On 12/19/2010 6:05 PM, Robert Mark Wallace wrote:
I mean this constructively as it is easy for a speaker to overlook.
Especially if you are already working on an Open Office Presentation.
When I started student teaching, the teacher in the first classroom
that I visited said
"Never ever assume that s student knows anything."
So in your planning, answer the question:
"WHAT THE HELL IS DRUPAL AND WHY WOULDN'T I BE BETTER OFF WITH A
ROLODEX OR A STAPLER?"
This questions goes to the heart of who you are speaking to.
If your speaking to an end user, the question is what is drupal and why
would I want to pay 2-5 times as much for someone to setup a drupal site
for me rather than flat html.
The answer there is to demonstrate how on an /existing/ website the end
user is able to use the wysiwyg online editors to add their own content
and change pages without having to call a designer/programmer to update
html[I once did an entire presentation on Joomla! for 2 hours where I
didn't move past editing content, modifying menu's, etc.... That was
supposed to be a quick 5-10 minute overview but that was the primary
interest of the group I was presenting to, so that is where I stayed.
If your speaking to a coder, the question is what is drupal and why
would I use it rather than write my own PHP. And the answer there is to
show how Drupal gives you a framework to develop your own
mini-application without having to roll your own input sanitizers, user
authentication/acl, etc. It saves time especially on the boring stuff.
If your speaking to a consultant, the question is why use Drupal when it
is 10 times faster to code the flat html than it is to use the bloated
wysiwyg editors. And the answer to that one is, ironically, the same as
for the end user....it is because when your done, your client has the
ability to add content and make minor changes to the website
himself...so you cut down on support calls and short, 15 minute jobs and
instead get called for the more lucrative and complicated projects.
If your talking to command line geeks, then the question is why would I
use Drupal instead of more end user friendly CMS' like Wordpress and
Joomla!. And there Drupal really shines in that you have a complete
command line interface to most admin tasks on the website[Drush], as
well as installation of new apps doesn't require a GUI process, instead
it is pure SSH driven if you wish[wget the file, decompress it to the
target directory, enable it via drush].
[Mind you, I still prefer coding in Joomla! than Drupal....but both
systems have a strong set of benefits unique to the coders who prefer them.]
-Gary
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Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org
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Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium
Jan 5 - Building a Community Site with Drupal
Feb 2 - Zimbra
Mar 2 - MHVLUG 8th Anniversary - Show and Tell
