My mate (?) Mark Pesce, Australian futurist, journalist, entrepreneur, inventor and all-round amusing fellow, has launched the world’s first Cryptocurrency “Professional Attention Token”. WTF is that, I hear you ask? GOOD QUESTION.

According to Mark: “The Mark Pesce Token, or MPT, represents a specific amount (15 minutes) of my professional attention.”

You can buy 15 minutes of his attention for $125.

Is this the future of attention? If Warhol was still around today, would he predict that in the future, everybody will sell their attention in 15 minute increments?

Should I be selling my attention in 15 minute increments? Should you? What is 15 minutes of your time worth? To a start-up entrepreneur? To a researcher? To a fan?

I already sell my attention, as do all consultants. Some client buy a large chunk of hours of my time in advance. Some, typically smaller businesses, buy it an hour at a time, so I can guide their marketing efforts, help them crack new ideas, etc. So the concept of selling attention isn’t new – but selling it in 15 minute increments is unusual.

And of course I also sell my attention to my podcast audience. They pay (Ray and) me money to focus my attention on my research materials, and then I turn that attention into the greatest history podcasts in the world.

But why is a token cryptocurrency required? Because…. something something trendy something. Because if he just accepted a bank deposit, I probably wouldn’t be writing about it right now. Is there any serious advantage to selling his attention via tokens as opposed to traditional forms of currency? Yes, of course there is. It’s obvious. HE HAS TOKENS. WITH HIS NAME ON THEM.

I first came across Mark 20 years ago when he was featured in the book “Architects Of The Web” for his contributions to VRML. Then he moved to Sydney and I got to know him online in the early days of Twitter, when were only a few hundred of us testing the potential of this exciting new communication tech. He’s a brilliant thinker and always on the cutting edge. I think this latest idea of his is worth consideration (even though I suspect he’s only half-serious about it).

File this under “how to be creative and get attention”.