A few posts before this one [at the time of writing] is a post http://groups.drupal.org/node/71053 for "DrupalCamp Dallas at OpenCamp" which was originally posted by djhahn to the Dallas TX and Drupal Event Organization groups. I have adding the "Marketing of Drupal" group to the post because I would like to start a conversation about how we can effectively take advantage of OpenCamp as there will be a LOT of non Drupal attendees at the gig. Yes, some of them will be steeped into their other preferred CMS, but many will be there fishing for solutions to their web content issues. For that matter those with a preference are quite open to making a switch.
Dries and I and a hand full of other Drupalers just spent 3 days in Evanston IL at the www.CMSExpo.net where more than 5 CMS platforms where showcased and 4 of them had their own tracks. We saw 1st hand the power of Drupal to inspire and motivate people to choose a platform that is awesome and comes with an even more awesome community.
After Dries' keynote address the crowd was stunned. The organizer and MC of the event is a hard core Joomla guy and I got to tell you... As he took the stage after Dries keynote, he was quite choked up and deeply effected by the keynote. He stumbled through some utterings to the effect of "wow.. That was amazing.. etc." We saw many people GET IT and understand why Drupal has the incredible momentum that it does.
As an unstoppable evangelist for Drupal I have a rather aggressive pursuit where I want to take advantage of opportunities like OpenCamp. We love to wave our flag in San Francisco, Paris, DC, etc. But I'm wondering what kind of a presence we can muster up in Addison TX in August 27-29?
I will be there speaking at the OpenCamp portion and i'm in talks with David to participate with the DrupalCamp that runs parallel with of the OpenCamp. One factor that may preclude some from joining us is that these dates for OpenCamp are right up against the dates for DrupalCon CPH which is August 23-27.
The way I look at it is... If you're NOT going to CPH then why not come on down and enjoy OpenCamp.
If you look at the the OpenCamp sponsorship page at http://openca.mp/sponsors/ you will see that currently there are no Drupal shops or Drupal related companies listed. I'm sure that will change as we draw closer to the event.
What I would really like to know is:
Who would want to get a booth here and just PLUG DRUPAL with it? I have done GROUP booths before. I did one in Ohio last year when I spoke at the Ohio Linux Fest. One guy graciously bought the booth and we got a banner and manned it for two days. None of us got any work out of it but we did spread the Drupal love. At times we had such a large crowd asking us questions that we couldn't see or hear each other. I'm not kidding here. People were HUNGRY! :-)
To repeat the question... Who's on board for a Show-of-Force in TX? If we get much response on this then I'll spin us off into a GDO WiKi and perhaps some google-docs if need be.
I look forward to hearing from my fellow evangelists! :-)
Thank you!
- Doug Vann
- http://dougvann.com
- http://twitter.com/dougvann
Comments
Any one interested in helping out with this booth?
I'm just bumping this thread up a bit and making a final plea for any one who wants to join the efforts.
I've sent an inquiry to sarah_p asking if her OSCON booth material is available for http://openca.mp
I'm bringing the banner that I often travel with.
I still see no Drupal development shops listed as sponsors of the event, but NEOSPIRE is there. They offer managed Drupal hosting.
I understand that the Drupal Association just recently decided not to pursue purchasing a booth for use at events such as these. [I wouldn't mind hearing more about that one??]
So.....
We now have 3.5 weeks to do something for OpenCamp. It may be minimal and it may be all on me at this point and that is very sad indeed.
In moving forward I want to know what we as a community are going to do [not Acquia, not the DA] to make absolute sure that we capitalize on events like Open Camp where we can really shine. And to clarify, I'm ALL for having Acquia and the DA involved. My experience has been that its best to get out and DO things then invite them along as soon as the effort is well under way.
I'm looking very forward to learning more about what sarah_p and the team accomplished with the OSCON booth.
See these links for more on the OSCON booth success!
* The GDO post : http://groups.drupal.org/node/74173
* The booth planning site : here http://drupalbooth.drupalgardens.com
* The booth sponsors list : http://drupapalbooth.drupalgardens.com/sponsors.
Interest, yes...Funds, no.
Hey Doug, valiant effort as usual. And sad to see such lack of interest here, and support from above. I share your curiosity as to why DA would pass on this.
I would love to help but have absolutely no way to justify (hell, I can justify but simply don't have) the funds needed to travel and stay in Texas to volunteer for the booth. If you (we) can swing something like that from a sponsor, I'd man the booth. I am by no means an expert, but I've been active in my local Drupal community (Chicago and Fox Valley) and doing it with Drupal for about 2 years now.
I build websites, push pixels, move type, make media, plan camps, tap mana, roll for initiative, eat like a boss, chase food trucks and like an #eggoneverything. Sponsor my travel and I will record and post your camp sessions!
Volacci is in TX
Volacci is in Texas. I'd ping them to see if any of their staff can help promote Drupal, well, whoever is not drained from CPH.
Chris Charlton, Author & Drupal Community Leader, Enterprise Level Consultant
I teach you how to build Drupal Themes http://tinyurl.com/theme-drupal and provide add-on software at http://xtnd.us