I wholeheartedly agree that online piracy and copyright infringement is an issue that needs to be handled, but policing the entire web and treating us all as if we were criminals is a step too far. I recommend anyone who agrees to check out this list of companies who support SOPA and discontinue your business with them.

Density Co-working

Last year, in order to get a change of scenery at work, I joined Creative Density – a co-working community here in Denver. Co-working environments are spaces where freelancers can gather to gain a more professional workspace and collaboration among other professionals.

Recenty Creative Density owner Craig Baute and I sat down to discuss what VectorDefector does along with the current state of the web in a section he’s called the Member Minute.

Check out the article here: http://densitycoworking.com/member-minute-tom-benway/ or watch the video right here:

Overall co-working has been a great experience! I have a new space to utilize for professional development and a wealth of new creative folks to bounce ideas with. I’d highly recommend it.

2012!

Happy New Year everyone! 2011 was a great year for VectorDefector and I’m hoping 2012 is even better!

In addition to continuing to provide the best possible customer care, eye for design and quality working products, VectorDefector will be releasing a few new services and products throughout the year: new “tag-along” mini sites specifically designed to work well with mobile devices, a new e-commerce package for folks seeking a total e-commerce store solution, and expanded features on our already great editable designs.

I also anticipate several new launches to kick off the new year, so please come back and check out our latest and greatest collaborations!

Wordpress 3.3

In their typical yearly fashion, the good folks at WordPress.org released a new version of their brilliant, free to license software yesterday.

Their latest version, 3.3 “Sonny” named after yet another jazz legend, includes a couple new features worth taking a look at: a new interface that’s more geared toward fluid layout for a range of different devices (good news for folks who edit their site on their phone or ‘pad), a new media library that is simpler to use, more thorough in-system help screens, and a small addition for developers that should help me build more flexible sites.

All and all, another great reason to continue using the best open-source content management system!

Conscious Alliance

Excellent customers and fantastic non-profit Conscious Alliance recently partnered with me again to expand their online store. A latest venture in the name of donations for the hungry, the new wing of the store will be geared toward selling a range of clothing and apparel styled to match Conscious Alliance’s “Art that Feeds” motto.

I’m ‘sportin’ the Louie Gong T-shirt! Great gear for a great cause!

ModernChristmasTrees.com

Based on a design created by his grandfather, Modern Christmas Trees founder Matthew Bliss partnered with me and friend/partner Douglas Koke to create a site geared toward promoting his truly unique and modern Christmas tree designs.

Modern Christmas Trees.com features a custom logo and design, an easy to update content management system, and a simple PayPal-based e-commerce shopping cart for orders. Fabulous video and photography work provided by Doug.

10% of sales are donated to Alzheimer’s research, making this a great cause as well!

Spotify

Recently, I downloaded and joined Spotify – a streaming music service previously only available in the U.K. A cross between iTunes and Pandora, Spotify: manages your music, allows you to share music either via Facebook or by contacting other users within the community, and gives you instant access to pretty much any streaming music you want.

A slick interface and scaled pricing plans, from free to premium, make Spotify an awesome choice for anyone looking to increase or digitize their music collection. While iTunes may still remain my player of choice for my own vast collection of tunes, Spotify will definitely be along for the ride to provide me with new choices and more variety.

Check ‘em out and get in line for a free account (though it comes with banner ads and minor in-stream audio ads).

NexusFont

I’ve been putting it off for a very long time, so today I finally broke down and made myself choose a piece of software to help me manage my vast collection of fonts. After scouring the web and testing out a few different options, my favorite has landed: Xiles.net NexusFont.

Nexus font has a simple to use interface, loads my whole library fairly quickly, and most importantly: lets me choose which sample text I use and allows me to group my fonts into sets of my choosing.

Finally! Now I no longer need to spend hours sitting in front of Adobe Illustrator hitting the “down” arrow a thousand times to find the right font. If you’ve ever had a similar experience, you should check NexusFont.

American Bullet

Partnered with my associates at Mindflint Media, American Bullet manufactures high quality, factory new ammunition for a variety of firearms and target pistols.

The American Bullet site features a custom design, an easy to update content management system, and custom-made e-commerce shopping cart including user accounts, history and product discounts.

Lookin’ sharp! Check out more details under my Data-Driven section.

Start Talking

The Start Talking Network is a local non-profit organization based in Evergreen Colorado dedicated to helping people “be better” and preventing suicide.

Start Talking Network features a manageable resources directory of local contacts for emergency and non-emergency depression-related treatment, listings and registration for fundraising events and activities, and a simple donate option.

A great site for a great cause! Check out more project details under my Interactive section.