If you're from around here, or just stayed awhile, his art is is a part of you.

If George Wills, Blacksburg, Virginia native, didn't create the illustration or artwork in your textbook, calendar, flyer, poster, or logo, or the image on the wall of your hairdresser's, veterinarian's, or pretty much that of any downtown business, then maybe you'll recognize his work in these words from Tim Ligon, Virginia Tech Class of '82.

"George Wills, a local Blacksburg artist, was solely responsible for the Hokie Bird emblem as we all know it today. I believe the Virginia Tech Athletic Department hired George in 1986 to create a new emblem after realizing they needed a 'new look' for the future. After many creative strokes of the pencil, the latest Hokie Bird is born...  Who would have ever thought (George included) that one of the most recognizable and valuable trademarks in the state of Virginia had been created!"

Handshake 2.0 has known George Wills since they were both students at Margaret Beeks Elementary School.  George is renowned for his distinctive, edgy way of seeing the world. 

You can see his view of downtown Blacksburg landmarks at his newly launched BlacksburgArt.  Handshake 2.0 has permission to share this image of The Lyric at Night.

According to Tom Angleberger's review, "George Wills' funky fresh versions of Blacksburg landmarks are way, way cool. "

Wills is also a winner of the 2004 Virginia Governer's Screenwriting Competition.

Handshake 2.0 chose to feature the Lyric because of our recent visit there to see Google CEO Eric Schmidt.  We're also partial to Books, Strings, and Things and Carol Lee Donut Shop.  Feel free to choose your own favorite at BlacksburgArt. 

Handshake 2.0 is honored to know you, George Wills.

Congratulations again to LimbGear® for being featured on The Today Show!

LimbGear® is a product line of WeighOut, LLC, located in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center.  WeighOut is a member company of business acceleration center VT KnowlegeWorks.

According to WeighOut's founder, Tyson Daniel, Steve Greenberg, author of Gadget Nation, featured the LimbGear^® Noggin Net^™ in Wacky Gadgets for the Winter of 2009, a post on Steve's Blog.

Steve Greenberg and his Wacky Gadgets were featured on The Today Show.

Handshake 2.0 would like readers to know that Mr. Handshake 2.0 received a LimbGear^® Noggin Net^™ for Christmas.

Mr. Handshake 2.0 doesn't dance quite like Santa does in his Noggin Net.  But almost.

Congratulations, Tyson Daniel of LimbGear!

Here's the link from The Today Show.

Handshake 2.0 learned this morning from Tyson Daniel that one of LimbGear®'s products may be featured on the 11:00 AM to 12:00 Noon edition of The Today Show.

Even the possibility is exciting!  Congratulations, Tyson!  We'll stay tuned!

LimbGear®'s is mp3 enabled sports apparel.  A video of Santa in his LimbGear^® Noggin Net^™ MP3 enabled skullcap was featured on Handshake 2.0. 

From Z. Kelly Queijo:

With a shrinking economy and unemployment on the rise, one might think this may not be the best time to start a new business. Jim Flowers, director of VT KnowledgeWorks business acceleration center located at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, disagrees.

In fact, Flowers predicts an increase in the number of entrepreneurs in 2009.

"In your own business," he emphasizes, "you have at least the illusion of control. If you have to down-size yourself, it’s your own decision. Since the perceived risk in working for a large company is now higher than it was formerly, the perceived risk in entrepreneurship is now much lower on a relative scale than in the (now past) age of the Fortune 1000."

Small business is big in Virginia. Defined as having fewer than 500 employees, the Small Business Administration (SBA) reports that small businesses account for roughly 50% of private-sector employment. The number of self-employed individuals accounts for 63% (over 406,000) of Virginia-based businesses.

You could wait for the stars to align, but Flowers advises that the most important factor in the success of an entrepreneurial business is the personal commitment of the entrepreneur. Commitment and the persistence that comes with it is something he calls “Moxie.”

He can't say it often enough. Age does not matter, but The Four Fundamental Factors matter: Market, Magic, Moxie, and Mentors. 

Allan Tsang knows something about what it takes. Two months ago, Tsang launched his newest company, 88owls.com, a resource for consultants seeking relevant work and for businesses seeking to hire experienced consultants.

When asked, "Why now?", Tsang replied, "Why not?"

