Downtown Los Angeles Drupal Meetup

The general Downtown Los Angeles Drupal meetup is on Tuesday, January 15, 2012 at Sensis Agency (http://www.sensisagency.com/) in Downtown Los Angeles. Those interested in attending this meetup remotely are welcome to join us via WebEx (http://groups.drupal.org/node/276448#join-online).

At this meetup, we're having our usual news and announcements, raffle prizes, lightning talks (which are short, bite-sized presentations) and featured presentations. In previous months, we've had presentations on Responsive Web Design by SDG&E, integrating Drupal and Redmine (a popular ticketing system), a behind-the-scenes look at BuildaModule.com, and a DrupalCamp planning meeting.

What topics would you like to see a presentations on at this meetup? Post in the comments below!

Drupal Happy Hour

Join us between 5:30-7pm for happy hour at Takami Sushi & Robata Restaurant (http://www.takamisushi.com/) (one floor above Sensis). Takami serves the highest quality Sushi, Robata and Japanese-influenced entrees and boasts unparalleled views of the LA area with outdoor patio dining. Happy hour at Takami is between 4-7pm and their phone number is 213-236-9600.

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

http://groups.drupal.org/files/sensislogo_2012-288x216_0.png (http://sensisagency.com/)Our venue and drinks sponsor is Sensis (http://sensisagency.com/) (@SensisAgency (https://twitter.com/sensisagency)), a cross-cultural advertising agency with digital at its core. We got our start building websites and have expanded into a full service advertising agency, helping our clients take advantage of the fundamental changes taking place in the marketing world.

http://groups.drupal.org/files/larks-90-82.png (http://www.larks.la/)Our parking, video conferencing and raffle prize sponsor for this event isExaltation of Larks (http://www.larks.la/), a Drupal strategy, consulting, development and training company with a team of Drupal experts in Los Angeles. We create fun websites, mobile apps, virtual worlds and e-commerce sites. Follow us at @LarksLA (https://twitter.com/LarksLA) to learn more about our Drupal services and upcoming trainings.

http://groups.drupal.org/files/dl_scale_logo2.png (http://droplabs.net/)This event is being organized with help from Droplabs (http://droplabs.net/) (@Droplabs (https://twitter.com/Droplabs)), a collaborative Drupal event and coworking space in Downtown Los Angeles. We're quickly gaining a reputation for being the only coworking space around with a with a low-cost business model (http://droplabs.net/about/services-and-prices): come work here and use our tables, chairs, WiFi and conference room with a low, daily or monthly membership fee and only pay more for the extras, such as 24/7 access, equipment rental and a locker for your belongings.

Drupal After Dark

Even if you can't make it to happy hour or the meetup, you're welcome to join us afterward for a Drupal After Dark. After we wrap up the meeting and clean up, a group of us will go to a nearby restaurant or pub. Stay tuned to the comments below for suggestions for a Drupal After Dark location.

Agenda

After happy hour at Takami, we'll start our meeting at Sensis at 7pm. Our meetups follow a basic format and start off with Drupal news and announcements, local job announcements, raffle prizes and full-length presentations.

As always, we'll also have community Q&A, during which time anyone in attendance can ask questions, divine answers from the crowd and give brief, 5-10 minute-long presentations known as lightning talks. We'll finish off the night with more networking and a Drupal After Dark (http://groups.drupal.org/la/glossary#drupalafterdark) at 9:00pm.

For any changes to our agenda (http://groups.drupal.org/node/276448#agenda) for the evening, stay tuned to this meetup announcement or click the Sign up (http://groups.drupal.org/node/276448#signup) button below (or both!) to be notified when the agenda has been updated.

5:30pm
Happy Hour at Takami (http://groups.drupal.org/node/276448#drupal-happy-hour)
Projector and Tables / Chairs Setup

6:55pm
Start of WebEx Meeting (http://groups.drupal.org/node/276448#join-online)

7:00pm
News and Upcoming Events, including:
• Drupal Travelers Program (http://groups.drupal.org/california/drupal-travelers-program)
• Drupal Job Fair (http://groups.drupal.org/node/275138)
• Drupal Coworking Friday
• Interesting events listed at http://groups.drupal.org/events
Breakout Sessions
Users Helping Users (continued)

8:00pm
Raffle Prizes!
Lightning Talks
Featured Presentations (http://groups.drupal.org/node/276448#featured-presentations)

9:00pm
Wrap-up, Clean-up and Close-up
Drupal After Dark and more networking (http://groups.drupal.org/node/276448#drupal-after-dark)

Join us on WebEx and Twitter!

The featured presentations at this meetup will be broadcasted via WebEx, courtesy of Exaltation of Larks (http://www.larks.la/). WebEx works in your browser, whether you use Linux, Windows or Mac OS X.

