Posted by Garrett Albright on March 7, 2011 at 2:57am
Surprised there's not already a thread about this, but… anyone else in Chicago for Drupalcon? Should we try to connect?
It turns out I'll be back in Japan as of next month. I'm ready to finally preach the gospel of Drupal in Japan!
Comments
I'm here, too...
Hi, Garrett. I got in to Chicago from Osaka yesterday and will be here the whole week. Would love to get together at some point during DrupalCon and talk about Drupal in Japan.
Man, wish I could be there,
Man, wish I could be there, plan to hit the UK one....look forward to seeing you in Japan.
I'd like to hit the London
I'd like to hit the London one too, if the logistics work out.
otasukeman: I'll be busy for most of the session times and such, but I may be able to meet after hours. Is there a particular time/place that'd work for you?
The Boise Drupal Guy!
I'm here
Hey guys, I'm here too. Let me know if you decide to meet up after the sessions or at the lunch break.
All: I've tentatively
All: I've tentatively scheduled a BoF for today (Wednesday) at 6:00 PM; check it out here. Will this time and place work for everyone? If not, let me know what would be a better time, and we can schedule a second meeting and/or completely reschedule.
The Boise Drupal Guy!
The BoF was a huge success!
The BoF was a huge success! Seven people came (including myself), and the discussion lasted well over two hours. That's four people and at least ninety minutes more than I was expecting.
Current adoption of Drupal in Japan was discussed, including adoption by government, education, and publishing organizations. The state of the online community was discussed, and the drama and disruption therein. Those familiar with it expressed concern that potential adopters of Drupal may be swayed away from it after encountering this online. The general consensus seemed to be that face-to-face community building by way of local user groups and booths and discussions at open source conferences have been and will continue to be extremely valuable in increasing Drupal awareness and participation in Japan, even more so than online communities which can be easily corrupted by drama.
But all in all, everyone seemed optimistic about Drupal's future in Japan, and we agreed that we should continue to have similar meet-ups at large Drupal events in the future. See you all in London (I hope)!
The Boise Drupal Guy!
Contest, Bof and Quakes
(I changed the subject due to the circumstances regarding earthquakes, tsunami and other disasters)
Hi Garrett,
Best wishes for winning the 1st price at the Module Writing Contest.
http://chicago2011.drupal.org/news/module-writing-contest-winners-announced
Thanks for reporting about the BoF (Birds of a Feather? Beginning of File? Boys over Flowers? ;)).
Hope to be able to contribute to a better promoting of Drupal as well as a better understanding of people in the future.
In case you are still in the States: As you might already know, we had big earthquakes in north-eastern Japan yesterday that seemed to have triggered further quakes in other parts of the country. Although I haven't heard anything serious from my friends living in Tokyo yet, using e-mails and SNSes like twitter and facebook would be a good idea to get a picture of current situation here in Japan.
I'm definitely keeping
I'm definitely keeping up-to-date on news about the situation. Seeing some of the videos and photos… It's really heartbreaking. But as far as I know, I'm still on to arrive in Japan next month… I haven't heard about anything being cancelled or postponed.
The Boise Drupal Guy!