Captivology: The Science of Capturing People's Attention

Ben Parr

Mar 2015 · Harper Collins

About this ebook

The former editor of Mashable and cofounder of DominateFund examines the psychological phenomena that captivate our attention—and how we can leverage them to draw and retain attention for our ideas, work, companies, and more.

Whether you’re an artist or a salesperson, a teacher or an engineer, a marketer or a parent—putting the spotlight on your ideas, insights, projects and products requires a deep understanding of the science of attention. In Captivology, award-winning journalist and entrepreneur Ben Parr explains how and why the mind pays attention to some events or people—and not others—and presents seven captivation triggers—techniques guaranteed to help you capture and retain the attention of friends, colleagues, customers, fans, and even strangers.

Parr combines the latest research on attention with interviews with more than fifty scientists and visionaries—Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, film director Steven Soderbergh, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, magician Jon Armstrong, New York Times bestselling author Susan Cain, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, founder of Reddit Alexis Ohanian, and more—who have successfully brought their ideas, projects, companies, and products to the forefront of cultural consciousness. The result is an insightful and practical book that will change how you assign jobs to your kids or staff, craft a multi-million dollar ad campaign, deliver your next presentation, attract users to your product, or convince the world to support your cause.

Ratings and reviews

The vastness of human attention is expanded upon in ways I never even considered, making this book a must read for anyone with or wants an audience. It's even helpful to better understand our surroundings and how to navigate in the ad-congested world we live.

AAA BOSS NETWORK

About the author

Ben Parr is an award-winning journalist, entrepreneur, investor, and expert on attention. He is the cofounder and managing partner of DominateFund, a venture capital firm; was coeditor and editor-at-large of Mashable; and served as columnist for CNET. Parr was named one of the top ten tech journalists in the world by Say Media and named to the Forbes "30 Under 30." He lives in San Francisco.