Abstract Introduction: The concept of attention is applied in two altmetric studies concerning: (1) the use of social media tools on the web pages of scientific journals, and indications of attention in these pages received, and (2) attention received by the radio news on the web page of an indigenous radio station. The purpose is to reveal characteristics of web publications connected to the attention they receive. Method: Altmetric data describing attention data was compiled from the Facebook sites of scientific journals and the Facebook pages of an indigenous radio station news programme, as well as the news programme’s web site. The study was both quantitative and qualitative. Analysis: Attention was operationalized in the form of comments, likes or sharing of Facebook postings and these were analyzed quantitatively. The contents of the postings were analysed by qualitative content analysis. Results: The characteristics of the postings receiving most attention were relevance, community (in the sense of ownership), belonging and co-creation, and engagement in the meaning of interactivity. Conclusions: In altmetric research, data originating from several sources can reflect the societal impact a project or a publication may have, not only the impact it has in science. Attention economy theory supports the interpretation of altmetric data.