Measuring the impact. It's a beach.

Charlie Ledbetter spoke of 'old' media companies being like boulders on a beach which will soon be "drowned by a sea of pebbles". Extending the analogy, the Creative Industies are like the beach itself, with each grain of sand representing a creative business or practitioner.

So how do we count and account for each grain of sand that comprises the creative industries? And how do we avoid any of it slipping through our fingers?

It's easier with other industries. If we were talking about car manufacturing in the West Midlands we could - for now - point to a couple of big plants and say "there it is". Car manufacturing has a specific postcode, central points of contact, an easily measurable number of employees, trackable GVA. Basically, it's a singular entity. The Creative Industries, however, are made up of thousands of micro businesses and freelance practitioners, although their combined workforce and GVA contribution is no less significant.

The issue here is that when there are shifts in the manufacturing industry - either up or down - it registers. It's front page news. But the reality is that no matter how big or wonderful your individual creative business is, it's just not on the same scale. Harsh, but true. Put it another way, if you were forced to close your creative business tomorrow, would it be the lead story on Newsnight or provoke debate in the House of Commons?

For Creative Industries to be viewed on the same scale, then, for them to register, networks are essential - off and online, formal and informal. That's why Screen WM continues to support networks such as Producer's Forum, Animation Forum, RedRex and various social media cafes in the region, coordinated through ongoing support to BSMC. We're also working with Producer's Forum to launch a regional network for the games industry - Game Central - and ultimately aiming to network the networks. Of course, there are wonderful personal and business benefits to belonging to these networks, but it also makes it that bit more possible for us to communicate with diverse creative sectors, capture what's going on in the region and help this inform current and future strategies for ourselves, our partners - notably Advantage WM - and other agencies. And this is crucial.

There are simple actions here for any creative practitioner who is currently plowing their own furrow. If you're not already part of a network, find one that suits and join it, (and Chris Unitt's excellent list of those in the region is a good place to start). If there is no network for you right now then start one, and partner with existing networks wherever you can. Make yourself visible and make yourself heard. Because, chances are, you may already be playing your part in revitalising the UK economy. Who knew?