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.

Fun, inclusive and informal: Joomla unconferences

June-Unconference

Ever heard of unconference events? Joomla has at least two: JoomlaCamp in Germany and Joostock in The Netherlands. David Jardin is one of the organizers of JoomlaCamp, JCM’s Anja de Crom is in the Joostock Team. They love to share with us what unconferences are all about and how Joomla can benefit from them.

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Meet the Joomla Marketing Team

June-MarketingTeam

Within the endless and powerful Joomlasphere, there is at least one team we all have an opinion about. Over the last few years, on countless occasions, I’ve seen social media postings stating that “marketing” should do this, that, or something else. Which was interesting, because for a large part of those few years, “marketing” didn’t really exist. But today the JCM proudly presents to you: the good people of the new and improved Joomla Marketing Team (and for everyone with an opinion about marketing: yes, you can join)!

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Being part of a global community: what does that mean for me?

May-Community

"Hey! There’s going to be a Joomla User Group right here in this neighborhood," my partner Hilda said. "The first meeting is next week. You are going to attend." No way was I going to attend. The whole idea of going there didn’t appeal to me at all. So I said: "Nah, I don’t know. This is for people who know much more about Joomla than I do. Not for me."

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The I’s in team and why you should make the most of them

May-Iinteam

Ever heard somebody say "there is no I in team"? It's a sports expression managers like to use to imply that the best way to achieve your goals is to set your individual needs aside and come together as a team to accomplish great things. That may all very well be true, but when you think about it, you'll find every successful team has a few I's in it. Ideally at least six. Are you in one of Joomla's teams? Then read further and find out if your team has all the I's dotted!

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Meet the Joomla User Groups Team

JUGTeam

Did you ever feel like you’re the only Joomla user in the village, and wish you could meet Joomlers in your neighborhood? You might join a Joomla User Group, and if there isn’t one where you live, create one. Joomla has people who can help you find, run or create a Joomla User Group. They’re called - you could have guessed it - the Joomla User Groups Team, and they’re here for you. This month the JCM has the pleasure to meet four of them!

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Meet the Joomla Documentation Team

March-JDocs

What do you do when you want to explore a functionality you didn’t know yet, or you want to know how a Joomla feature works, or you just want to know how to get something done? Most people will RTFM, or Read The Fine Manual, aka the Joomla Documentation. And guess what: Joomla’s Fine Manual doesn’t write itself, there are actual people doing this. We’ve talked to two of them. Read all about this nice team, their important job and how you can help or even join them!

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Meet the Joomla Bug Squad

February-JBS

Remember from the movie way back in the eighties: “If there's something weird, and it don't look good, who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!”? In Joomla we have our own ghostbusters. They’re called the Bug Squad, our own special forces, fixing weird things that don’t look good and other stuff that is broken. But who are these people? What do they do? And could you be one of them? Read and know!

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The JCM Team is looking for you!

February-JCMCall

The Joomla Community Magazine comes out each month with at least 10 - ideally more - articles on everything Joomla. Our magazine allows people to discover Joomla core’s features, read case studies, and get to know Joomlers, members of the leadership, extensions developers and template designers through interviews. We do this with a team that is very enthusiastic and dedicated, but a little too small. We would very much like you to join us - here's the vacancies we currently have!

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Meet the Joomla CMS Maintenance Team

January-MaintenanceTeam

So you are looking at the Joomla Volunteers Portal and browsing through the list of teams, and all of a sudden you see “CMS Maintenance Team”, and you might wonder: what is this team? What do they do? Who is in it? Are they happy with what they do? You are about to find out: meet the CMS Maintenance Team!

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Meet the CMS Release Team

December-CMSReleaseTeam

Last month, as the start of a new series, we introduced ourselves, the Joomla Community Magazine Team. This month we have the pleasure to get to know the CMS Release Team, the people who make sure every new release of Joomla goes as smoothly as possible. Pleased to meet you, CMS Release Team!

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