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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2012)
PRIDE | COVER PROFILE by Logan Lynn | photography by Horace Long Michkael BAKER LOCAL VISIONARY TALKS ABOUT ALGORITHMS, CURRENCY, AND WHAT MAKES HIM TICK. TICK. TICK. Pacific Northwest native Michkael Baker is a self-described visionary. With a his- tory in the old school Portland music scene, a nutritional education center up and running, a global media company under construction, and a new economic paradigm of his own creation on the horizon, he seems braced to take flight. Born in Seattle, Baker grew up in Vancouver, Washington and has lived in the area ever since. He is a longtime singer and performer. In the 80’s and 90’s he performed with Body & Soul, Linda Hornbuckle, Nu Shoes, Dan Reed, and other local musicians who were well-known at the time and were influential in creating the now thriving Portland music scene. By the late 90’s Michkael had become disillusioned with the music industry and decided to exit the rat race, shifting his focus toward internet-based business concepts instead. After yet another major life change in 2007 (which he refers to as “the integration”), his company Blue Voice Enterprises was born. The endeav- or he’s currently best known for is The Open Kitchen, a community center which brings young entrepreneurs, chefs, and farmers together in an effort to break the barriers between food production, preparation, and consumption. Blue Voice Enterprises is currently shifting focus to two new endeavors, the Creative Action Center Of Online Open source Networks (CACOON) and Showcase Networks, an online television network. CACOON is a social media network created to bring together social entrepreneurs, innovators, and creative types to solve social problems and issues by connecting them to resources, fi- nances, ideas, and products. Even in a recession, Michkael believes the algorithm he has invented will hold up and draw investors to the project. “The system I’ve created, Use Value-Based Economics, has a built-in alternative currency called Community Credits. It’s a platform to build a new economic sys- tem and shows you that money is not the only exchangeable currency. It places value on people instead.” Continues on pg. 31 28 JustOut.com June 2012
