A few weeks ago, Vec3 launched a new initiative. We call it the Working the Web for West Virginia project.

The idea is simple. In the coming months, our staff will hold training workshops throughout the state for businesses, individuals and government agencies who want to market themselves on the Internet. We'll take them step-by-step, explaining what in the world Search Engine Optimization is, how blogging works, what the heck a meta description is, etc.

You see, what we've found while pitching our services is that many companies don't understand how comprehensive Internet marketing is. They envision banner ads or e-mail blasts, stuff like that. We explain site engineering, how search engines crawl and index web pages and how videos can entice Google to bump a site up in organic rankings. Once they envision the possibilities, we can almost see the light bulb turn on--and a corporate CEO's eyes light up nearly as bright. It's exciting to witness it, not only for the business opportunities it provides us but also because we've helped someone understand one of our corporate mottos: marketing is a conversation, not a lecture.

While pitching the Working the Web for West Virginia concept in an attempt to secure funding, we wrote of our desire to see a Silicon Valley-type environment emerging in our state and that we, as a company, could help foster that development. We're certainly not alone. Despite the unfortunate perceptions that others have of West Virginia, ours is a superbly talented population, full of vision and the ability to see it fulfilled.

That's why we're getting behind Create West Virginia, which is part of the state's Vision Shared economic development initiative. The Creative Communities team is doing a remarkable job in pushing the Create West Virginia concept. Part of that is holding its second Create West Virginia conference planned for Snowshoe Mountain Resort on October 20-22. I'll be attending the conference both to learn what role Vec3 can play in the initiative and to help drive the conversation that is taking place about fostering creative communities here in West Virginia. I'll be doing that through live blogging right here at the Vec3 blog and via our Twitter page. (Make sure you keep in touch with the conversation by visiting us here regularly.)

Vec3's CEO, Albert Hendershot, and I recently shared a lunch with Mythology CEO Jeff James, who, as chair of Vision Shared's Creative Communities team is one of the principal driving forces behind all of this. (Side note: we broke bread at Charleston's South Hills Market and Cafe; food's great, service is, well, not great). Jeff explained that Create West Virginia seeks to foster the development of "creative" communities in West Virginia. These locations can exist if all sectors of the community--businesses, individuals, government agencies, non-profits, etc.--not only buys into the notion that it requires an across-the-board effort from them all to build a new economy community...everyone has to make it happen, too.

That dovetails nicely with what we're trying to do with the Working the Web for West Virginia project. We want to educate those same sectors of our communities about the transforming power of the social web. By doing so, we feel like we can play a role in a much larger play.

That's how we're helping Create West Virginia.

For more information on Create West Virginia's push for creative communities in our state, read their presentation Creative Communities for the New Economy. Also of note is Richard Florida's excellent book The Rise of the Creative Class and his website, CreativeClass.com.