CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Dale Dougherty, editor and publisher of MAKE magazine, thinks being creative goes beyond stereotypical art.

"In some ways, our culture is a little bit over-segmented - if you are an artist you go in this corner, if you are a scientist you go in that corner," Dougherty said Thursday from his office in California. "At MAKE, we have a very broad definition of what is creative,"

He hopes to share that vision with West Virginians attending the upcoming Create West Virginia conference, to be held at Snowshoe Mountain Resort Oct. 20-22.

Dougherty will be a featured speaker at the conference, a second annual event sponsored by Vision Shared Inc. The conference seeks to cultivate the state's creative economy.

Dougherty is well-versed in the realm of the creative. MAKE magazine is a quarterly magazine devoted to do-it-yourself technology projects.

"I think it opens a window into how creative people are," he said.

Dougherty admitted that he never saw himself doing what he is doing now. He grew up in Kentucky and was an English major at the University of Louisville. Soon, his creativity took him into technology.

Along with Tim O'Reilly, he formed O'Reilly Media in 1978. The company soon became one of the premier sources of technology innovation information, with how-to manuals and conferences. At one of these conferences in 2004, the pair coined the term "Web 2.0."

The term, Dougherty said, has taken on a life of its own. 

So what attracted him to the Create West Virginia conference?

"In some ways, our culture is a little bit over-segmented - if you are an artist you go in this corner, if you are a scientist you go in that corner," Dougherty said Thursday from his office in California. "At MAKE, we have a very broad definition of what is creative,"

He hopes to share that vision with West Virginians attending the upcoming Create West Virginia conference, to be held at Snowshoe Mountain Resort Oct. 20-22.

Dougherty will be a featured speaker at the conference, a second annual event sponsored by Vision Shared Inc. The conference seeks to cultivate the state's creative economy.

Dougherty is well-versed in the realm of the creative. MAKE magazine is a quarterly magazine devoted to do-it-yourself technology projects.

"I think it opens a window into how creative people are," he said.

Dougherty admitted that he never saw himself doing what he is doing now. He grew up in Kentucky and was an English major at the University of Louisville. Soon, his creativity took him into technology.

Along with Tim O'Reilly, he formed O'Reilly Media in 1978. The company soon became one of the premier sources of technology innovation information, with how-to manuals and conferences. At one of these conferences in 2004, the pair coined the term "Web 2.0."

The term, Dougherty said, has taken on a life of its own. 

So what attracted him to the Create West Virginia conference?

A couple of things, he said.

"I live not far from Silicon Valley, and the San Francisco Bay has a creative culture. ... I'm really intrigued by what they are discovering here," he said. "And, looking at West Virginia, I said, 'Why can't it happen there?' I want to talk about that."

The conference provides a place for those thinking creatively to come together, he said.

"The conundrum and challenge in a place like West Virginia is how do you provide a way to connect people," he said. "To some degree, the creative people in a place like West Virginia feel like outsiders," he said.

It shouldn't be that way, he said.

"Everybody should be involved. A blacksmith is creative, an auto mechanic is creative," he said. "Being creative is [just] making or doing something."

And, by having conference like Create West Virginia, state residents can realize that being creative is really part of everyday life, he said.

"I want to appreciate that creativity can be ordinary," he said. "It's not an exception; it is something we all do."

To learn more about the conference, visit www.createwv.com. To read MAKE magazine, visit http://makezine.com. ;;;

Reach Sarah K. Winn at sarahkw...@wvgazette.com or 348-5156.