The Creative Economy
Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 2:56PM Over the course of the last four years, as I launched my company, there have been conferences, books individuals and relationships that have proven invaluable and instrumental in the birth, growth and prosperity of Cnvrgnc. I'm not going to go into a long list here, but those of you who have ever had successful accomplishments (whatever they may be) you definitely have a laundry list of 'valuable resources' that helped you successfully navigate from point A to point B.
For me one of these valuable resources is the book the Creative Economy - How People Make Money From Ideas by John Howkins. After hearing a keynote presentation of his at the Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit in Philadelphia, that I attended in 2006, I immediately went out and bought the book.
One reason I really enjoyed it (and is often a reference for me) is because it was one of the first books that I read that explored the relationship between creativity and economy (and to this day I still feel it is one of the best books that addresses this issue). It begins identifying, in concrete terms, how to 'quantify' creativity in a way that makes sense.
As a creative entrepreneur I have always looked for opportunities to bring some level of 'concreteness' to the creative realm. Constantly I'm hunting for material that delves into discussions beyond the traditional 'imaginative' aspects and puts on the table it's 'evil' other half, commercial viability. I then look for discussions around economic impact and influence. So in the book, when I came across John's equation, which states: the creative economy (CE) is equivalent to the value of creative products (CP) multiplied by the number of transactions (T); that is CE = CP x T, I got excited by what this equation could mean for me and my ideas.
Thanks John. Seriously appreciate mi amigo.
Below is a quick interview of John and some of his thoughts on what a creative economy is. He's got some great musings. Check out the video and if you get the chance, check out his book as well.
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