Preparing to Make Connections at DrupalCon

Attending a conference with thousands of people from around the globe can be quite daunting. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with so many opportunities to network with people from around the world, but once you take the plunge, you’ll find that you have a great time building on your online relationships, advancing business opportunities, and becoming more involved in the community.

With attendees coming from all around the world, DrupalCon Barcelona is so full of chances to network that it can be hard to know where to begin. That’s why we’ve put together some tips to help everyone, from introvert to extrovert, to take advantage of the opportunities for connections at the Con.

As part of a small mini-series of networking tips, we will be providing you some helpful hints into how to get the most out of your time at DrupalCon Barcelona.

Preparing to network:

  • Determine your goals for networking at DrupalCon

    As soon as you’ve booked your ticket to Barcelona, set aside some time to think about what you’re trying to accomplish with networking at the Con. Are you looking to find a job? Do you want to meet people you normally only see on IRC? Are you interested in meeting your mentor?

    Your goals will help shape your DrupalCon plans: it can determine which sessions you pop into to and which social events you attend in the afternoon. By determining what you’re looking to accomplish, you’ll be better able to plan your day and set yourself up with a schedule to get it all done.

  • Research the people you want to meet

    You can easily see people who have already registered to attend DrupalCon Barcelona on the Community page. With so many people coming out to the event, there are great networking options for everyone That’s why we’ve made the decision to include titles on the page -- so you can more easily determine if someone might be a good connection for you.

    You can also search our attendee database by name or company if you’re interested in meeting a specific person. To make sure that you are searchable when other people are looking at who to reach out to too, make sure that your Drupal.org profile is updated with your name and Drupal.org handle, your most recent job title, and your current employer.

    Don’t forget to take some time to check over the sessions you’re looking to attend, and do a little research the presenters -- one of them may be a great connection for you. You can also see who is planning to lead a BoF and get to know who is interested in topics that you are when you browse the BoF pages on the DrupalCon website.

  • Reach out before the Con

    A great way to break the ice before you even get to the Con is to email, tweet, or ping the people you want to meet in Barcelona. Introduce yourself and let them know you’re looking forward to meeting them in Spain, and that you’d like to pick their brains, network, or talk about Drupal. This helps other people plan their schedules, too, as they’ll know to keep an eye out for you. Plus, having a little prior context for your first conversation makes those icebreakers easier.

Time is ticking and DrupalCon Barcelona will be here before we know it, so start doing your research and setting up your schedule. Between sessions, BoFs and the keynotes, make sure to leave yourself some networking time!

Flickr photos by Paul Johnson