"There never seems to be a shortage of problems," Tsang said.  "In 88owls's case, we know that companies are craving people who are experienced and knowledgeable.  And in the consultants' corner, they are looking for clients that need them.  We believe we are solving problems at the top of the economic food chain. That is why within two months of launching, we have consultants from over 26 countries. So, yes, it is always a good time to start a business, now better then ever. There is no country I have been in that allows someone to pursue their dreams as easily as the US does."

Z. Kelly Queijo writes about people and their passions for business and technology.

Handshake 2.0 brings you the seventh edition of Connecting People in the RNR with Stuart Mease.

Stuart Mease asked Sam English, "What topics would you like to see covered in 'Connecting People in the RNR'?"

Sam English is a partner of CIE Partners, an independent Roanoke-based organization promoting innovation and assisting entrepreneurs, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations in the western region of Virginia.

Mease and English were attending the Southwest Virginia Science Forum.  English was presenting news and information about Ocucure Therapeutics.

"RNR" refers to the Roanoke Valley and the New River Valley of Virginia.

Stuart Mease writes the blog Connecting People.  On Stuart Mease's about page, you can find myriad ways to connect with him online and in person.  You can find out more about Stuart Mease on Handshake 2.0.

The opinions Stuart Mease or those he interviews express are solely their own and are not necessarily shared by Handshake 2.0 or its clients, sponsors, or advertisers.

The best business blog posts:

• Share what you know.
• Show who you are.
• Tell what problems you solve.

Only three bullets to write a "best business blog post"?

That sounds like an opportunity for a template.

We wrote, We’ve got to get your company into a blog.

Here’s a blog site with a template where you can do that. 

While that system may work for some companies and organizations, and the price certainly might be appealing, it doesn’t help you create a "best business blog post." 

Handshake 2.0 has a part template, part hand-crafted blog post - a Signature Warm Handshake - to help you quickly create one of those "best business blog posts" for your company.

While we offer a vast array of services from complete new media strategies, to creation and management of your business blog, to custom blog posts for your company's blog or for showcasing on Handshake 2.0 - and we’d love for you to be a client for our services - those services take some time.

To quote Snuffy Smith, “Time’s a wastin’.’

We’ve got to get your company into a blog.

Here’s how to do that, by about tomorrow, for $49.

Buy a $49 blog post on Handshake 2.0.

Send to blogservices@handshake20.com:

• Your name
• Your position
• Your preferred e-mail address for contact from blog post readers
• Your company's or organization's name
• Your company’s or organization's URL
• A one-sentence company or organization description focused on what problems you solve rather than simply on what you do
• A two- to three-sentence answer to a question to which you will receive access after you buy the post
• An original photo as a .jpg attachment or a link to a video related to your answer

You're done.  We set it up, we optimize it, you preview and approve it, we post it.  We're done.

Whew.  We got your company into a blog.

Anyone can comment on any blog post on Handshake 2.0 at any time.

The comments are not moderated.  I don't read your words first and decide whether or not they have merit before posting them.

To me, moderated comments offer an unspoken message:  "Yes, a blog is a conversation, and yes, you can participate.  But only if I can control what you say."

In a relationship? That's a deal-breaker.

To paraphrase a statement attributed to Voltaire, Handshake 2.0 might not agree with your comment, but we'll defend your right to post it.

What's the worst thing that can happen with unmoderated comments?  Vitriol?  The founder of Handshake 2.0 is almost 50.  1) Been there, done that.  2) We might learn something.

That said, we get an e-mail every time a comment is posted.  If your comment says something crummy about someone near and dear to Blog Diva's heart, we'll click "Delete."  Blog Diva doesn't go for profanity, either.

So I'm not going to delete the comment received today on this post.  In fact, I'll show you the text of the notification we receive from TypePad when a comment is posted.

***

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Commenter name: shiva
Commenter email: hotest.in@gmail.com
Commenter URL: http://www.back2office.com
IP address: 202.63.162.90

***

How I felt when I saw this comment?  Sort of amused, sort of sad. 

Best wishes to "shiva."

What we’re finding at Handshake 2.0 is that enterprising business leaders with praiseworthy initiative:

• Vow to start their own company blogs, and don’t.
• Start their own company blogs, vow they’ll write entries, and don’t.
• Start their own blogs, write a few entries, and quit.

To get your company into a blog, those ways aren’t working.

Why aren’t they working?

Already on the proverbial business hat rack of business leadership are President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief of Operations, Chief Sales Officer, and Marketing Director.

