Despite what you may have heard President Obama did not kill SOPA. SOPA & it’s sibling PIPA are still very much alive. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Put simply, it’s NOT about piracy, it’s about censoring content on the Internet. Despite what Hollywood, and other media moguls might tell you, their failing business practices shouldn’t be used as a sledgehammer on our greatest communications tool.

This isn’t doomsday pandering, or Y2K nonsense, this is the real deal. If YOU create content, then you want to stand against SOPA & PIPA. It’s not protecting content creators, it’s about padding bank accounts & corporate greed.

Google Petition Against SOPA

American Censorship Petition Against SOPA

Good morning my loyal readers.

I’m posting a quick announcement to let you know we’ve had some technical issues with the website for the past couple of weeks. While new episodes have been posted on YouTube, I haven’t posted new content here as we’ve been trying to fix things behind the scenes.

I’m working with my host provider, and as well as smart folks from the Livid Lobster crew to get things up & running ASAP.

Thanks for your patience & understanding.

Today kicks off the pre-con workshops for D2WC, and I joined Kevin Stohlmeyer for a quick interview with the local Kansas City NBC affiliate. Dallas/Fort Worth are you listening? Let’s get our creative community fired up!!!

As much as I enjoy being on the road, it will be great to get home to the family this weekend. Hope your day is rockin’!

Good morning everyone!

The conference season is upon us. Less than ten days away is the D2W Conference in Kansas City, MO scheduled July 14-16. This annual event has quickly become a sought after source of designer & developer workflow goodness. That being said, here are the Top Five Reasons to attend D2W:

1. InDesign to iPad, Portfolios in WordPress, Get to Know JQuery – we’re only in the PreCon people and there’s still more kickass sessions coming.
2. Photoshop workflow, Android apps in under 10 minutes, and I’m even giving a session on InDesign techniques.
3. Networking as a social experiment. See what happens when people actually interact in real time with beer.
4. Speakers. No, not the ones made by Marshall, the people who will be speaking at D2W. Some of the most entertaining creatives in our industry, e.g., Pariah Burke, Justin Seeley, Kevin Stohlmeyer, Rob Huddleston… and the infamous Tom Green.
5. You’ll learn something. Aside, from meeting great people, watching some AWESOME presentations, the purpose is to leave a little bit smarter than when you arrived. That will happen at D2W.

Dee Sadler was kind enough to extend a discount code for loyal Adobe enthusiasts. Use adobeComm when registering to get a discount off the conference passes.

Good morning everyone. Here’s a recap of this week’s shared content:

1. Ten More Things About Photoshop posted on TipSquirrel. Part of my Top Ten series, you can never have enough Photoshop tips.

2. Working with Nested Styles in InDesign posted on Layers Magazine. InDesign is definitely a “must know” app for designers, especially now in the era of ebooks & tablet computing.

3. Learning Digital Photography Podcast #59 posted on Canon Blogger. YES! It finally happened, I’m actually talking in real time LIVE with none other than Mr. Jason Anderson. I try to get serious, he makes me laugh, you won’t see any of it because it’s an audio podcast.

4. I’ve been helping Sonya Bowser with her children’s book “The Adventures of Zolie Z“. It’s been a fun project that I can share with my daughter.

5. I am VERY EXCITED to have written the featured Lightroom article in the June issue of Photoshop User magazine. I have to give credit to Mike Mackenzie whose editing expertise really makes my writing exemplary. It’s an honor to write for a magazine that I actually read each month and work with the outstanding folks at NAPP. Remember, as your NAPP Evangelist, you can use my name “ajwood” when you join NAPP to receive a free DVD & discount off your membership. NAPP has also been gracious enough to let me post a PDF of my article here are the website. Download A.J.’s Lightroom Article from PSU Magazine.

5. Changes to my YouTube channel. Starting next Monday, I’ll be posting videos three times a week on Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Tutorials will continue but future videos will include interviews, product/service reviews, and a few surprises for YOU my loyal viewers.

Well, that’s been my crazy week. Enjoy your weekend and I’ll catch you next week!

Afternoon everyone!

