With Joomla Day New England (see twitter #JDNE) now in the rear view mirror, I thought I would reflect a bit on the event and the value of networking and education for attendees. This is a commentary about Joomla Days in general, with some specific references about Joomla Day New England which was held Saturday June 5th, 2010 at Marlboro College, Marlboro, Vermont.
What Are Joomla! Days™?
According to the Joomla! Website, A Joomla Day is an event created exclusively for Joomla users and projects and usually draws a regional audience. Also, they may include sessions or tracks about various topics providing Joomla education, pre and post networking, bug squashing, Q&A, and food!
Who Attends Joomla Days?
Organizers – Speakers - AttendeesThe organizers are usually members of a Joomla user group (JUG) in the area. For JDNE, the Joomla User Group New England and Jen Kramer ran the show. Guest speakers are invited for the various sessions and many times those people are Joomla Community Team members, or from OSM (opensourcematters.org). Speakers may also be authors or staff from companies that provide Joomla services, extensions, templates, training etc. Attendees can consist of experienced Joomla developers, new Joomla developers, companies using Joomla, companies interested in Joomla and is usually a very diverse group.
What do You Get Out of It?
Most people are very busy and have a hard time adding things to their schedule. But if you are interested in learning more about Joomla and meeting many of the key community members and building relationships, then a "day" is a good investment. At the JDNE, there were three session times with four sessions each. So beginner, intermediate and advanced topics are covered. Also, there are large group sessions where all get together including questions and answer times. Most of the speakers include links to their presentations so if you are writing notes or tweeting during the presentation, you can get the original slides to review and share. My favorite session of the JDNE was Ken Crowder's talk on Joomla security. I learned so much. I believe that this session was essential to anyone who develops websites using Joomla.
Here is the link to Ken Crowder's Joomla Security presentation.
Just Do It!
So if you would like to further your Joomla knowledge, build relationships, learn from other developers, foster community, eat good food, and share your experiences with this amazing "thing" called Joomla, take time to attend a Joomla Day somewhere in the world near you. Even if you a business looking to hire a Joomla website development company, this would be a great event for you.
Click for information on all Joomla Days.
