DrupalCamp Atlanta Regains Momentum in 2024: An Attendee's Perspective

DrupalCamp Atlanta 2023 saw the lead organizer, Kaleem Clarkson, step down, and with that, the Atlanta Drupal community had lost its momentum. Earlier this year, EvolveDrupal Atlanta brought back some of that energy and life to it, yet as an agency-driven event it had a slightly different vibe and community feel to it.

I wish there were more of both, agency-driven events and community-driven events. Yet agency-driven ones are usually better sponsored and include a wider array of commitments from the leading agency setting the event but also from other consulting and hosting partners. Acquia and Pantheon were both there with developers and staff which is unheard of on any community event outside of a Drupalcon and maybe Govcon.

This year's camp was run by Drupal Partners, a division of INNOPPL, which made other community members and I a little concerned about its outcome, thinking about whether they would embrace the community or enforce their personal goals. I’m glad to say that, for most of the part, they embraced the community. Although the organizers occupied 40% per cent of the sessions for themselves, it added more value to the Atlanta community than their gains from hosting it. Hopefully, they or another agency can do the same next year.

Overall, the camp had 35 to 45 attendees. It was a good turnout, given that it was their first time holding the event, and not much effort was put into the advertisement. While there, I took a little time to meet those around me, and at least 10 of the attendees were HigherEd employees from universities such as Georgia Tech and the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, among others.

Three sessions caught my attention: one about the cost of Drupal, the second about Drupal and TailwindCSS, and their featured speaker session.

The featured speaker might not have worked in Drupal, but his topic highlighted the importance of insights over information and how certain memories can increase love and appreciation for a product or service.

The cost of Drupal was the topic of an interesting conversation about the balance that has to be achieved between having offshore consultants and the challenges that come with them, even if they are cheaper to hire than local talent.

Unfortunately, none of the sessions were recorded, as they did not have enough time to plan for them. This was the feedback I received after asking this year's organizers about it.

As the evening drew upon us, Kaleem, a long-time camp organizer, joined us to celebrate the camp and host an impromptu after-party. Almost everyone had left by then, and only five of us went for the afterparty. It’s unfortunate that everyone seemed to have forgotten the role afterparties play in the overall camp experience. Hopefully, we can get more community members to participate next time. 

Lastly, my thanks go to Drupal Partners for setting the event and providing a unique opportunity for the greater Atlanta community to come together for a day of learning and growth.