The new media has added a new fedora:

Chief Blog Officer.

Not only is it another job for a leader to do, it’s a new one.  It takes time to do it and to figure out how to do it.

Business leaders have to choose so carefully what they do with their time.

Handshake 2.0 has devised a means for business leaders to spend a little time and get a lot of blog post.

Because we’ve got to get your company into a blog.

From Bob Giles:

In the last High Five I suggested working on developing some kind of structure for the New River Valley, a chunk of land and water that many people seem to think can have a special dimension beyond those on a map.

They see the New River Valley and what is within it and in its history can be good for the people living within the boundary and border. Other regions have had such experience. “Why not this one?” they ask. “Maybe better than the others,” they suggest.

There are already many New River Valley-related organizations, including:

1. New River Valley Planning District Commission
2. Main Street Radford (e.g., related town and county groups)
3. New River Valley Agency on Aging Advisory Council
4. New River Valley Community Services
5. New River Valley Economic Development Alliance
6. New River Valley Development Corporation
7. New River/Mount Rogers Workforce Investment Board
8. New River Valley Competitiveness Center
9. New River Valley Development Corporation
10. New River Valley Planning District Commission
11. Multi-County and Town, Business & Economic Development officers
12. Multi-County and Town Community Development staffs
13. Virginia Economic Development Partnership

In the spirit of reducing over-worked leaders, reducing redundancy, increasing efficiency, reducing travel costs and energy use, and gaining synergism… maybe some of these can work together, merge, communicate, or share or pool resources.

I now doubt that Rural System will ever get started but I once thought it would be good for the Valley.

One part of it included developing a membership that gave those living in the Valley more than the joyful feeling of having a special mailing address. Citizens would sign up, pay a few bucks, and start getting some real benefits and access to where their talents, abilities, and knowledge could pay off for them and their Valley neighbors. (This may well be essential for the near regional economic future.)

Such a membership would include for them:

Substantial membership savings on

• services of all cooperators of the system
• savings on costs of events and tours
• savings on purchases of outdoor clothing and boots
• savings on outdoor equipment
• savings on books
• savings on costs of annual meeting

and

1. A colored computer map of the Valley and the region
2. Access to a unique web-site and a monthly newsletter, blog, and Internet options providing links and information about the region and the role of its organization within it
3. Notices of special events and opportunities
4. Within-Valley employment opportunity notices
5. Special information about government programs and services available for land holding
6. Access to a specialized tax reduction and wealth management center
7. Access to a regional credit card program
8. Access to prime rate group insurance
9. A personal annual land valuation report
10. Access to information about responsible land buyer, tenants, and Trusts
11. Access to a caretaker for land if one "lives away"
12. Reasonable pooled information about possible impacts of proposed development
13. Notices of several occasional meetings each year
14. Pooled or cooperative projects among internal groups and organizations
15. Discounts on Avi course entrance fees (a new bird-watching sport)
16. Discounts on several announced member tours a year
17. Discounted registration at an annual meeting
18. Discounts for entries to a specialized local and personal history project
19. Priority access to land management consulting and management service
20. Resource-management-improving and energy-saving hints
21. An annual rebate (membership fee) or an award based on total profits
22. Distinctive membership symbols (e.g., lapel pin, bandana, cap)
23. Membership sign for display at property entrance.

I called it the New River Valley’s Heft (project/company/initiative/program/etc.)

I offer these suggestions as an opportunity to join other citizens throughout our area to allow the New River Valley to become one of the most linked social networks anywhere.

Definition: heft – something of great weight (physical or otherwise); to lift something heavy (perhaps to determine its weight) often

Added 12/23/08:  Bob Giles's thinking on this subject continues to evolve.  He has posted a revised and updated version of this post on his blog, The Survivalists:  Preparing for a Decent Tomorrow.

Robert H. Giles, Jr. writes High Five for Handshake 2.0, a technology business news and business blog service venture of Handshake Media, Incorporated, a member company of business acceleration center VT KnowledgeWorks.  The opinions Robert Giles expresses are solely his own and are not necessarily shared by Handshake 2.0 or its sponsors or advertisers. 

You can follow Robert H. Giles, Jr. on Twitter @Bob_Giles

***

Robert H. Giles, Jr. is a Virginia Tech Professor Emeritus with a vision for a rural land management system.  He writes two blogs, The Survivalists and Faunal Force.