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Michael Pinchera, One+ Associate Editor:

I’ve been a fan of Douglas Rushkoff’s work since my junior year of high school. At the time, he was being hailed as the “Marshall McLuhan of the 90s”—outstanding praise even though it felt a bit dated as of New Year’s Day 2000—for his significant contributions to communications and media theory.

Fast forward to 2007: MPI’s editorial team was in what turned out to be the early stages of the magazine re-launch and I was beginning to consider different content for our features and columns. What about Rushkoff as a columnist for MPI? That was something of a pie-in-the-sky idea at the time—we were all thinking big.

Shortly after starting talks with Rushkoff, it became clear that I’d be able to sign him on for a stint as a monthly MPI columnist. Through the column name that he suggested, “Open-Source Everything,” Rushkoff brought unique and important discussions to our readers—examining the real value of human connections, various types of compensation, and, of course, the open-source-style cooperative work mindset.

At the beginning of Rushkoff’s run with The Meeting Professional, his content was seemingly influenced by his most recent book (at the time) Get Back in the Box: Innovation from the Inside Out. In his final column for One+, it was clear that Rushkoff’s brain was very much enveloped in economic theory and corporatism. In fact, the most prominent points he discussed near the end of his column run formed the very basis of his 2009 book Life, Inc.: How the World Became A Corporation and How To Take It Back.

It was an absolute pleasure to work with him on a monthly basis—his column became a favorite of more than a few MPI staffers.

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