Greetings to our esteemed ‘Umbraco-sphere’...
I’m Emma, the Director of Developer Relations at Umbraco HQ, and I am super excited to welcome you to the inaugural edition of The Umbraco Community Quarterly – your quarterly reading for the latest happenings, exciting initiatives, and a celebration of the vibrant Umbraco community.
In each issue, we'll provide insights, spotlights, and opportunities - seamlessly connecting the business world with the thriving Umbraco ecosystem. Throughout the year, we'll highlight upcoming events, celebrate milestones, and introduce you to opportunities for engagement. Whether you're a seasoned community member, the owner of an Umbraco agency, or new to the Umbraco world - we have something for everyone.
Exciting times are ahead as we introduce 'The Commerce Team' to our revered Community Teams. This dedicated group, driven by a passion for Umbraco Commerce, is set to ensure that our product’s growth is guided, shaped, and enhanced by the very people who will be using it. Stay tuned for updates on their impactful projects and find opportunities to actively contribute to Umbraco Commerce's growth!
If you want to know more about each of the members, take a look at their introductions. Perhaps you’re wondering if their favourite commerce memes are the same as your favourite commerce memes? Rest assured, you’ll find out.
We are full of gratitude for our Community Teams who work hard to ensure that as a business, we are never far away from the people who work day to day with our product. To learn more about the wider Community Teams initiative, take a look here. We regularly open for applications and who knows, we might see you or your employees there sometime soon.
As we gear up for the new quarter, I’d like to remind you that MVP nominations close on March 1st, with applications wrapping up on the 29th. Being an MVP is not just an accolade: it's an opportunity to shape the Umbraco landscape and be recognized for your invaluable contributions.
Do you know anyone who you’d like to see rewarded for all their hard work? We can’t keep track of all the wonderful things our community does, especially as so much of it is the quiet kind of work that we can’t track. We’re counting on you to tell us who deserves the recognition - including nominating yourself - so that we can say a huge thanks. Tell us why and don’t be shy.
Earlier this month we hosted the annual Winter Keynote, an opportunity for you to hear what’s coming in the year ahead. and what we’d like to celebrate from the year just past. Myself, Javier, Filip. and Kim were hosted by our umbazing Head of Events Steffie who gave us a chance to answer questions sent in by you. It was a fantastic experience and one we look forward to each year, but it was particularly good to discuss our commitment to diversity and inclusion, and our plans for supporting neurodiversity were also front and centre, reflecting our dedication to creating an environment where everyone feels welcome and valued.
Additionally, we heard about the remarkable 40% growth on the top line and the strategic focus on sustainability, AI exploration, and prioritizing data privacy - all avenues we work on in alignment with the community. With such active engagement and strategic initiatives, we're looking forward to even more collaboration and growth in the year ahead.
This quarter, we want to celebrate 2023’s stunning Hacktoberfest event by highlighting one of our contributor stories. This year we welcomed 13 new contributors and saw 152 pull requests to our core repositories in October alone!
But instead of waxing lyrical about the numbers, we spoke to Lili Rossitor, an Analyst Developer at Method4 in Cardiff and first-time Hacktoberfest contributor. Lili was keen to tell us a little about her experience submitting during Hacktoberfest:
“This year was my first-time taking part in Hacktoberfest. It was a great experience and a welcomed opportunity for me to learn something new. I really appreciated the friendliness and enthusiasm of the Umbraco community and the ease of contributing thanks to the clear and concise contribution documentation.
As an Umbraco developer at Method4 and an open-source enthusiast, I was eager to contribute some of my time and effort to the Umbraco community for Hacktoberfest. The free swag is also a nice addition 😉
Lili Rossiter
Analyst Developer at Method4
Our calendar is full of exciting opportunities to go spend time with and learn from other Umbraco professionals, and experience the renowned friendly Umbraco community and atmosphere, local to you.
The next event to look forward to is Umbraco Spark on 8th March 2024 in Bristol, UK with tickets on sale now.
In other news, we are super excited to be welcoming you to our home town for the annual Codegarden festival this summer. While no two Codegardens are the same, we can promise you an experience like no other and an opportunity to learn more about your craft from incredible speakers from all over the world. Every year we choose from a plethora of exciting submissions and we would love to see submissions from you too. The Codegarden audience is the friendliest around, so take a look at our CFP here and let us know what you know (before Friday 2nd February).
Get ready to mark your calendars, because that’s not all! From Utrecht to Chicago, we’ve lined up an exciting array of festivals throughout the year, for the perfect blend of knowledge-sharing, networking, and fun. Watch this space for detailed schedules and how you can participate, but in the meantime, check out our Umbraco Event Calendar with all the events currently scheduled.
Let's take a moment to celebrate the success of our meetups. Meetups are the lifeblood of a thriving community and we are delighted to have seen 111 take place across 2023, all over the world. Both online and in-person, our meetups give us all the opportunity to meet and share knowledge and ideas, whatever our experience levels.
In the past 15 months, the community has thrived, with standout performances from Kerala, Bristol, and London. Kerala hosted 11 events with an impressive 252 attendees, while Bristol and London had 12 and 14 events, drawing 241 and 227 attendees, respectively. These numbers speak volumes about the passion and engagement within our community.
If you’re curious about where your local meetup might be, take a look at our Meetup.com page. If you’re already a fan and you’d like to help out our organisers by becoming a speaker or offering a venue to host, reach out here and let us know. Remember, supporting your developers to attend a local meetup gives them a great opportunity to learn from other experienced Umbraco developers, and gives you happier developers!
Finally, a heads up for our business partners: the Contributing Partner initiative recognizes Umbraco Platinum & Gold Partners actively contributing to the growth of the Umbraco open-source project and community. We love this initiative because partners with this badge showcase their commitment to improving Umbraco over the past two years through documentation, core contributions, tutorials, events, and more - highlighting their dedication to fostering the Umbraco ecosystem. By supporting your staff in participating, you not only foster a sense of community but also become eligible for a prestigious award.
Thank you for being an integral part of the Umbraco community. As we venture into this new quarterly communication, we look forward to building, celebrating, and growing together. Stay tuned for more exciting updates in the next edition of The Umbraco Community Quarterly.
What better way to start a new year than with a new team? A team dedicated to discussing commerce initiatives within Umbraco and guiding the evolution of Umbraco Commerce as a product. I’m delighted to introduce you to the all-new Commerce Community Team, and very excited about what this team can bring to our commerce and DXP strategy and products.