DrupalCampNYC 4 vs DrupalCon 2008

• tags:
• drupal
• DrupalCon2008
• barcamp
• unconferences
• DrupalCampNYC

Hooray, we’re about 2 weeks away from DrupalCampNYC 4 I sorta had a good time at DrupalCon 2008. If it weren’t for the overpriced convention center, marketing sermons slyly disguised as sessions, stale presentations that I’ve seen a few times now, and inflated attendant pricing, I would say it was awesome. I don’t think I’ll be attending another DrupalCon unless it’s an excuse to expense a trip to Europe.

Now, I have DrupalCampNYC to look forward to. A place exclusive of the dearth of marketing. A place where I can sit down with other developers , users, and ne’er do wells, share my experience and ideas, and learn from theirs. Best of all… It’s free… Free of costing you money, and free of marketing. So what does that mean…

1. everyone can attend including the folk working for underfunded causes, the brilliant students with great ideas, the total noobs. In other words the community, not just the Drupal professionals.
2. The sessions you want may not be right on, but they will be informative and informal allowing for more direct participant interaction with the presenters. I know this setting is better for my informational needs. You won’t have marketing centric sessions like adobe folks evangelizing flex, telling you how it does browser interaction(history + deep linking) without JS. (adobe just bundled the js in flex, js is still required, you aren’t free of it, you just get adobe’s sanctioned version of everyone else’s hacks.)
3. You won’t see a logo or brand on everything you look at… If you’re a New Yorker like me, you become sensitive to this bombardment at some point, and enjoy escaping it. Business still happens, but between the people involved in it.