Is Creative Capital Understood?

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Social capital, intellectual capital and creative capital are the factors of production for the Innovation Economy; next economic paradigm. Few people realize that Silicon Valley arose from a perfect storm of social capital from the 1960’s, the music and arts scene of the same era, and the proximity of academic centers Stanford and Berkeley. The Bay area corporations may have been the beneficiaries, not necessarily the originators of innovation.

Creative Capital remains the least understood, yet most important element of the Next Economic Paradigm. As we continue our march into the regime of social media it is imperative that we understand, support, and develop this critical factor. We cannot “take it for granted” that creativity exists and will always exist. It must be recognized, developed, and integrated into the fold of Social Media.

Here are some stats:

Wikipedia:

• Social Capital has it’s own page with 6816 word article
• Human Capital (Intellectual Capital) has it’s own page at 2597 words
• Creative Capital does not have a page of it’s own on Wikipedia

Twitter:

• I found 20 Tweets referencing “Social Capital” in the last HOUR
• I found 20 Tweets references to “Intellectual Capital” in the last 6 HOURS
• There were 20 Tweets that referenced the term “Creative Capital” in the last WEEK (mostly as a trade name)

Facebook Groups:

• Social Capital Groups: 2000
• Human Capital/Intellectual Capital Groups 1000
• Creative Capital: 412

Linkedin Groups:

• Social Capital: 69
• Human Capital (intellectual Capital): 272
• Creative Capital: 12

While the ratios vary, the trend is fairly clear. Creativity is not often interpreted as a financial instrument otherwise it would be associated with the term “Capital”. There are other factors as well that may play into this. Artists are often self-actualized outside of the trappings of material possessions and therefore less visible as economic or political power brokers. As a professional class, they may be under-represented in social media space. In addition, creativity does not punch a clock and is likely not working for wages as such. Or they may be running around dressed up like Engineers

I’ve made the point that was intended so now I’ll leave the remaining analysis to a person who has done a great deal to advance the modern understanding of the field of study related to creative capital; Richard Florida – an unsung hero for whom Wikipedia does have a page:

Richard Florida (born 1957 in  Newark, New Jersey) is an  American urban studies theorist.

Professor Florida’s focus is on social and economic theory. He is currently a professor and head of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the  Rotman School of Management, at the  University of Toronto. ^[1] He also heads a private consulting firm, the  Creative Class Group.

He is best known for his work in developing his concept of the  creative class, and its ramifications in  urban regeneration. This research was expressed in Florida’s bestselling books The Rise of the Creative Class, Cities and the Creative Class, and The Flight of the Creative Class. A new book, focusing on the issues surrounding  urban renewal and talent migration, titled Who’s Your City?, was recently published.

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