Last week was DrupalCon North America 2021. It was all virtual for the second year in a row due to COVID – using the platform Hopin. There were 283 submitted sessions which were narrowed down to 77 accepted sessions in 11 different tracks. One of the best parts of the week was seeing Taoti in the top 100 companies contributing to Drupal 9 during the Dries Notes. I have to say it was a proud Taotian moment for sure. In fact, our team has published several blogs about the Drupal 9 migration and its features.
This year was a bit different in that the sessions were every morning all days of the week with group contributions in the afternoon instead of full days of sessions and then full days of contributions. This was done to enhance the ability of attendees with work conflicts. I think it was a great choice, although responsibilities did impair my ability to participate in the contribution afternoons.
Taotians Presenting at DrupalCon 2021
This year, Taoti team members submitted two different sessions. Rolando Scott, our director of Drupal development, presented on Drupal (8+) configuration management. It was a very well-attended session with over 250 attendees and a very engaged audience. Scott Spector, director of accessibility & quality, teamed up with Kennedy Bahlow, business development associate & event produce, presented a session on using Drupal as a virtual events platform.
My Experience as a Seasoned Attendee at DrupalCon
The main challenge as an attendee was choosing which sessions to see live. All sessions were recorded but seeing sessions live and able to ask questions is better. Given that and my recent promotion to Drupal backend development manager, my personal choices were a tad different this year than previously. I primarily chose sessions that would help me support my team rather than expand my coding ability. Although I did fit in some interesting sessions there too, such as Drupal 10: Modernizing Core JavaScript and removing jQuery.
Front and Center at DrupalCon and Taoti: Diversity, Inclusion & Equality
My favorite session this year was on Thursday, Diverse teams are better teams: how to improve diverse hiring practices. Diversity, inclusion, and equality are a priority at Taoti. I also have been a member of the Drupal Diversity and Inclusion Initiative for a long time. But as a manager now, there is less theoretically and more, what should I do in certain situations.
The Fun Part Was Not Lost.
One bonus this year was I made time for Drupal Trivia, and my team came in 4th! All in all, it was a great DrupalCon, although I very much look forward to the days when we can go to hybrid DrupalCons with online and in-person participants, and I can see my friends and acquaintances and make new ones face to face.
What’s Next for Taoti’s Drupal Development Team?
As you may know by now, Taoti has an amazing team of Drupal developers with several years of experience. So, you can expect to see Taotians presenting and sharing their knowledge with the Drupal community at future Drupal events around the US. In the meantime, you can see all the Drupal-related blogs we have published. Also, contact us if you would like to work with us or need a team of Drupal experts to get your website to the next level.
