My thoughts on Drupal, Drupal Nigeria Group, Adoption rate and Giving back

Hello all,

i have missed two of the drupal camp events held in lagos now, and i wish it were not so.
First of all , kudos to group organizers that try to do their part to scratch this itch.

First , Let me introduce myself

I am charles Ihekwoaba by name and i build websites using drupal. i am partial or biased in this regard, and the reasons are beyond the scope of this discussion. I have been pleased with the outcome of my efforts (in learning drupal) and i think the same may be said for all of us here in this group.

To the matter

Here are some suggestions that i think we should adopt, to increase committment, awarenenss and consequently our well being as drupal developers or just web designers who prefer drupal.

Drupal Association

Now i know we love the free stuff, but i feel all of us for starters should be able to give back at least $15 a year to the association. Why? well, i really loved drupal 5, then drupal 6, and it took me a long time to start developing with drupal 7, but when i did, i noticed a whole lot of changes that made my life so much easier, eg the "show weights" that is visible in blocks and fields. This makes it so easy to reorder items when you are using a mobile browser / device where you cannot click and drag like you can using a mouse or a laptop..... So what am i saying? people have put in a lot of time, effort and money to develop this software we now use happily, and i believe we should move towards becoming registered drupal association members and giving a little cash back.

Camps and meetups

i mentioned that i missed the previous two camps in lagos and that is not something i am proud of, but there are a few factors that make it difficult to change.

1. Location: - The camps organised so far have been in Lagos state. Any plans to rotate this ? or should i consider this a drupal Lagos group? just kidding , but yes the question is legitimate.

2. Accommodation : - Now if i should transport myself to a location in lagos, and attend one of these meetups, am i also required to lodge myself in a hotel? etc etc.. This question no doubt will be an important deciding factor for many people. can we make arrangements for those tat will be coming from other states?

3. Remote access: - Definitely, due to time and some other constraints , some people will not be able to make it, we should plan on either streaming the events , or making it possible to be present in webcam or some sort of online conference.

4. Benefits:- Now much as the group is a not for profit group .... story story... the fact remains that we are selfish in nature and will always try to weigh the benefits of attending one of these events. Will i learn more? Will i have access to more Jobs or more opportunities? will i be able to make any meaningful contributions, gain any respect? ... the list goes on. Whatever we do, we should address these concerns to a large extent so as to make it appealing for people who think like us, both newbies and seasoned developers alike.

Now No 4 above is very important, because if addressed appropriately, can attract more interested beginners who can be trained, or mentored. training does not necessarily have to be free. let us consider a situation where i have about 23 jobs to deliver within the space of a month +- ten days. I would benefit from having a lot more capable hands on the job and paying them, than trying to accomplish a miracle on my own.

Having said all this, i am also planning an event that will bring together a lot of drupal developers (from newbies - advanced) and do some co-working for the duration of one week. Accomodation and feeding should be provided, and everyone should be paid for their contributions. (handsomely). This event should

1. bridge the communication gap between drupal developers in nigeria
2. Help us bond some more
3. Increase the awareness and adoption of drupal and hopefully help us court some bigger clients locally.
4. Give us an exiting and refreshing working experience that will put some money in our pockets for our time.

All those that will like to see this happen over the next two months, give your word and support, and i will expand on the details, while i draft up different tasks we can perform to make this a success.

On the table should be around N2,500,000.00 which will be our reward, and will be distributed to all partakers according to the number and types of tasks they accomplish.

Not bad for a week's work if you ask me, and will also help push the drupal nigeria group forward in a direction that is sustainable.

whew! thats a long post there... i hope to hear positive feedback from all.