Drupal: A Love Story
Julia Kulla-Mader
http://www.juliakm.com

How We Met

2006

Internship at DesignHammer

Yippee! My Own Project

Limited Budget

Not a lot of time

The Start of Something Beautiful

Trustworthy
• Security
• Customizable Permissions

Small, Modular and Useful
• Lightweight core code
• 4,000+ Modules

Lots of Smart, Helpful People
• 1,400+ at last Drupalcon
• Active support forms
• Used by major businesses &
nonprofits

I Love Drupal

The Rough Period

Hello Frankenstein
• There’s a module for that!
• CRM + E-Commerce = Pain

Hacking Core & Other Misadventures

Highly, Highly Customized Design = Pain

It’s Over Drupal!

Together Again

New Nonprofit Job: AASHE
• Hundreds of static files
• Complex permissions
• Desire for wiki, forum, award
submission tools

Limited Budget

Not a lot of time

I Miss Drupal

Trustworthy
• Security
• Customizable Permissions

Small, Modular and Useful
• Lightweight core code
• 4,000+ Modules

Lots of Smart, Helpful People
• 1,400+ at last Drupalcon
• Active support forms
• Used by major businesses &
nonprofits
• Acquia

I Love Drupal (Again)

Why It Will Work This Time

Drupal Is Not Always the Right Tool
“I want to collect widget numbers
via voicemail that then are transcribed
to text and posted to Twitter. After that
happens, my oven should turn on.”

Listen
• To client requirements
• To the Drupal community

The Future

The Future: Drupal “Next is to eliminate
the web developer and to
make online publishing even more
accessible. At Acquia, our goal is to
provide anyone who wants to build a
website the tools they need to build
the website they want. No
restrictions..”

The Future: You
1. Download Acquia Drupal
2. Buy “Using Drupal”
3. Join Triangle Drupal

Thank you for listening