Douglas Rushkoff speaks at Etsy

Douglas Rushkoff's lecture at the Etsy offices was the perfect excuse I needed to finally come visit the Mother Ship in Brooklyn. I'm so glad I did - the space is a wide open loft with a fun and lively vibe where familiar looking artwork is scattered about on display. It's no surprise it felt like home. Bernadette Sweeney who heads Etsy Customer Support greeted guests and showed me around the new offices. I also had the opportunity to meet Adam Brown who works on the Marketing and Press Team. Etsy does an amazing job of building community so you feel connected from home but there's still something extra special about visiting in person. One of there Monday nights I'm going to make it to a Crafts Night, really.

As a craftsperson and small business owner, I found the lecture riveting. Rushkoff talked about the creation of value and how we can trade the value we create with others. He explained the 400 year evolution of business practices which are entrenched in our corporate mindset today. Like many psychological coping mechanisms, when we can look back and examine the history based on past events and circumstances, it becomes obvious that the old system, while it developed as a way to survive, is working to the detriment of the entrepreneur today. Thank you Doug, for the wake up call!

Douglas Rushkoff is an award-winning writer, documentary filmmaker and scholar. He made the PBS Frontline documentaries Merchants of Cool, The Persuaders, and the upcoming Digital Nation premiering February 2. His book, Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation And How To Take It Back, traces how corporations went from a convenient legal fiction to the dominant fact of contemporary life. Watch Life Inc. The Movie for a 9-minute summary.

The wonderful evening was topped off by dinner with Tesia of Vena Amoris, her lovely blog is devoted to and chock full of information about Wedding and Engagement rings. I'm tickled to have been featured and enjoyed a fun evening together.