Hi there. Yes, I’m talking to you. You, the one who has supported Flyover Geeks by reading our articles, attending our events, helping spread the word and being passionate about the startup space and entrepreneurs. When I launched Flyover Geeks in the ancient times of 2010, gas was less than 4 bucks a gallon and FlyoverGeeks.com was, well, it was there but needed some extra love. Cue Adrian. Adrian Artiles has officially joined Flyover Geeks as Director of Business Strategy but as with all good startups, he and I will both wear many hats. In addition to Adrian, regular contributors Russ Dean in Milwaukee and Jason Rowley here in Chicago have done a great job of continuing to add content people are interested in reading. We’ve also had some great stuff from Mike Vosters in Dallas. Moving forward, Flyover Geeks is embarking on a search for talent- writing talent. The U.S. is a big place and for us to effectively cover all the underserved tech markets around the U.S. we need people that are passionate about tech, startups and entrepreneurs and also be willing to do it regularly. We aren’t looking for just anyone though- those interested in writing for us and representing their respective corner of the startup world are going to have to prove they’ve got the right stuff and if they pass muster, we might bring them on. You’re also going to see more from our ‘CEO Sundays’ feature as entrepreneurs share their stories about running companies. Interested in green tech? Brian Koles is going to cover that beat although we aren’t opposed to finding one or two other quality writers interested in contributing frequently. Brooke Fallon of the Institute for Justice operating out of the University of Chicago is going to start contributing more as well, providing news on low cost/free legal services for entrepreneurs and startups. Events are going to expand as well- our startup parties are always a great time where we introduce new startups to the public and the one for Q2 is just around the corner and we’re going to do it a bit bigger this time- there are just too many incredible startups happening right now and we want to help them all get exposure. What else? An events calendar is going to get added to FG so everyone else planning events in their cities can get them on the calendar and help spread the word in their markets. You’ll notice Disqus has FINALLY been added as our comments section facilitator- Intense Debate wasn’t cutting it and we feel like Disqus is still the best out there. Let’s also talk about….our name. When I started Flyover Geeks, I chose the name because I wanted a tongue in cheek way to differentiate ourselves from the West Coast. As Flyover Geeks expands beyond Chicago, we’ve wondered if our name wasn’t a bit…..derogatory to the people and places we want to cover so we are toying with a name change. We figure as long as we are re-tooling, maybe we could do a better job re-branding as well. Here is where you all come in- we’d love to hear in the comments section what you think of our name- and if you were going to rename FG, what would it be? Get creative and be original. If we hate it we won’t use it so no harm in throwing it out there, right? We will be putting out a call for submissions for CEO Sundays soon, and we will also be putting out a call for writers as well. Admission is not guaranteed but should you join us, everlasting fame and glory will be. Alright startup world, let’s hear it! What do you think of our new look? Any complaints or compliments? What about our name? Have any clever ideas for us on that front? Something you’re dying to see? Don’t be shy, Internets. We’re here for you and we can’t wait to introduce what’s next.
