Community Magazine

April’s “nauty” theme for this article evokes maritime images of past issues that helped chart the course for the Joomla! Community Magazine from her maiden voyage to the present day. In-between the lighthouse and the ship is a deep blue sea with a life of its own...

When the Joomla Community Magazine launched in July 2010, the Editor's introduction for that first issue included a metaphor for the new JCM and team, which was that of ship built by a crew who longed for the sea. Now, twenty one months later, I am stepping aside from the JCM to better focus on my new role as President of Open Source Matters. I want to share some closing thoughts about the JCM and team, along with a new metaphor for what I think they represent for our project and our community.

One of the things I like best is looking ahead to a goal, and knowing that the skills and tools needed to meet it are available. I may not know exactly how the process will unfold — in fact it's better when I don't. That is the essence of the best kind of creative challenge. Satisfaction comes when the goal is achieved, and the different facets of the solution can be savored. Countless times my experience with Joomla! has provided exactly this kind of opportunity…

Our project has certainly been in the spotlight recently! On November 7, Packt announced Joomla won the 2011 award for Best Open Source CMS. This is the third time since 2006 that Joomla has won this award. Then on November 27, Water and Stone published their 2011 Open Source CMS Market Share Report. Some parts of this report weren't exactly positive when mentioning Joomla. Here are some thoughts about these two recent items.

Every new year heralds a new beginning, and a moment to remember the accomplishments of the past year. In 2011, we had a number of milestones for Joomla! and the Joomla Community Magazine.

Yesterday I took out the garbage and came back inside carrying this beautiful sign of the changing seasons. It got me thinking about the many chapters of the Joomla story, and how it's always something new...

Joomla! has had a lot on tap the last few months, especially in the way of Joomla!Day events! If you haven't been to one yet, you are missing out on all the fun. It's a great way to meet new folks and learn some new tricks. 

I write this from San Jose following the third and closing day of the Joomla! Leadership Summit. This has been an incredible few days, not only for meeting fellow leadership team members, but also for discussing and making concrete plans for pushing the project forward.

In the field of astronomy, when two or more celestial bodies appear close to each other, that event is called a conjunction. Astronomical conjunctions are beautiful and rare occurances in our night sky that don't last for very long. Right now a rare and relatively short-lived convergence of important milestones and activities are all taking place for our project. Right now is our Joomla! conjunction.

This version of the Joomla! Community Magazine was launched on July 1st of 2010, and so the release of this issue officially marks your JCM's first birthday!