drupal

I hope you enjoyed this year’s Drupal Advent Calendar, and our whistle-stop tour of Starshot tracks. If you missed it, you can catch up here.

I want to touch on a couple of things that I missed during the regular calendar schedule.

The Drop Times

The Drop Times is a Drupal news site that covers everything happening across the Drupalverse. They do a superb job of covering DrupalCons and Drupal Camps around the world. Since the announcement of the Starshot initiative, they have been dutyfully covering all the news from the initiative, and they have been a valuable source of information when…

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We've reached the last day of the calendar, and it's time for Santa's visit! Santa has been visiting some famous places all month. With the Geocoder module, Leaflet, a Geofield, and an Address field, you can automatically put each address Santa has visited on the map!

You do need to configure a geocoder source. We're using OpenStreetmap, from the geocoder-php/nominatim-provider.

Welcome back for the final door of the 2024 Advent Calendar. We’ve already covered all 22 tracks of the Starshot initiative, as well as some non-track aspects. For our final door, we are looking at something that is absent from the initial release of Drupal CMS, but is hoped to come to fruition in 2025 and revolutionise website theming. Let me introduce Lauri Timmanee, who is here to tell us about Experience Builder.

What is Experience Builder?

At DrupalCon Lille 2023, Dries announced a new strategic initiative to build a Next Generation Page Builder. The goal of the initiative was to improve…

Tags

• Experience Builder
• Drupal Starshot

Today we are talking about Drupal Marketing, how it applies to Drupal CMS, and what a Drupal and Drupal CMS Marketing Future look like with guest Suzanne Dergacheva. We’ll also cover Drupal 11.1 as our module of the week.

For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/481

• Drupal marketing moves
• New brand
• Marketing people at the DA
• Goal of marketing
• How does this impact Drupal CMS
• Drupal CMS marketing
• How will you educate people about the differences between core and CMS
• Any challenges
• How do you like the new homepage
• Next steps to move the brand forward
• Case studies
• Why did you volunteer
• If someone wants to get involved how can they

• Brand Portal
• Drupal.org homepage
  • https://new.drupal.org/home
  • https://www.drupal.org/project/drupalorg/issues/3475832
• Case study guidelines
• Webinar with Suzanne and Rosie Gladden about Key Strategies for Expanding Drupal’s Reach
• Advent Calendar - Freelock.com - 24 days of Drupal automations

Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi Suzanne Dergacheva - evolvingweb.com pixelite

Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu

• Brief description:
  • Have you been wanting a version of Drupal with improvements to the recipes system, the ability to write hooks as classes, and an icon management API? The new Drupal 11.1 release has all of that and more.
• Module name/project name:
  • Drupal 11.1
• Brief history
  • How old: created on Dec 16 by catch of Tag1 and Third & Grove
• Module features and usage
  • We’ve talked a number times on this show about the recipes system, particularly because it’s at the heart of Drupal CMS. In Drupal 11.1 recipes can define whether or not to use strict comparison for provided configuration, and there are a ton of new config actions. These allow your recipe to place blocks, take user input, enable layout builder for content types, clone configuration entities and more. It’s a huge leap forward, and I think you’ll quickly see a number of recipes that require Drupal 11.1 or newer.
  • Hooks have long been a powerful Drupalism that allow for deep customization of how your website functions. These hooks can now be written as classes, thanks to the new Hook attribute on methods. This will bring many of the object-oriented benefits of modern Drupal to the hooks system, and should also make it easier for developers new to Drupal to understand the code to create these customizations.
  • A new Icon Management API allows themes and modules to define icon packs, with unique identifiers for each included icon.
  • Drupal 11.1 also includes PHP 8.4 support. I haven’t been able to find any data on speed improvements compared to PHP 8.3, but there are interesting new features like property hooks, asymmetric visibility, new functions for finding array items, and more
  • There are plans to use Workspaces for content moderation, so the UI for Workspaces is now in a separate module. For new site builds if you want your editors to be able to use Workspaces, you’ll need to remember to enable this new UI module as well
  • New installs of Drupal 11.1 will also see improvements to the initial experience. These include defaulting to admin-created user accounts only, not adding the body field by default when creating new content types, and more.
  • Drupal 11.1 also includes a new views entity reference filter, opt-in render caching for forms, and improved browser and CDN caching for Javascript and CSS, among a host of other improvements.
  • A number of these improvements will also find their way into the upcoming 10.4 release, ensuring, for example, that recipes built to use the new config actions can be used with Long-Term Support (LTS) versions of Drupal, that will be supported until the stable release of Drupal 12 in mid- to late-2026

This Christmas, I want to share a vision for the year ahead—one rooted in the principles of openness, collaboration, and empowerment. Just as the spirit of giving inspires acts of kindness, the open-source community, including Drupal, shows us how collective effort can create tools that serve everyone. At this pivotal moment in the evolution of artificial intelligence, I believe it’s our responsibility to ensure that AI becomes a force for good.

AI and the changing dynamics of influence

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how communication happens. Governments and corporations use AI to dominate narratives, leveraging its power for hybrid warfare, infodomwarfare, and highly targeted campaigns. These tools amplify their voices and shape public opinion at an unprecedented scale.

But while some benefit from this technological leap, countless others are left behind. Grassroots movements, small organizations, and individuals working for positive change often lack access to the same advanced tools. This disparity risks creating a digital landscape where only the most powerful can influence and persuade.

