All of us at Trellon are getting excited for DrupalCamp Chicago in a couple of weeks. The presentations look really interesting: key technologies like Domain Access, CiviCRM, and Panels are all featured... and this Trellonaut in particular is looking forward to learning more about those incredibly powerful tools.

Trellon is a major sponsor for this DrupalCamp, and we'll be giving three sessions that you should really come see. To open the weekend, Chicago Drupal Meetup organizer Matthew Lechleider (a new Trellonaut!) will give a Drupal 101 session. This presentation is part orientation, part get-up-to-speed for the conference-goers who are relatively new to Drupal. This is one of the fastest-growing Content Management Systems in the world remember, so there are plenty of newcomers at every conference. It's important to us and the whole Drupal community that we help new users feel comfortable and get established, and for newcomers this presentation will be the kickoff for an intense couple of days of learning.

In the second round of sessions, Trellon CEO Michael Haggerty will walk people through CiviCRM, one of the most important integration modules for Drupal. For the uninitiated, CRM stands for Client Relationship Management, and it is a critical tool for modern businesses of every sort. Though the customer may deal with many different people within the organization, a well-oiled CRM makes sure that the left hand always knows what the right is doing. This can mean analyzing customer information, tracking interactions, targeting advertising, or any number of related activities. CiviCRM is the premier open source CRM solution, and one of their best selling points is their integration with Drupal. This doesn't mean it's easy though! Trellon has set up CiviCRM solutions for many organizations, and we consider Michael our own native expert on the subject. This presentation is a must see for any Drupal admins who want to serve organizations.

In the afternoon, yours truly will give the third Trellon presentation of the day: Everything I Need to Know about Site Building I Learned in my MBA. This session focuses on helping a client build a concrete image of what they want in a website, in terms of goals, functionality, look, and brand. Most customers begin the web building process with no idea of what they want the site to look like - a precious few have considered what they want it to do. This can create a dangerous sinkhole for time, effort, and money, and the only way out is to walk the client through the process of clarifying their ideas from the start. Knowing what the customer wants - and having them know it! - is a critical part of building a website that really blows their expectations out of the water.

The other reason we're all excited for DrupalCamp: Trellon party! We've booked a place for a DrupalCamp get-together, and there will be beer. Speaking of which, did I mention that the Midwest has some of the best microbrews in the country?

The moral of this blog post: get your butt to DrupalCamp Chicago! It'll be a great time, with some really cool sessions. We'll see you there!