DTA & The Chaos Machine Chapter #10

1. The Digital Wellness Contradiction: Fisher describes how Silicon Valley's "time well spent" movement allowed companies to rebrand themselves as champions of digital wellness while continuing to refine the same engagement-maximizing technologies that created the problems they claimed to address.

Critically analyze this response in terms of both corporate ethics and effective solutions.

Is this simply corporate hypocrisy, or does it reveal deeper contradictions in Silicon Valley's approach to technology development?

2. The Wartime CEO Phenomenon: Fisher describes how tech leaders adopted the "wartime CEO" stance in response to regulatory threats, including Zuckerberg declaring that "Facebook was at war." Examine how Silicon Valley's culture of "inexperienced, unconstrained young CEOs" combined with this combative mentality affects how technology companies respond to legitimate public concerns.

How might this militaristic framing transform how companies view their relationships with users, critics, and governments?

Gary writes: The winners are going to be those who get curious about these modern advertising platforms and figure out how to storytell where there's underpriced attention. The losers as always will be those who sit on their hands or scoff at new opportunities…

Day trading attention isn't about predicting what's next period it's about staying on the pulse of where people's eyes and ears are today and marketing for the now whenever that happens to be.

1. Gary emphasizes curiosity about modern advertising platforms as a key to success. Reflecting on your own experiences or observations, how do you think curiosity can shape an individual’s ability to adapt and thrive in the constantly changing landscape of social media and digital marketing? What are the potential risks of neglecting this mindset in today’s world?

2. Reflecting on the book as a whole, how has it reshaped your understanding of social media and the concept of "attention" as a currency? What specific ideas or strategies from the book do you see yourself applying to your future endeavors, whether in your career or personal life? Provide 2 examples.