“You know, there is this thing called Drupal. It’s pretty awesome. Their non-profit association is based here in Portland. I think you should look into it.”

So I’ve started looking into it.

At that moment, I have been offered another job to be moving to Colorado, working in the snowboarding and skiing industry.

Then I’ve said to myself “I’ve done all the work. I’m going to take a year off just to do this”.

As I went through the interviews and the whole hiring process, I fell more and more in love with the idea of Drupal and open source. Open source it’s what really got me. It took me a while to wrap my head around it, as it is with many people out there. What can Drupal do as a CMS, and even further down the road...what separated it from other CMSes.

But I fell in love with the fact that there is a community behind a software, community in which not only companies can find the success, but even individuals.

The CMS in itself it’s fantastic. It’s really progressing the game as far as the CMSes can go and the topics nowadays make it going beyond being just a platform for building websites. Now, it’s a tool to achieve or to build ambitious digital experiences, as Dries likes to say.  

I’m proud and honored to be backed by all that, and indeed what got me was the idea of open source, how far the open source technology can go, and all the industries that seem to be following the same trend. Being part of it is nice.

Softescu: You’re right. It’s impressive, at least in our case, to have the possibility to see how this CMS grew from Drupal 6 to Drupal 7 and Drupal 8. And we have to say that it’s phenomenal, and the overall experience and the feedback it’s just amazing.

Tim: You’re right. It truly is. I’m not a developer by any sense of the word. Now, I’m honestly pretty avid in the industry, or more avid in what they do.

In time, I’ve been able to start building on Drupal and contributing to our websites such as drupal.org.

For me, from a very beginner level, to be able to build a website it’s great. To see some of the most prominent websites out there such as NASDAQ that recently adopted Drupal as their CMS, being built entirely with Drupal…that’s outstanding.

So, the fact that I can work for a tool that in associations such as NASDAQ, trusts, to see the way they are going with it...and then just to see the influential site that can be built with Drupal, it’s just impressive and it’s a reiteration of the fact that Drupal 8 it’s now! It’s now for everyone, and the sky it’s the limit. This is truly a proud moment as Drupal 8 is now for everyone!

Softescu: Your energy is contagious! Getting back on the track of DrupalCons. Softescu took part at quite a few DrupalCons, and we loved them all, from Austin to Dublin. How about you? What was your favorite DrupalCon?

Tim: Tricky question, because they’re all great.

There’s two of them I wasn’t able to attend, even though I was part of the production team...that’s Bogota and Asia.

To start with, DrupalCon Los Angeles was my first one, and I was blown away, and a bit overwhelmed. I enjoy the European conferences. Barcelona and Dublin were great fun just because for me it’s a chance to see the industry and the economic state in different parts of Europe.

The focus is quite different from European conferences and North American ones. So, to see this highly engaged community happening halfway across the globe, how they gather more to celebrate what they’ve done and they just take pride in their work. So I like the feel in DrupalCons Europe, even though all DrupalCons are great.

As I’ve mentioned, as I was going through school, I became more driven to work on the enterprise level, doing good and then the progression to business. To see the amount of reach and impact on the industry that is happening around Drupal that we can see for example at DrupalCon North America, it’s just quite impressive as well.

I’m not going to pick a favorite one. I think it’s amazing how unique every one of them is, not only the content and the programming sessions but the feel of it. I prefer going to the European ones just because they tend to be a bit more different and to meet people I don’t usually interact to on a daily basis.

Softescu: What about DrupalCon Asia? We were not able to attend it, but from what we’ve seen it was impressive so to say

Tim: I do want to mention that unfortunately, I didn’t go to the DrupalCon Asia, but that was probably one of the most exciting moments and experiences I’ve ever had while working to organize it.

Being part of the team producing this and the level of appreciation and satisfaction that the attendees and the companies that responded to the event….just the insane amount of positive feedback we’ve received during and after the event. It was one of the most exhausting with some crazy schedule, but one of the most satisfying.

I was hooked to my twitter feed, and I was going by carelessly, talking with my colleagues, Amanda and Rachel who were there. Getting to your previous question, I could point out...that was my favorite, even though I couldn’t attend.

Softescu: Speaking of DrupalCon Asia, I’ve remembered DC Australia and South Africa...what is the impact on the attendees of these locations outside the already consecrated Europe and North America?

Tim: First of all, usually we have three DrupalCons. That would be one North America, one Europe and one in developing countries. To get this straight, when we say developing countries we call them so in the realm of Drupal...the spread and the community from a particular region that develops around Drupal is the one that determines this aspect. We had one in Sydney Australia (2013), one in Bogota Colombia (2016) and the least but not the last Mumbai in 2016.

It would be nice to go back to these places one day to see the growth and how it all developed, but the world is a great place, so we got to go and explore almost everywhere.

Softescu: How about DC Baltimore. We know the next DrupalCon will be held in Baltimore and then in Vienna? Something to share, some juicy news and insights to be shared on this matter?

Tim: So, DrupalCon Baltimore is the next one, and it will happen in April 2017, then DrupalCon Vienna is the next...I think the thing that it’s going to be prevalent will be the people that will attend them.

Amanda, our program coordinator, she puts in everything that she can into the programming to make sure that everything is not only exciting but also ever-changing, relevant and appealing to a wide audience.

I would say that if you are attending, look at the new bits of programming that will be added. New tracks, new speakers, the diversity of content and the diversity of speakers, as well as, with this original content programming, the new faces that you’ll see there. With Drupal 8 appealing to more people and having more success in different domains of activity and industries, we’re hoping that it will bring in a new set of attendees.

My piece of advice: keep an eye on the programming once that’s launched. It’s going to be so diverse and interesting; you will find something for everyone.

Be ready to see some new faces and some real diversity within attendees and programs.

Now that you’ve mentioned that, I want to be sure that Rachel Friesen and Amanda Gonser get all the credit as they do amazing work. They put their blood, sweat, and tears into it so that everything works, and seriously they do such a good job.

Amanda handles all the program while Rachel handles everything else from the behind the scenes stuff. From everything you see at the DrupalCons, I do the easy part, sort of like a 3rd wheel of the DrupalCon, but they are the ones that should get all the love and the appreciation for their work.

Softescu: We’ve been talking about the European DrupalCon. Would you attend a DC in Romania...would you see a DrupalCon taking place in Romania?

Tim: Of course, I would attend it.

Regarding hosting, there’s a variety of factors that go into a DrupalCon. We are already planning for 2018 and even 2019, so as far the DrupalCon goes that’s up in the air.

I’ve been so impressed with the communities, not only in Romania but also in Bulgaria and Ukraine…Eastern Europe in general. How dedicated and how passionate people are. Drupal it’s a rather viable option for people to take and to be successful, to come with their own successful business, to come out from school and directly get a job at a company like Softescu and that is impressive.

I love the passion behind it; I love finding and talking to people that are wanting to build this community.