Drupal At The Hilton

We have begun our "Drupal at The Hilton" program for 2012.

The third session was held at Monsieur Truffe Quality Handmade Chocolate, East Brunswick, Victoria 3057 on Feb 9.

Q. What is DATH?

A. Drupal at the Hilton.

Q. What does that mean?

A. You are a developer, a site owner, a visionary, an entrepreneur, an innovator, a technical specialist, a software or human process engineer, a people manager, a connector, or something else you cannot quite define. In all that the common element is your interest or exposure or expertise with Drupal.

You are a beginner, or have been around the circle a few times, or you are a seasoned warrior.

You wish to be heard. You wish to contribute. You wish to throw your ideas up into the air and have somebody catch the most interesting ones. You wish to get a feel for which of the ideas are most viable, and how to begin proceeding towards the target. You love to sit around and discuss projects and who might be able to manage the details of them for you. Or you are a person who loves to manage details. You like resonance. You love to find folk doing the same as you but it does not matter, you also need people doing things differently.

Perhaps you have issues in your mind about how things work with Drupal. Perhaps you have tried to connect with the community and just cannot find the way in. Perhaps your organisation would love to contribute back to the community but you are floundering about how to actually achieve that. Perhaps you see the gold, and perhaps you see things that could change.

Perhaps you see things differently.

Perhaps you march to a different drummer.

Perhaps you are not someone who marches at all. You prefer to take time over a drink to explore possibilities.

Overall you love to be heard.

Drupal At The Hilton may be for you.

Or for one of your people.

Q. Have sessions begun?

A. Yes.

Q. Were they at the Hilton?

A. No.

Q. Then what has The Hilton got to do with it?

A. Poetic license. Focus on the feeling that 'The Hilton' engages with you rather than something literal. Negotiate, relax, speak and listen, be heard, discuss needs, somebody else takes care of the details. The waiter brings the drinks.

Q. Who was there?

A. At each of the three sessions so far The Drupal was there, I (John Saward) was there and another fellow was there.

Q. Why are the people not in the photo?

A. We think that Drupal at The Hilton sometimes will be confidential and sometimes more public. We did not discuss the privacy issue at the first sessions so we are leaning towards just showing the ambiance. Each session is different.

Q. What did you accomplish?

A. We shared our experiences and wishes and failings and successes about I.T and about Drupal in particular. We got to know each other more as people working in a common field. We began to see a possible pathway forward for us working together. We shared professional friendliness. There was little sense of limited time. Specific work opportunities were arranged.

Q. Will you do it again?

A. Yes. DATH is ongoing.

Q. That's all a bit fuzzy and confusing. Why not get more specific about it all now?

A. DATH is ongoing. It is about to unfold. Explaining something too fully before it unfolds defines and limits the way it will unfold. Right now we feel no necessity to constrain DATH in that way.

Q. OK, but wouldn't more people come along if it was explained more clearly, and at least some days and times and venues announced?

A. Possibly yes. But right now we are not counting the people upwards. We are interested in one or two people at a time. And that is happening.

Q. Well, all right then. I like the idea of Drupal At The Hilton even though I am not quite sure what it is about. How can I come along?

A. One way is to ring me to make an appointment. [John Saward in Melbourne on 03 5968 1541]. Or send an initial enquiry.

Q. Can it be at The Hilton?

A. Yes.