The Summer of All Possibility :)

 

 

We've had a rainy spring here in Indiana and that is beginning to produce all kinds of creative blossoms!

Here at reVisions Plus, Inc., life is busy and full with a number of fascinating and fun projects. In addition to preparing for the course I'll be teaching at Earlham School of Religion next year, I have a new book of earth-care meditations called Listening to the Earth: Meditations on Experiencing and Belonging to the Earth coming out from Lorian Press in a couple of weeks (I'll post the link here when the book is released!). I'm also writing the Simple Guide to Eco-Spirituality for Luminus Books (due in June) in addition to all my technical and online curriculum writing.

Fo the projects in process and planned for the coming months, I am happily working with some of my favorite clients:

• CNET's TechRepublic
• Earlham School of Religion
• I Look Both Ways
• Microsoft Press
• Pearson Education (Emergent Learning)
• Que Publishing
• Windows Secrets

Happy spring (and almost summer)!

 

Times, They Are a-Changing

 

 

What an amazing time to be alive. 2011 is a year of surprises so far--governments overthrown, despots deseated, regimes threatened, powerful protests by the people making headway.

Today the news is filled with horrific stories of the earthquake in Japan; a little more than a week ago, it was Christchurch, New Zealand. People systems and natural systems are in upheaval. Political parties and union workers in the U.S. are mobilizing. Who knows where all this is leading? Change, change, change, change.

You've probably heard saying that "crisis = danger + opportunity." (I heard it translated differently a year or so ago and someone said that's really not what the word means, but oh well.) In times of change, we are challenged to dig deep. To think of what works and use that. To be creative in coming up with new solutions. To work together.

Here at reVisions Plus, Inc., that's just the sort of thing I do with content, so I suppose I'm in sync with the times. Today I am writing many grant proposals (which are getting funded, which is awesome!), I am still doing some work in technology, I am doing quite a bit in education (especially writing curriculum for online and print product and teaching a grad-level course in Eco-spirituality). The writing I do springs from a need that is brought to me--and I love that. It helps what I do have meaning and relevance both for me and for the larger unfolding issues in the world.

Right now, I'm spending my work time with fine folks at the following organizations:

• International Interfaith Initiative
• Peace Learning Center
• Earlham School of Religion
• Pearson Education (Emergent Learning)
• I Look Both Ways
• Kappa Delta Pi
• CNET's TechRepublic
• Microsoft Press

If you need help with

• grant proposals
• webinars
• enewsletters
• communications or fundraising strategy
• online learning
• or oh yes, technical books :)

feel free to drop me a note: kmurray230@sbcglobal.net

Wishing you a safe and steady path through these tumultuous times, with the clear sense that better days are on the way.

 

All Things Are Possible!

 

 

 

Happy New Year! 2011 arrived with a flurry of happy activity, both work-wise and family-wise. I hope wherever you are starting the new year you feel that hopeful sense of new possibilities stretching out before you!

This year begins for me with a new book for Microsoft Press, web development for Ecosource, new content for Kappa Delta Pi, and amazing, fun, inspiring, and always-touching work at the International Interfaith Initiative. I'm also working on online curriculum for a nonprofit organization (great stuff) and preparing to begin teaching an Eco-spirituality course at Earlham School of Religion (love it).

Many blessings on the year ahead for you, in all your business and personal endeavors! :) k

 

 

 

Quiet and Full Stories

 

 

 

I'm very aware of the date today and the losses and sadnesses we continue to feel on the anniversary of 9-11. That day we lost so many things, even in addition to the precious lives: our sense of security, a kind of innocent idealism, the illusion of power-in-prosperty. I am grateful for the healing this country has done so far, but I feel we still have a lot of healing to do, and it happens gradually--very gradually--in its own time.

I am grateful for the many friends and clients (and now, spiritual direction clients) that grace my life and enable me to find an outlet for the gifts and skills I can offer. This summer and fall has been full of many interesting projects, from online learning courses to nonprofit grant writing and fundraising support to book-length projects to curriculum writing. Thanks to all of you for the many and varied projects, and I'm looking forward to the new ideas and possibilities we are currently stirring up!

 

 

 

Love the Earth!

 

 

 

Now that I'm wrapping up many of the Office 2010 projects I've been working on, I've had a little time to get back to the nature writing I love to do. This week I've been updating the developing site, Kids Love the Earth, and adding new resources and blog posts. And today I published our first official title (wahoo!!!) in the Starlight Books line: Love the Earth! Earth Care Activities for Parents & Kids. This 48-page book offers many simple, creative activities parents and kids can do together to become more aware--and appreciative of--nature.

The book is available in digital format only (because that saves trees :)), and you can purchase it for $3.95. To see a preview, visit the Scribd Store, and let me know what you think!

