Before I got my current job as Coordinator Communications & Digital, I ran my own company for 25 years. The first 15 years I was a writer / editor / journalist / writing coach. 

In 2009 I started working with Joomla, not knowing anything about webdesign. I joined a JUG in 2012, two months later I was co-organizer :) (and stayed co-organizer for about five years).

I loved working with Joomla so much that I started projects, just to be able to create a website for them. That's when I thought: hey, maybe it's time for a career switch. In 2014 I decided to go pro with Joomla and switch to webdesign instead of writing. 

Volunteer work

I already mentioned the JUG. After that I did a number of other things over the years:

  • Writer: I wrote articles about Joomla in a Dutch webdesigner magazine.
  • Speaker at JUGs and JoomlaDays.
  • Member of the Dutch JoomlaDagen team for three years.
  • Member of the team that organized all three editions of Joostock (a Joomlacamp/unconference event).
  • Editor of the Dutch Joomla web agency brochure, a brochure webdesigners can use to convince their potential clients that Joomla is the right choice for them.

In 2020 I've started contributing to the Joomla Community Magazine, first as an author, and since 2022 I'm Team Leader of the wonderful Joomla Community Magazine Team. 

Why I contribute to Joomla

To many people Joomla is just a tool. But if you look a little closer, you'll notice it's much more than that. It's a living system, raised and nourished by a community of volunteers dedicating their time to make it the best CMS ever. Without volunteers, Joomla wouldn't exist. It's not 'just a product'. Everyone who uses Joomla, can do so because someone, somewhere, contributed to it. I want to give back to the community that keeps Joomla alive.

And, probably needless to say: I love being part of that community. 

Contributing to Joomla by volunteering brought me so much: valuable experience, more knowledge and a better understanding of Joomla and its community, and the opportunity to work together with a crowd of lovely people all over the world.

The December Issue

The December Issue

The JCM Team is proud to present you the December Issue of the Joomla! Community Magazine, the last edition of 2024. 

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J2Store - Joomla Shopping Extension will be continued

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Haven’t migrated your Joomla 3 website(s) because it uses J2Store and you’re not sure what will happen? Dreading the moment that J2Store pulls the plug and you would need to have that uncomfortable client discussion about moving to a new ecommerce solution? Fear no longer: J2Store will be continued! Olivier Buisard and Adam Melcher are working on it as we speak, and new versions have been released already. Read all about The Fork, The Developers and The Plans!

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The October Issue

October

The JCM Team is proud to present you the October Issue of the Joomla! Community Magazine.

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The Joomla Academy: an opportunity for students to contribute to open source software

October-Joomla-Academy

Over the years, Joomla has participated a number of times in Google Summer of Code, an initiative that empowers students to learn a lot about software development by contributing to open source projects. GSoC has shown us more than once how valuable students can be for Joomla. So what would be more logical than creating our own breeding ground? JCM interviews Philip Walton, the man with the plan. Read all about the brand new Joomla Academy!

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How Joomla changed my life: 19 inspiring stories

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Wait - what? A content management system changing lives? Surely that can’t be a thing? Well, turns out it is. Like every other free and open source software, Joomla makes it possible for millions of people worldwide to change their life for the better. So: free, yes, but priceless in what it brings to us. JCM asked 19 people just one simple question: how did Joomla change your life? Read their inspiring stories!

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Never underestimate the power of assumptions

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I assume we all make assumptions ?, and often there’s no harm in this at all. But when it comes to written communication, which happens a lot in our community (think GitHub and Mattermost) things can easily go pear shaped when assumptions are made. Assumptions going rogue can lead to anger, sleepless nights, teams falling apart, volunteers rage quitting, work not being done and a ruined reputation (for the volunteer(s) involved and for Joomla). How does this happen, and how can we prevent it from happening?

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Joomla.social - come find us on Mastodon!

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You’ve probably heard of Mastodon, the open source alternative to X. Mastodon consists of thousands of independent servers, all together these servers form a social network Big Tech has nothing to do with. Open Source! That’s right up our alley, so of course Joomla has its own Mastodon server, joomla.social. JCM interviews Harald Leithner, who played a big part in making this happen. 

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Documentation: a great way to contribute to Joomla

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A wise person once said: “The quality of software is measured by the quality of its documentation”. OK I just made this up, but it could very well be said by a wise person, because it makes sense. Where does Joomla stand, documentation-wise? And how can you help Joomla to get the documentation it deserves? We asked Dieter Ziller, Team Leader of Joomla's Documentation Team.

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The July Issue

July

The JCM Team is proud to present you the July Issue of the Joomla! Community Magazine!

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New to the Joomla Community? Join a session to get settled in!

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Starting a new initiative is always an adventure: will people turn up? Will it be a success? Sigrid Gramlinger, Joomla's Production Department Coordinator, started the New to Joomla sessions a couple of months ago, to welcome new people and help them find their way in the Joomla Community. How is this going, and how can you join? Read all about it!

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