SXSWi Drupalers, Unite!

Thanks for calling me a "guru," but it was just a matter of cutting out the Drupal Groups logo and pasting it onto the SXSW heads. Nothing fancy.

Todd Ross Nienkerk
Editor, That Other Paper | Co-founder, Four Kitchen Studios

First, SXSWi -- unlike many conferences -- has the broad focus that asks, "How can we best use technology to deliver information." It's not a single vendor pushing a product down your throat. Nor is it mostly a glorified shopping mall of vendors begging you to sign up for more information.

As a Drupaler, you'll be able to work with Austin's experienced set of themers, developers, and information systems experts. Our previous Drupal meetups have been great successes, and I expect our events surrounding SXSWi to be even better. Because we'll be going to the SXSWi sessions and meeting up for Drupal afterward, we will build the critical bridge from the great ideas discussed that way at SXSWi to implementation in Drupal. We may even churn a few modules out.

As a webmaster, you'll be exposed to broad integration strategies that far transcend the browser. Webpages have ceased to be one-way information tools that users only access from their desktops. Presenters at SXSWi will showcase integration with mobile devices, specialized appliances, and other tools I've probably never seen. Knowing how to extend your skills as a webmaster to more platforms improves your capability to serve your customers when and where they need information.

As a developer, you'll be meeting (largely through the Drupal team) experts in Apache, PHP, MySQL, and related web services. Some are experts in deployment, others in performance, still others in productivity. Whether you're looking for a good way to manage changes to your code or server thousands of concurrent users, we have people here who know the right ways.

As an e-government strategist, you'll be visiting the most tech-savvy state capital. We're constantly developing new approaches to everything surrounding the political system. Austin is the home of Hart Intercivic and a major e-government division of Accenture.

All considered, you'll get enormous benefit from attending the Drupal sessions we'll hold in the evenings. But I recommend attending the conference so you'll be on the same page with some of the ideas we're pushing around.