We’re beginning to hit the summer swing, and conference season is upon us. Next month July 14-16 is the annual Big(D)esign Conference. If you’ve never attended AND you’re a creative in Dallas/Fort Worth–WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!?!? I know, I can be a little too enthusiastic. Here are the Top Five reasons to attend BigD:

1. Pick a topic of interest: Mobile, Usability, Content Strategy, Career Development, Design, Gaming, Development. BigD’s schedule has you covered.
2. Ignite Dallas! Wait… you don’t know what that is? OMG! Come out and experience the fun of IQ points rising.
3. Networking as a social experiment. See what happens when people actually interact in real time.
4. Speakers. No, not the ones made by Bose, the people who will be speaking at BigD. Some of the best & brightest in our industry, e.g., Dave Curlee, Brian Sullivan, John P, Cali Lewis, will astound you with their brilliance.
5. You’ll learn something. Aside, from meeting great people, watching some AWESOME presentations, the purpose is to leave a little bit smarter than when you arrived. That will happen at BigD.

Brian Sullivan was kind enough to extend a discount code for loyal Adobe enthusiasts. Use adobe2011 when registering to get 25% off the conference passes.

Good morning all.

There have been some recent inquiries as to the status of the tutorials, tweets, and other such content I post online. I recently started posting new tutorial videos after a longer than expected hiatus. Such is life, always throwing a curve ball or two your way to make things interesting. As a content creator, I realize the need to be consistent, and reliable for the viewing public.

It was a mistake on my part to neglect this website/blog as one of my communication channels. I’ve been so focused on other social media outlets that I overlooked how empty the website appears from a GA (Google Analytics) perspective. Earlier this month, I wrote a post on Tiffinbox about creating a network of professionals to help grow your business. Essentially, why DIY when you can get some help?

Which brings us to today’s post, and my plans moving forward in 2011. Currently, I’m working on updating this website to make better use of the tutorial videos I release on YouTube. Speaking of videos, I’m still hoping to release a full Lightroom training series by the summer. Folks who enjoy my #852am & #Tip12pm tweets will be happy to know that I expect to start chatting everyone up again the first week of May. There are other items I have on the To Do list, and I’ll announce those in the upcoming months.

As always, I thank you for your patronage, and I look forward to being a part of your Internet consumption again in the weeks to come.

By now you’ve heard the news, Adobe released the Creative Suite 5.5 upgrade today. Yes, I said, “upgrade” as this is a paid release, not to be confused with an “update” typical of dot releases. While early buzz is a mixture of excitement and complaints, what people should focus on is Adobe’s commitment to staying current with industry trends. CS 5.5 addresses the needs of web developers and the importance of mobile technologies. The buzz is around HTML5, CSS3 & EPUB, making InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver and Adobe’s video production tools well worth a look. Another item worth noting is the subscription model for accessing the Creative Suite. This will be great for people who don’t want the upfront cost of Photoshop or the full Creative Suite. It will also work well for those that have short term projects or use temporary workers. Here are some videos from Adobe TV that demonstrate new features.

Overview of CS5.5 Design Premium

Overview of CS5.5 Production Premium

Today marks the first official episode of the Designer Roundtable Podcast. This project is the brainchild of Firgs, with some tomfoolery by Erik Bernskiold, a pinch of Landailyn for Photoshop Guru credibility & yours truly to make us an even number. (OK, the kids needed a chaperon–LOL) While the first few episodes are prerecorded, our hope is to eventually run a live interactive show. That means we need your input. Follow @DRTpodcast on Twitter or “like” the official DRTPodcast page on Facebook. (You can also subscribe via iTunes once the show is approved) After you’ve done that, send us your questions & feedback. That is what will make this a GREAT show.

Alrighty, I’ve rambled on enough this morning. Go checkout Episode 1 of the DRTpodcast.

If you aren’t a regular reader over at TipSquirrel.com this is a good week to start. Today Tipsy kicks off the Lightroom 3 series which will run the next two weeks. This is your opportunity to win great prizes, view tutorials, read the latest tips, and did I mention win prizes? As an added bonus this week you can get a massive 35% off Lightroom 3 books from our friends at Peachpit with the code “LR3week”