Category: Articles
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Either/Or?
We are thrilled that many of the ideas represented by the Create WV initiative are being incorporated in a wider statewide dialog. A recent example is the op-ed piece by William Schweke of the Center for Economic Development in Durham, NC in this week’s State Journal. It is a good sign that more people are…
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Competing for and Developing New Talent
In the New Economy, talent is oxygen. The very nature of creative economy work is defined as the constant pushing of boundaries to create new ideas, new processes and new combinations of the physical and intellectual. Anything that can be packaged, processed and replicated can ultimately be done cheaper over time through technology and outsourcing.…
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“Country Living with a Cosmopolitan Edge”
A great profile of Lewisburg, Greenbrier County, in the Charleston Gazette today provides some valuable insights into the hard work and attention to the “little things” required to transform an area into one of the nation’s best small towns. It’s a lesson on vision, leadership, persistence and trade-off decisions. In the case of Lewisburg, architect…
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Can West Virginia Compete in a Creative World?
The success of academic Richard Florida’s effort to broaden awareness and action around the growth of the Creative Class has sparked numerous efforts around the world similar to Create West Virginia. Here is an initiative from Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. If everyone is making a mad dash to attract these New Economy creatives, it begs…
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Wood County E-Government Pilots Huge Success
As a follow-up to the last post on what will help drive broadband adoption in the state, it is great to see the Parkersburg area taking a leadership role from a local government perspective. The Parkersburg News-Sentinel reports that personal property forms filed online in Wood County have exceeded their expectations after the first month…
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Is eBay the Killer App to Drive WV Broadband Adoption?
West Virginia ranks near the bottom of the list of states in PC usage and broadband accessibility and adoption. However, the Marketing Genius blog just highlighted the fact that Charleston, WV, is the leader in eBay usage among Internet users according to a recent Scarborough Research report (requires Adobe Reader). Forty-four percent of Internet-using adults…
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Updated! Check Out the New Createwv.com
We are happy to announce the updated createwv.com web site, full of useful links for anyone interested in learning about or developing the Creative Community in West Virginia. Thanks again to Maple Creative for their hard work on this site. Here are a few things you’ll find: Don’t forget we still have the statewide CommunityWalk…
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What is Your Vision for West Virginia?
We talk a lot about vision as human beings, don’t we? We like politicians who seem to have a vision for the country (it helps even more when there is an actual plan behind the vision, but that’s another blog post). The Book of Proverbs states “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The…
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Can Old Money Fuel New Progress?
One fascinating topic that bubbled up during the Hinton Creative Communities Assessment Workshop was the need for resources to back innovative ideas for growth. Does West Virginia really have a shortage of funding sources to make bold visions become reality? In addition to the normal foundations and government grant programs, one source of potential backing…
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A New Vision Beside the New River
On Tuesday July 24, the second Creative Communities Assessment Workshop was held in Hinton, Summers County. We learn more each time to we do these workshops, and we appreciate Mayor Cleo Matthews and the team of local folks in Hinton willing to be our second guinea pig. Hinton is a town like many in West…