Sustainability and the Drupal AI Summit: Bursting the Bubble

Some time ago, I introduced the idea of the Drupal bubble. It’s similar to the concept of the Drupal island, but instead of encouraging us to think beyond our island and collaborate with other open source projects, the Drupal bubble refers to something different: a marketing reality where we are isolated inside our own circle. We all know each other, attend the same conferences, and talk to the same people, but all that knowledge tends to stay within the bubble. And so the news.

Does a tree that falls in a forest make any noise? Does a group of Drupal developers make any noise beyond their bubble when they talk about everything that is happening in Drupal?

The answer to the tree is... Probably… but the answer to the Drupal noise is, unfortunately and more bluntly, definitely not.

One clear example is one of the most significant moments in Drupal’s history: a historic rebranding, a major re-architecture, and a global gathering of over a thousand Drupalists, almost DrupalCon numbers… And yet, outside our community, almost no one noticed, just a couple of mentions beyond Drupal media.

At DrupalCon Vienna, I spoke with many people and shared these thoughts often. It’s not enough to simply leave our bubble; we need to burst it and set ourselves free. We have an amazing technology, powerful and reliable, that has not only survived for over 20 years but has also evolved and thrived. Drupal is a true example of innovation and community, the jewel of open source, if you ask me.

So how do we burst the bubble? First, by showing up outside of it. Web Summit Lisbon was a great first step, and I hope it’s just the beginning. The Drupal Association and some partners, including my employer Pantheon, are already working on plans and supporters to co-sponsor more activities like this. We need to go where conversations are happening, definitely outside of our usual circles where people discuss their problems.

Think about it. People don’t care about technology itself; they care about solving their problems. Let’s talk about AI, building amazing web experiences, and innovation. 

Let’s show how Drupal helps people solve real challenges instead of just saying how great Drupal is. But let´s find the places outside of Drupal where those conversions are happening.

Second, we need to think about monetization to sustain these efforts.I’ve introduced the idea to the Drupal Association Board of bringing certifications under the Association. Today, Acquia certifications exist, and while I deeply respect Acquia as my old home, where I built my career and made lifelong friends, the fact remains that...

...we need a Drupal-standard certification. One that sets clear, community-driven standards that all companies, Acquia, partners, and competitors alike, can recognize and support.

As a Partner Manager, I often need to recommend good Drupal agencies, but right now, there’s no universal standard for that. It’s hard to tell amazee.io, Platform.sh (now Upsun), or my own employer, Pantheon, to recommend an Acquia certification, as opposed to a Drupal Certification. Regardless of the reasons, there’s currently no certification that all players can confidently stand behind. And that’s a problem.

I’ll share more about this soon and expand on the post my friend Carlos Ospina wrote recently about certifications, and how they can help monetize and bring much-needed funding into our ecosystem. For now, these are the two directions I’d like us to focus on.

But I digress. As part of this idea of bursting the bubble, Paul Johnson is leading an exciting initiative — the Drupal AI Summit, a full talk track within API Days, part of the Future of Software Technologies (FOST) event in Paris.

For now, I’m thrilled to share that I’ll be speaking there about how Drupal has evolved from a content management system, to an early pioneer in no-code, to today’s most capable AI orchestration tool in the market.

And the best part? You can join us! We have free tickets (normally worth 300 euros). Want to come to Paris? Contact me to get your code.