I'd planned since last year, when I was more directly involved with ThinkDrop, to go to DrupalCon. But now that I'm running KnowProSE LLC, I've thought about it a bit more and decided I won't be going.
First, I've never been to a DrupalCon. Ever. But I've been working with Drupal, professionally, since 2003. The Drupal community - the core community - is about how many commits one has, what one has done within the community, etc. And that is completely the way it should be; there are some great people working on a lot of great things within the Drupal community. I've read the documentation and lack of it (something I'll be addressing through KnowProSE LLC, perhaps), I've worked on the code when dealing with clients and I've troubleshot things to get things working right... perhaps because when I asked questions, they were questions no one else thought worth answering. So what value is DrupalCon to me? I'm not going to sit through classes or listen to speakers talk about Drupal or the wider impact Drupal and other CMS's have. I'll be out in the corridor, as I usually am, talking with people about cool ideas. Everyone has those cool ideas. But most developers don't know what users want. So maybe I should go to where... the customers go? Ahh. Thought.
Second, KnowProSE LLC isn't a 'Drupal Shop', per se. Drupal is one tool of many tools; I've become more and more software agnostic over the last 22 years. Drupal isn't exactly a hammer and all problems aren't necessarily nails, but the metaphor fits for some. Not me, not KnowProSE LLC.
Last, but not least - despite DrupalCon being in Chicago, about 2 hours away by bus, it costs money that I'd rather have spent on necessities for the company and myself. The price for the DrupalCon is not bad - it's $400 right now, or $450 at the door, but it means spending $100-$200 per night for 3 nights on a hotel, incidentals, etc - and really, that's not in the budget for the startup of KnowProSE LLC.
Mind you, I'm not a naysayer about the whole thing. I think it's good for the core Drupal community, and I only brought this up because some people I've met or spoken with have heard me say I'm going. I'm not and the decision sits well with me.
For those of you going to DrupalCon, particularly the non-superstars - I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how things went if you decide to write about it.
Me? I think I'll be working on a few sites or finding a few sites to work on. :-)
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