 

 

Abundance, Abundance, Abundance :)

 

 

 

Well, in case you were wondering where I've been the last six months or so (not blogging here, obviously), I've had my head and hands and heart in one book after another, preparing for the general launch of Office 2010. I must say that I really do love the changes in Office 2010. I think the new features are smart, fun, and match what we really need in the world--more flexibility, more collaboration, and easier access to everything (including each other). Here's a quick list of the projects I've been working on, coming to a site, store, or desktop near you:

• Microsoft Office 2010 Plain & Simple
• Microsoft Word 2010 Plain & Simple
• Microsoft Word 2010 Inside Out
• Adobe CS5 Web Design
• First Look Microsoft Office 2010
• What's New in Office 2010
• What's New in Word 2010
• Fundraising for Dummies, 3rd Edition
• Own Your Future: Update Your Skills with Microsoft

 

 

Curious about Office 2010?

 

I just heard from my editor at Microsoft Press that my latest book, First Look Microsoft Office 2010, is now available for (free) download on the Microsoft Press site (wahoo). If you're curious about the new features (which include the customizable Ribbon, Backstage view throughout, Artistic Effects, video editing, new data visualizations, fresh SmartArt, cool new text effects, video styles...oh, I could go on and on), please feel free to download the book and see what Office 2010 has to offer.

And if you haven't downloaded the Office 2010 beta yet, you can get it here. Enjoy!

 

New book coming soon!

 

I'm really excited about a new book that is at the printer now...coming soon! Water: Its Spiritual Significance is a collection of essays and poems on the sacred and sustaining nature of water. The book includes the work of Wendell Berry, Coleman Barks, and many, many more. (I have a small essay in this volume, too, which is a great honor.)

I have volunteered to help the publisher spread the word about the book and I'd like to find a few magazines who would be interested in reviewing an early copy in hopes a book review would result.

• See the book's table of contents (PDF format).
  
• Find out more about Fons Vitae Publishing.
  
• Sign up for alerts about the book's availability and author appearances.
  
• Let me know you'd like to review a copy.Note that I will have a limited number of review copies, so publishers only, please.

Thanks for the help, and if you live or work near Louisville, Kentucky, come be part of the Louisville Festival of Faiths, "Sacred Water, Sustaining Life," November 4-13. Thanks and feel free to help spread the word! :) k

 

Cement messages and social media

 

Hi again, everyone. It's fascinating to watch the world wake up to the potential of Twitter and begin to experiment with ways to share individual and corporate messaging around the globe. Although I've been using Twitter for some time, it's not been with any real focused, professional intent--I simply note what captures my attention, what I'm seeing, haikus I'm composing in my head. :)

But the Society for Environmental Journalists recently created a collective Twitter feed of environmental journalists and offered a way to subscribe collectively or individually here. And since that time Twitter has taken on a completely different energy for me. Fascinating ideas, links, resources, opinions are flying all over and surfacing in tweets I can read. The conversation is much more like waves at high tide--bits of information crossing each other, touching each over, flowing over the top of one another. Much messier and more alive than simple one-way messaging that you put on a four-color brochure or post on your Web page.

Are you ready for the fray? Are you willing to let your ideas, message, and maybe even to some extent your mission be shaped by those who are in conversation with you? It's a big question, yes, and probably one that strikes fear in the heart of large corporate enterprises. But the days of interactional media are here, and this generation--and the ones to follow--will expect and own their own shaping influence on the culture and what it produces. What a fascinating time to be awake and aware and communicating!

Good luck as you begin to loosen your grasp on your carved-in-stone messaging. Somewhere between your brand and your mission is the idea people will want to talk about with you. Just keep listening and dip a toe in the water when you can. It's full of life and possibility--and who knows what kind of opportunity awaits?

 

An ongoing conversation

 

Happy August, everyone! It is fascinating to me to watch the way Twitter is impacting the way we communicate as individuals, as companies, as citizen journalists, as human beings. Everyone seems to be recognizing the value of sharing what you see and know and we are gradually becoming more savvy about identifying the feeds, tweets, and sources we can turn to for reliable information.

But there's a point needs to be made as we post and tweet and link and share: Even though we are giving Twitter credit for changing the way we communicate (and Biz Stone is great so this isn't meant to take anything away from his amazing creation), people are the ones making Twitter work. We are ready to share. We trust what we experience. We have interesting thoughts. We are recognizing the very real and integral way we are connected, can connect, do connect with each other. We see the effects of our ideas and posts, as they radiate outward into the world. We have become part of a truly global and ongoing conversation, which begins with each of us sharing what we see, hear, think, and respond to from our own worldview. This is a wonderful, amazing manifestation of a talent we each inherently have just because we're human beings. We experience and we share that experience, and others benefit--or at least respond. Wonderful!

