On March 21, I'll be leading a workshop on “Web Presence” at BAIPA's annual Get Published Conference in San Anselmo, California. I put that in quotes because it's a wonderfully vast topic, and I'd love to hear your thoughts. What creative ways have you discovered to promote (or find) books online?...

No doubt these are tough times - times that can get one down, emotionally and creatively. But heck, are you going to let a tanking stock market sink your digital imaging creativity? Hope not! However, if the winds have been knocked out of your creative sails, here are a few ideas that may stimulate the creative artist within. At the very least, I hope they distract your from the stock market chart, which looks like a bad - a very bad - histogram.

I attended a session here at the Viz Think conference yesterday, facilitated by Eileen Clegg and O'Reilly's own Robert Schanafelt. The purpose was to collaboratively identify trends in visual innovation, and then, well, put them together in a visual way that helped display the collaboration in a functional and informative way. Participants were first asked to identify moments of visual...

I've got a great Nerd Treat for y'all! If you are too smart to be cool and too cool to be a nerd, you are a Scientiste. That's what Circuit Girl and I call you. That, and our friend. And we've been working on creating a community that's worthy of your attention and participation....

On January 21, O'Reilly will host a 60-minute webcast called Youth & Creativity: Emerging Trends in Self-Expression and Publishing. Here's the concept: Youth are approaching digital self-expression and publishing from a more organic, collaborative angle than previous generations. They jump right in when the creative urge strikes, collaborating with others from around the globe, and "publishing" an ongoing stream of...

This year I took a crack at November's National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo). Didn't get as far as I'd like, I'll admit. But even my little trek was a great reminder of the importance of making something every day. One of the many perks of the NaNoWriMo experience are the email exhortations you get from a variety of guest-authors, as well as from Chris Baty, NaNoWriMo's founder and program director. The last one he sent out at the end of the journey, was a lovely essay on hobbies, work, and living the creative life. I asked his permission to repost it here and he graciously assented.

In our photo blogs, there are some stunning examples of high dynamic range (HDR) photography, which creates a hyperreal image by combining different exposures. What if that technique were applied to other media? You might get...this.

What do you do when your primary creative tool stops working? It's an increasingly common problem as our tools become digital. I've lost great programs from companies that tanked, but when a program from a company that's still in business refuses to launch, it really chaps my hide.

Michael Krasny gabs with John Adams on KQED's Forum about his music, book and life. A must listen. And don't forget to enjoy his opera "Doctor Atomic" about Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb. Playing now on your local PBS station....

I haven't mentioned the OLPC XO laptop for kids in a while. But, it's worth noting that Nicholas Negroponte has delivered XO laptops to Columbian children in an area that was once controlled by guerrillas. In this TED Video he discusses the project, on the road, and why laptops are important for children around the world. This line stood out...