AI has the potential to level the playing field—but only if we act now to make it accessible to everyone, not just those with vast resources. The Drupal community has long championed the idea that technology should empower rather than exclude, and this belief continues to inspire our work.

AI as a tool for empowerment

AI offers powerful capabilities for creating, translating, and distributing content. But to truly empower communities, we must focus on making these tools both affordable and usable for all.

Here’s where AI can make the greatest impact:

• Empowering human rights advocates: AI tools can protect their causes, amplify their messages, and counter deceitful propaganda campaigns effectively.
• Breaking language barriers: Advanced localization features allow for accurate and culturally resonant translations, opening up global audiences.
• Countering misinformation: By identifying and responding to false narratives quickly, AI can help protect the credibility of those working for truth.
• Streamlining communication: Automation of repetitive tasks, such as content generation or scheduling, frees up time for more impactful work.

These applications make AI a practical and transformative tool, not just for large organizations, but for anyone looking to make a difference.

AI’s role: a realistic perspective

Let’s be clear: AI will continue to play a significant role in shaping narratives, both for good and ill. It will be used for propaganda, hybrid warfare, and to amplify echo chambers. We cannot completely control this reality.

However, we can ensure that AI is also a force for good—a tool that enables collaboration, fosters mutual understanding, and empowers those working for positive change. By giving more people access to these tools, we can shift the balance away from dominance and toward dialogue.

This isn’t about revolutionizing AI’s role overnight; it’s about giving more people the resources they need to participate in the conversation.

Looking ahead with optimism

AI is here to stay, and its impact will only grow. While challenges remain, the potential for AI to empower individuals and communities is enormous. By democratizing these tools, we can help bridge divides, amplify diverse voices, and foster a digital world that values collaboration over competition.

In this rapidly evolving landscape, the key to a fairer future is accessibility. With the right tools, anyone—whether a grassroots organizer, a small business, or a passionate advocate—can create, influence, and inspire. The Drupal community and the spirit of open-source collaboration remind us that technology can serve everyone, not just a privileged few.

As we celebrate this Christmas season, let’s also look forward to a new year filled with opportunity—where AI tools bring us closer together and empower us all to shape a brighter future. The work we are doing right now is shaping the world of tomorrow that is changing so rapidly.

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When you allow the general Internet to post comments, or any other kind of content, you're inviting spam and abuse. We see far more spam comments than anything relevant or useful -- but when there is something relevant or useful, we want to hear it!

With the AI module and the Events, Conditions, and Actions module, you can set up automatic comment moderation.

Like any use of AI, setting an appropriate prompt is crucial to getting a decent result. Here's the one we're trying out:

As 2024 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on an inspiring year for the Drupal community. This year marked the beginning of the transformative Starshot Initiative, setting an ambitious vision for the future of Drupal. Among the highlights was the highly anticipated release of Drupal 11, a milestone that brought enhanced capabilities, improved user experience, and reinforced Drupal’s position as a leading open-source content management system.  

This year wasn't only about technical achievements—it was a year of hope and collaboration too. The community has come together, embracing challenges with resilience and charting a path forward with optimism. Much like the spirit of Christmas, this year’s developments remind us of the joy in beginnings and the promise of what lies ahead.  

As we step into this festive season, let’s celebrate the milestones we’ve achieved and the community that made it all possible. Let’s also look forward to an even brighter future, one filled with innovation, inclusivity, and growth for Drupal. Here’s to a new year brimming with possibilities and the collective hope that Drupal continues to shine even brighter in 2025. Happy holidays!

DrupalCon Singapore 2024

• Breaking Barriers, Busting Bubbles, and Building the Future of Drupal in Singapore 
• An Enriching Experience to Carry Forward: Reflections from DrupalCon Asia

Discover Drupal

• Drupal 11 Gets its First Feature Release - Drupal 11.1.0
• QED42 Debuts AI-Powered Twig-to-SDC Module
• From Data to Impact: How a Decoupled Drupal & Gatsby Transformation Empowered IDMC’s Global Advocacy
• Drupal Needs to Innovate: Neurodiversity Might be the Answer
• New Video Explores Why Drupal is the Ideal Choice for Editors, Marketing, and HR
• New Greek Payment Modules for Drupal Commerce by E-Sepia Web Innovation

Events

• DrupalCamp Spain 2025 Set for Santiago de Compostela on September 18-20
• Shape the Future: Register and Submit Your Session for Drupal Dev Days 2025
• Drupal Costa Rica Meetup to Preview New Drupal CMS Before Official Launch
• Time is Running Out: Submit Your Session Proposal for MidCamp 2025!
• Acquia Engage Awards 2025: Submission Deadline Set for January 10
• Florida DrupalCamp 2025: Join the Dive Day Adventure
• Drupal Iberia 2025 to Take Place in Cáceres, Spain on April 4-5
• FOSDEM 2025: Session Schedule Released for Europe’s Premier Open Source Conference
• Final Call: FOSSASIA Summit 2025 Session Submission Closes on December 22
• Drupal Sapporo Meetup to Explore Integration with Open Source Applications on 26 December

Free Software

• Linux Foundation Aims to Bridge Gaps with a Dedicated India Entity

Organization News

• Vardot Leads the Way in Crafting Open-Source RFP Template
• 1xINTERNET Publishes Exclusive Interview with Drupal CMS Search Track Leads
• Pantheon and Sapio Research Release ‘The State of Enterprise Websites in Europe’ Report

To get timely updates, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. You can also join us on Drupal Slack at #thedroptimes.