I had a good talk today with Ed Batista of the AttentionTrust today. The primary motivation was to get an update on my progress with the IE port of the AttentionTrust Recorder (or ATX). This led into a discussion about the perceptions of the Trust. I mentioned one perception in my TechCrunch 5 post. On the eve of eTech (which I won’t be attending), I thought it worth while to reiterate something about the Trust. Note, I’m no spokesmodel — look to Steve Gillmor and Ed for that.

The AttentionTrust is not spyware. This claim is either made from ignorance (willful or otherwise) or to sow FUD. The statement doesn’t even make sense because the AttentionTrust is not software. It isn’t a service. It isn’t the Attention Recorder. It is the 4 principles and the mission (they are right here for those who don’t like to click on links):

Principles

When you pay attention to something (and when you ignore something), data is created. This “attention data” is a valuable resource that reflects your interests, your activities and your values, and it serves as a proxy for your attention.

AttentionTrust and our members believe that you have the following rights:

1. Property You own your attention and can store it wherever you wish. You have CONTROL.
2. Mobility You can securely move your attention wherever you want whenever you want to. You have the ability to TRANSFER your attention.
3. Economy You can pay attention to whomever you wish and receive value in return. Your attention has WORTH.
4. Transparency You can see exactly how your attention is being used. You can DECIDE who you trust.

When you give your attention to any entity that’s an AttentionTrust member, these rights are guaranteed.

Mission

1. Empower people to exert greater control over their “attention data,” i.e. any records reflecting what they have paid attention to and what they have ignored. We accomplish this by promoting the principles of user control, by distributing our Attention Recorder, and by supporting the development of other appropriate tools, standards and practices.
2. Educate people about the value of their attention and the importance of attention data.
3. Build a community of individuals and organizations that will guarantee users’ rights to own, move, and exchange their attention data, in a transparent environment that gives users the freedom to decide how their data will be used.

That’s it. The ATX (attention recorder) allows you to store locally and / or provide data to services (one right now, ROOT). Using it isn’t in any way a requirement of the AttentionTrust’s principles nor mission. The ATX also isn’t spyware. Spyware spies without your consent. The ATX records with your consent and gives you control over your own attention data.

Full stop.