A software development project that has kep me busy lately: Progressive Erotica. Expect a launch in early 2011.

I am pleased to announce the launch of Virtuarte.com. The site allows artists from Africa, South America, and Asia to sell their art worldwide. These pieces of art are expressions of traditions and customs that, in some places, are at risk of slowly dying out. A goal of the site is to revive these traditional arts. The founder of Virtuarte, Deborah E. Myers, came from an international development background and founded the site out of a desire to improve the economic quality of life for women and children.

Joint Concepts, a local justice oriented multimedia firm, managed the development of the site. My company, Inner File Software, was brought in to assist with the final details before launch. The project was nearly complete and we essentially just lent our Drupal expertise to help tidy things up for launch. The launch was flawless and Joint Concepts was a pleasure to work with.

Inner File Software, my company, dedicated to levelling the technological playing field for organizations working for justice, is pleased to announce the launch of the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence's new website. The website is powered by open source software from the operating system, Linux, to the content management system, Drupal, and everything in between. You can read the details of the project here.

Because domestic violence sucks ass, yo.

I am pleased to announce the launch of the Atlantic Southeast Airlines Campaign's website, because unions rock. Entire stack is open source software.

Great news: The DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence (DCCADV) just hired my company, Inner File Software, to rebuild dccadv.org using Drupal. I appreciate the work of DCCADV, and other organizations supporting survivors of domestic violence, and am honored to be able to work with them. The rebuild has two primary goals.

More resources for survivors and advocates

The DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence maintains a database of organizations that assist victims and survivors of domestic violence. This database is not just used by individuals seeking help; it is also a great resource for social workers and other advocates who need to provide targeted referrals for their clients. The database is phenomenal, and clearly represents the culmination of a lot of work, but has serious limitations: it runs on a proprietary software platform that requires a CD based installation and an internet connection. This, in my mind, is the worst of both worlds and, despite the requirement for an internet connection, new updates are only pushed out periodically. Information is currently entered into an Excel spreadsheet, which must be sent off to a third party every time the database gets updated. Thanks to the power of custom Drupal content types, those resources will soon be available over the web, in their most up to date form, to anyone with an internet connection. And thanks to the flexibility of Drupal's user roles, advocates of member organizations (it is, after all, a coalition against domestic violence) will be able to log in and view additional resources not available to the public due to security or other concerns.

Tools for staff to update the website

THE DCCADV does not currently have a content management system. The database is updated through Excel spreadsheets and the website is updated through Dreamweaver. The database is not available through the website and the staff only has limited ability to edit and create content through Dreamweaver. The staff has no control over the menus or structure of their website. With a Drupal install, and just a few contributed modules, DCCADV will have complete control over the content, menus, and paths that make up the site. Adding new sections, pages, or resources will be a breeze. The database will be seamlessly integrated into their website. All pages and blog posts will be editable using the intuitive CKE editor (formerly named FCK), which makes editing the website as easy as editing a Word document. The initial site will launch with an events calendar, a public and private resources library, web pages, a blog, and a contact form for each staff member. A significant step up from where they are now and it will all be powered by proven, free, open source software. Expect another notice here when the site launches.