Twitter is a great, catalyzing tool, to be sure. But in terms of communication, we will do well to remember that the ability, the desire, the vision is really within us. The people down the hall from you would be glad to tell you about a fascinating article they read yesterday. Your managers have much more to share than the latest sales reports or the projections for next quarter. Create a real-time, face-to-face forum for this type of tweeting conversation to occur in your own workplace and watch what happens. We will bring it. It's what we do.

And you just might see a transformation in the way people relate and respond to each other, just because you provided the opportunity. Try it and see! (And then tweet it we we can know how it goes.)

Have a great month! :)

 

Show and tell your message with DIY video

 

Hi everyone, and welcome to mid-summer here in the upper hemisphere. :) I am beginning a cool new project that includes a variety of media and instructional tools, and as an experiment with new software tonight I created (in about 10 minutes, mind you), the following Go Green! PC Power Management video segment using Camtasia. [Note: Camtasia is available as a free trial for 30 days in case you want to test it out.] Easy to use features, simple editing, good sound controls, and easy to publish in multiple formats. I didn't edit out my blooper because...well...I figured a little imperfection is good for the soul. :)

 

Please remain in your seats until we've come to a complete stop

 

You've probably noticed this in your own life, but when you have something you want to communicate, timing and environment are just as important as having a great message. You could have the greatest message, product, book, or idea your industry has ever seen, but if no one is listening, it's not going to go anywhere. If you have a vision of a great new technology that enables us to think directly into Word and never have to type at a keyboard--wonderful! But society and the world at large may not have any idea what to do with that idea for another 20 years or so. Or at least 10. And if you have that great idea, project, book, what-have-you but the only person you tell about it is your cat, you don't have the right environment for the idea to begin to put down roots and start to grow.

In an economy like this one (yes, they tell us its getting better), it is both prudent and vitally important to think through the timing and environment for the delivery of your message or product. As always, trying to balance vision with practicality is no easy task but very necessary. Full disclosure: I say this as a writer who has no less than eight finished, non-published books, a half dozen plays, and a gazillion poems living in Happy Land on her backup hard drive. :)

Here are a few questions you can use to gauge whether the time and place is right for your next project:

• How does the project grow organically out of what you are already doing?
  
• How is the project a natural extension of your strengths?
  
• In what way does the project add something that your existing audience needs?
  
• What do you see in the social, cultural, economic, or industry environment that leads you to believe there is a place for this project?
  
• Who will buy this project and how does it connect for them with their perception of the current environment?
  
• Does your project add something worthwhile to the world and contribute something positive--a new technique for getting things done, something to help people in their jobs, a way to offer more support, solve a problem, reduce a struggle? (This list could go on and on, obviously...)
  
• How long will it take you to develop the project, and will the time still be right when you're done?
  
• What resources are needed for you to develop the project, and is the time and environment right internally for you to use those resources now?

This list gives you an idea of the type of landscape into which you'll be pitching your project. Of course once you're clear on this part of the foundation, you need to begin thinking more seriously about the who.

One other thought--and this is a hard one for me--waiting is okay. Sometimes circumstances require us to take a deep breath and wait for the right time and environment in order to act. When this has happened for me, I've noticed that additional clarity and knowledge come to fill in the gaps--the wait time winds up being fruitful, enriching the final project when the time is right for it to be completed.

The moral? Love your project, believe in the good it will do, and listen and watch carefully for the right timing and environment for it to blossom. Yes, Life, I'm listening.

Have a great month!

 

Greening the Planet via Computer :)

 

Every good project changes things, internally and externally. When I write about blogging, I learn more about it and develop new best practices. When I struggle with XML in Word 2007 (and believe me, I struggled with it! ), I emerge having learned a lot of helpful and real-world techniques that other everyday people like me might need someday. When I research and write about running a small business, using Office apps more efficiently, or find little stones of experience to share on Practical ~faith~, the finding and sharing enriches my own life.

This has just happened in a big way with the Green Home Computing for Dummies book I've just finished for Wiley (with my coauthor, Woody Leonhard). I absolutely loved writing this book--getting into the soil of the environmental challenges we face, figuring out how to articulate energy use, needs, and alternatives; developing and compiling thoughtful possibilities for ways to make better choices and spread the word--these opportunities and others have changed me. What a great project! I joined the Society for Environmental Journalists (and outward commitment for an inward change) and will be doing much more writing about the greening our digital lifestyles. For now, if you feel so led, you can join the green_computing twibe (Twitter group) and add your own thoughts, tips, and suggestions for greening your computer use.