06-24-2015, 09:52 PM
Thanks man,
You know I think Concept art and the entertainment industry in general is well suited to this because of the way that skills are accumulated through individuals, it allows people to have more freedom of expression. Because lets face it nobody gets up and says i want a job for the rest of my life, you start by wanting to do what you love doing and the job is a way of realizing that. A Co-op is more than just an effective business its a way of realizing freedom of expression.
I think it is also prevalent in the coding arenas, startups and design startups in general because it really is about a joint realization of a dream and vision. And this brings us back to this idea of unity of purpose.
A clear unity of purpose is critical for co-ops and startups to succeed. It allows for some of the negative issues surrounding co-ops to be partially offset.
haha, It sounds like you read the report! Much of this is covered in the report, they stated that the average co-op had a workforce of 11 people. I think larger groups in general are more unwieldy just due to the sheer logistics of communication and descision making.
Imagine every descision being voted on by 10000 people.
Sure i can see that as a result of evolutionary pressure to differentiate.
Although i think it may be a little hasty to suggest that it cant happen. the Iroqouis Native american tribe was the oldest particpatory (true) Democracy in the world and they managed it.... (how, i dunno).
In terms of specialization, i think that really depends on the skillset of the group, i think it certainly is an important factor to the success of the group and its likely that the majority of concept artists are not huge on accounting and law.
Its a problem area.
Yea outsourcing is an option but by doing that you lose some of the flexibility and bonding nature of a co-op. It makes an ingroup and an outgroup, whereby the outsourcers can be scapegoated and issues can be offloaded. Also The outsourcing team doesnt have the same motivational force that comes from the co-op structure.
hmmm Skill level this is a tough one. It really depends on how you tackle this. One of the benefits of the co-op is the improved information flow through the co-op allowing people to learn more skills faster. I think in contrast to your comment, actually Combining the skillsets of several artists may be able to produce a product that is greater than the sum of its parts. Again this awaits evidence.
Indeed indie companies are both the best and worst examples of co-op structures. What I think is a key issues is the Unity of purpose. What ive seen personally is many times 1 person will have dream, vision etc and then look for people to join them, but i think it cant work this way because the people who are joining didnt share the vision originally, yea they might appreciate the vision but they are not aiming for it. This causes a diffracted group that will eventually collapse under the life stressors that challenge their path.
However its important to note that there are many confounding factors here that can cause the dissolution of indie companies, not to mention the elephant in the room, that fucking hateful dominating beast known as corporatocracy. This cannot be underemphasized or unacknowledged. The odds are stacked against indie companies right from the start in a drastic way, and its a brave act to decide that you will go up against highly established companies who have become used to the systems of exploitation that are in place.
Its also important to note that there are indie companies that succeed with tremendous results.
Check out http://www.no-mans-sky.com/about/
Yea i think the shared goals and purpose is key to a successful co-op. I also think its key to successful communities and just general instances of co-operation as well. Interpersonal issues are often overlooked due to perhaps a top down business approach that ignores individual needs for the goals of a business. If you think about it, life is a series of interpersonal issues. Its maybe the biggest challenge but again i think something that can be compensated for by, the benefits of being in a group that suceeds due to its co-operative nature.
No problem, it was a beast to write up but i think too often we get people in the industry who feel like they have to take on this or that contract no matter their personal preference and it feels like a compromise. I think being in a co-op could be a way that people get to do the things they gravitate towards more, and by sharing the workload out people can get the benefits of experiencing different aspects of the job that they might not be able to if working as a lone freelancer.
Also market reach is an important consideration. For example, if your a concept artist and a company is looking for people to work in the 3d department modelling, ok perhaps you cant do it. As a co-op maybe someone else has that skillset and can take the job allowing your group to maximize its earnings while at the same time you can still be looking for work and even maybe learning some 3d on the go.
You know I think Concept art and the entertainment industry in general is well suited to this because of the way that skills are accumulated through individuals, it allows people to have more freedom of expression. Because lets face it nobody gets up and says i want a job for the rest of my life, you start by wanting to do what you love doing and the job is a way of realizing that. A Co-op is more than just an effective business its a way of realizing freedom of expression.
I think it is also prevalent in the coding arenas, startups and design startups in general because it really is about a joint realization of a dream and vision. And this brings us back to this idea of unity of purpose.
A clear unity of purpose is critical for co-ops and startups to succeed. It allows for some of the negative issues surrounding co-ops to be partially offset.
haha, It sounds like you read the report! Much of this is covered in the report, they stated that the average co-op had a workforce of 11 people. I think larger groups in general are more unwieldy just due to the sheer logistics of communication and descision making.
Imagine every descision being voted on by 10000 people.
Sure i can see that as a result of evolutionary pressure to differentiate.
Although i think it may be a little hasty to suggest that it cant happen. the Iroqouis Native american tribe was the oldest particpatory (true) Democracy in the world and they managed it.... (how, i dunno).
In terms of specialization, i think that really depends on the skillset of the group, i think it certainly is an important factor to the success of the group and its likely that the majority of concept artists are not huge on accounting and law.
Its a problem area.
Yea outsourcing is an option but by doing that you lose some of the flexibility and bonding nature of a co-op. It makes an ingroup and an outgroup, whereby the outsourcers can be scapegoated and issues can be offloaded. Also The outsourcing team doesnt have the same motivational force that comes from the co-op structure.
hmmm Skill level this is a tough one. It really depends on how you tackle this. One of the benefits of the co-op is the improved information flow through the co-op allowing people to learn more skills faster. I think in contrast to your comment, actually Combining the skillsets of several artists may be able to produce a product that is greater than the sum of its parts. Again this awaits evidence.
Indeed indie companies are both the best and worst examples of co-op structures. What I think is a key issues is the Unity of purpose. What ive seen personally is many times 1 person will have dream, vision etc and then look for people to join them, but i think it cant work this way because the people who are joining didnt share the vision originally, yea they might appreciate the vision but they are not aiming for it. This causes a diffracted group that will eventually collapse under the life stressors that challenge their path.
However its important to note that there are many confounding factors here that can cause the dissolution of indie companies, not to mention the elephant in the room, that fucking hateful dominating beast known as corporatocracy. This cannot be underemphasized or unacknowledged. The odds are stacked against indie companies right from the start in a drastic way, and its a brave act to decide that you will go up against highly established companies who have become used to the systems of exploitation that are in place.
Its also important to note that there are indie companies that succeed with tremendous results.
Check out http://www.no-mans-sky.com/about/
Yea i think the shared goals and purpose is key to a successful co-op. I also think its key to successful communities and just general instances of co-operation as well. Interpersonal issues are often overlooked due to perhaps a top down business approach that ignores individual needs for the goals of a business. If you think about it, life is a series of interpersonal issues. Its maybe the biggest challenge but again i think something that can be compensated for by, the benefits of being in a group that suceeds due to its co-operative nature.
No problem, it was a beast to write up but i think too often we get people in the industry who feel like they have to take on this or that contract no matter their personal preference and it feels like a compromise. I think being in a co-op could be a way that people get to do the things they gravitate towards more, and by sharing the workload out people can get the benefits of experiencing different aspects of the job that they might not be able to if working as a lone freelancer.
Also market reach is an important consideration. For example, if your a concept artist and a company is looking for people to work in the 3d department modelling, ok perhaps you cant do it. As a co-op maybe someone else has that skillset and can take the job allowing your group to maximize its earnings while at the same time you can still be looking for work and even maybe learning some 3d on the go.