In the last few years, the DC Tech Community has undergone a number of changes.  One of the most dramatic has been how we've moved from completely disconnected handfuls of people here and there to a real community.  We have designers, developers, marketers, a handful of lawyers which - I firmly believe - we need to have some mix of to have a successful community.

But the group that is the nearest and dearest to my heart is the DCPHP Developers' Group.  It wasn't one of my first groups - only really been active for 3.5+ years - but it's the one where I've made a point to get involved and help grow the community.

Towards that goal... yesterday, in the dark of night (aka 3pm EDT), we launched the new DCPHP Developers' Community.

I'd like to publicly thank Brandon Savage, Joe LeBlanc, and future POTUS candidate Barry Austin for each contributing to this and making the whole thing happen.  Admittedly, the site is a little bare and it's a core Drupal theme, but don't worry, we're working on it.

Our goals are quite simple.  We want to be a resource for the DCPHP Community by:

• Provide an up to date list of the blogs of DCPHP community members.  While blogging is possible on the site, I suspect that our time is better spent letting DCPHP syndicate our content than having yet another site to write for.  We have some brilliant and gifted people lurking in the dark corners of the community, but few know they exist.  Think of it as Planet DCPHP.
• Provide an up to date list of DC local organizations that hire PHP'ers.  Whether times are tough or times are good, knowing which organizations are doing what will help us.  After all, you never know when the perfect position could pop up.
• Provide an overview of what is happening where and when.  This obviously includes the DCPHP Developers' Group but also includes the DC Tech Events calendar and the PHP Community Calendar.
• Provide a sample of important news and views from around the larger PHP community.  Being entirely subjective, this one will be the hardest by far.  At present, we're pulling specially tagged items from selected community members Delicious feeds, but a better solution is always welcome.

Of course, part of all of this will be to get a better UI for the site.  If you are a design and/or Drupal themer, please drop me a note.  Unfortunately, our budget on this is basically nothing other than lots of public thanks, credit, and attribution on the site.  We've also had a number of individuals offer to buy the person [tasty beverages] at one of the numerous events in the coming months.

There is no advertising policy set at this time. If it becomes relevant, it will be evaluated and resolved appropriately.