To join the meeting, use the following URL and password:

URL: https://meetings.webex.com/collabs/#/meetings/detail?uuid=I8OTLG7GFL2P8PNMGU7PIT3OFU-2J4J
password: uu828emk

You can also receive the meeting URL and password by email by clicking the Sign up (http://groups.drupal.org/node/276448#signup) button below (a Drupal.org account is required).

During the meetup, several of the event organizers will also be monitoring Twitter for feedback and questions that mention @DowntownDrupal (https://twitter.com/DowntownDrupal).

Breakout Sessions

We have several spaces available for breakout sessions. This is an open, multi-track format where we break into groups and discuss a variety of topics. Each breakout session is led by a volunteer who picks the topic, picks the space and can optionally report back to the larger group in the form of an announcement or lightning talk.

This is also an opportunity for Users Helping Users, which is a participant-driven format where members of the community give and receive help with whatever questions and problems they're having with Drupal.

Please note that while Users Helping Users is not designed to be a replacement for bona fide consulting from a Drupal professional that there are plenty of Drupal experts and professionals who attend our meetups and sometimes they need help, too!

Featured Presentations

At this meetup, we're having our usual news and announcements, raffle prizes, lightning talks (which are short, bite-sized presentations) and featured presentations. In previous months, we've had presentations on Responsive Web Design by SDG&E, integrating Drupal and Redmine (a popular ticketing system), a behind-the-scenes look at BuildaModule.com, and a DrupalCamp planning meeting.

What topics would you like to see a presentations on at this meetup? Post in the comments below!

Raffle prizes! Collect them all! Must be present to win!

Raffle prizes at this meetup have been provided by Exaltation of Larks (http://www.larks.la/). Our raffle prizes often include discount codes, magazines, DVDs, books, and free seats to professional Drupal trainings. We are always grateful to our sponsors for their continued support.

If you have any items you'd like to donate to the raffle, please contact any of the organizers at the meetup. Thank you!

Location and Directions

Sensis (http://sensisagency.com/)
811 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 2050
Los Angeles, CA 90017

Public Transportation

Our venue is 100 feet away from the 7th Street / Metro Red Line Center Station. For information about bus routes, see http://www.metro.net/riding_metro/bus_overview/images/802.pdf

7th Street / Metro Center Station
660 South Figueroa St.
Los Angeles, CA 90017

213-922-6000
http://www.metro.net (http://www.metro.net/)

Parking

Anyone who carpools and parks at United Valet Parking, Inc. (757 South Flower St.) will receive complimentary $5 parking courtesy of our parking sponsor, Exaltation of Larks (http://www.larks.la/).

United Valet Parking, Inc. (757 South Flower St.; 213-622-0137) Both parking locations are within a 3 minute walk of our venue and have a $5 evening rate if arriving after 4pm.

Street parking is $5 per hour from 8am-8pm Pacific. There are ample parking lots and garages in the immediate area. For additional parking locations, see http://en.parkopedia.com/parking/815_west_7th_street_los_angeles_ca_90017/

About Downtown Los Angeles Drupal

The Downtown Los Angeles Drupal group regularly meets in and around Downtown Los Angeles, California. We organize a large number of weekly and monthly events (http://groups.drupal.org/node/267768#downtown-los-angeles) on various Drupal topics, including the general Downtown Los Angeles Drupal meetup that has been meeting regularly each month since early 2010.

The Downtown area is the most active area for Drupal in the Greater Los Angeles Area and has seen hundreds of Drupal events, including job fairs, meetups and workshops, study group meetings, conferences about design and theming, paid trainings, FREE tutoring sessions from Drupal professionals and barn raisings to benefit non-profits and members of our community here in and around Downtown Los Angeles.

Attending Drupal events in and around Downtown Los Angeles is one of the best ways to meet and talk with other Drupaleros and we encourage you to attend as many meetings and special events as you'd like. Whether it's to find solutions to problems you've been having, sharing something you've learned or just meeting interesting like-minded people, the Downtown Los Angeles Drupal events are an essential resource for Drupal professionals and hobbyists alike.

If you aren't already a member of Downtown Los Angeles Drupal, it's easy to join our community (http://groups.drupal.org/og/subscribe/219129?destination=node%2F219129). Our community calendar is on our "Events" tab on our home page at http://groups.drupal.org/dtla

The Downtown Los Angeles Drupal group proudly participates in the California Drupal Travelers Program (http://groups.drupal.org/california/drupal-travelers-program) and can host businesses and community members who are visiting the area. Inquire within by contacting any of the Downtown Los Angeles Drupal organizers.