The New Math of Attention

I.
Where the ratio was once a million readers for every thousand writers, it’s reversed now.
Not because masses of people suddenly decided to major in writing, but because writers who once had to pass through gatekeepers are now free to enter platforms and publish without permission.
How does this change the math now?
II.
When publishing was scarce, attention was abundant. Now that publishing is abundant, attention is scarce.
The catch here is: “Scarcity always dictates value.”
III.
And there are two ways people are trying too hard to win now:
A. Shouting the loudest to steal attention, and pushing out far more content than required.
B. Trying to do things strangely or quirkily, just to stand out.
The truth is, both tactics burn out fast. Noise gets tuned out and novelty stops being novel.
What lasts isn’t volume or weirdness, it’s usefulness. People return to what helps them, teaches them, or makes them better.
Circling back to scarcity dictates value. And in today’s world, the scarce thing is trust.
Something to be earned, not burnt.
It's is earned by being useful to your reader, not by your view count.
