Drupal Downunder 2012 – Conference

Happy 11th Birthday Drupal

January this year saw me attend my first “technical” conferences, and after my experiences I can guarantee you that they will not be my last.  I’m not a hugely technical person in the sense I don’t program, but when I decided to launch my own business in July 2011, I also decided to build my own website.

The PHP based Drupal CMS came highly recommended, so that’s the platform I used.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the steep learning curve and challenges that Drupal has offered, so much so that I want to learn ALL THE THINGS!  When I heard this conference was taking place in Melbourne on the 14th – 15th January 2012 of course I had no other choice but to attend the Drupal Downunder Conference.

Drupalers do social at the Pre-Conferences Meet & Greet

Prior to the conference officially beginning there were a number of training seminars and free information sessions, but most importantly the “Drupal Meet & Greet” where delegates, speakers and volunteers all had an opportunity to network, introduce themselves, catch up with people they haven’t seen in a while and forge new connections.  Although I hid behind the registration desk for most of the Meet & Greet session helping with registrations, the friendly family like atmosphere was evident.  It appeared everyone enjoyed themselves, some delegates continuing their celebrations at a few of the local pubs!

The Drupal Downunder conference was officially kicked off by Keynote Speaker Dmitri Gaskin (youtube).  The now 16 year old Dmitri Gaskin gave the Drupal Delegates an inspirational speech on what it is like to “Grow up Drupal”.  Starting at 10 years of age and committing his first contribution / patch at 11 years of age, Dmitri had plenty to share on the Drupal Community and how to get active within it.

Dmitri coined a new phrase when describing the Drupal Community, it is not a meritocracy it’s a “Do-ocracy meaning that the doers are the people that get the most credit”.  A fabulously motivating and inspirational way to kick off the Conference, and it didn’t stop there.

This conference catered for the various skill levels of the Delegates and appealed to the interests of business, designers and coders alike, four main session tracks were provided which included “Code, Core & Contributing”, “Theming & Designing”, “Building Sites & Systems” and “The Business of Drupal”.

Dries Keynote at Drupal Downunder

Because I am very new to Drupal and I’m not a Programmer or a Systems Administrator I thought I’d be spending most of my time in the Theming & Designing and The Business of Drupal streams.  It was a true pleasure to be convinced by other delegates and speakers to attend some of the more technical sessions, the fact that I could do so and really benefit from those sessions is a testament to the speakers and the organisers.

Every session I attended opened my eyes to new possibilities and tools that I had no idea existed, as such I’m feeling inclined to completely rebuild my existing website.  I now know much more, and have the confidence and motivation to create something that better reflects my business, it’s personality and increase the overall WOW factor.

I had an incredible time at my first Geek conference, learning and meeting new people and I’m very much looking forward to Drupal Downunder 2013 which is to be held in Sydney.

A massive thanks go to the organisers of this years’ conference for a flawless job: Donna Benjamin, Peter Lieverdink, Brian Gilbert, Jane Trinh-Gilbert & the all the amazing Volunteers!