Have a look at this inspiring interview with Eric Poetschacher, founder of the Shapeshifters network for creative professionals.
Eric is an amazing guy – how many people do you know who have researched the creative industries in Africa, let alone gone there to meet the creatives and connect them up with like-minded professionals across the globe? He has a very unusual vision – there aren’t too many social networking platforms out there deliberately trying to stay small. And he’s got the energy and passion to make things happen – he’s been on the road for over a year, meeting creatives face to face and building his network one person at a time.
Watching this video, I had the same feeling of lightness and vertigo I had when I first read about something called ‘internet’ that was going to connect up all the computers on the planet. Shapeshifters is doing something similar for creative professionals all over the world, not just the fashionable creative hotspots like Paris, New York, Tokyo and (ahem) London.
Last time I spoke to Eric, he told me that the Shapeshifters website was just the tip of the iceberg. Frankly I wouldn’t be surprised if he unveiled a spacecraft he’s been quietly building in a disused warehouse in the middle of nowhere.
