A.D. A.S.S.)

From: A.S.S. Sender To: A.S.S. Recipient
You can’t be B.A.D. without testing for the A.S.S. first (otherwise known as A.S.S. backwards).

From: A.S.S. Recipient To: A.S.S. Sender
But you can make an A.S.S. of yourself by using portals as a collective mind of our business (and everyone else's)

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About attentionSpin

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attentionSpin is a consulting practice formed in 1990 to create, automate and apply a universal scoring system (“The Biggest Picture”) to brands, celebrities, events and policy issues in the public eye. In the Biggest Picture, attentionSpin applies the principles of market research to the process of media analytics to score the volume and nature of media coverage. The explanatory power of this research model: 1. Allows practitioners to understand the requirements for managing the quality of attention they receive 2. Shows influencers the level of authority they hold in forums where companies, office-seekers, celebrities and experts sell their visions, opinions and skills 3. Creates meaningful standards for measuring the success and failure of campaigns and their connection to marketable assets.