Our time on this earth is limited and we have a commitment to leave it better than we found it. Practically, this means refusing to corroborate the agendas of organizations who, knowingly or not, act with blind disregard to the consequences of their actions on present and future generations. Moreover, it means devoting our collective energy towards causes that will impact the world in a positive way. Kalamuna works primarily with mission-driven organizations. The best way to live up to our values is to act upon them.

During our agency’s weekly video call, our developer in Romania, Emanuel, showed us images of massive protests in his city’s streets. On a Slack channel, someone else posted an image of Beavis and Butthead’s Beavis alongside Kellyanne Conway. These are just two of several occasions when I’ve thought, “Uh-oh. We’re talking politics. Someone’s going to get pissed and there’s going to be a fight.” So far that hasn’t happened.

We do a semi-institutional event called a “KalaSalon,” where a few of us talk about what’s on our minds, and how things relevant to “work” are relevant to “life,” and vice-versa. It’s part of our whole west coast we’re-holistic-let’s-see-what-works deal. During our last KalaSalon, I talked with Jr. Developer Katy Pool, Sr. Developer Rob Loach, and Sr. Interaction Designer Thiago de Mello Bueno. We ended up on the subject of “constraints,” and how they’re useful in all kinds of situations.

At Kalamuna we not only build Drupal websites, but we also provide support services for a plethora of clients. One of these is providing security updates; we pride ourselves on keeping our clients’ sites safe and free from vulnerabilities. But, I have to admit that when I hear of new security releases I cringe. I think about the tedious process of going through each site or trying to recall who has what modules installed on their site. But I just discovered an app that finds all of the new security updates for me: Evercurrent. Read on to see how it works.

We create sites for universities and mission driven orgs, but we still love to get in on the ground floor with exploratory ventures. It’s in this spirit that we’re excited to announce our work with a University of California at Berkeley (UCB)-related civic software project called AppCivist, which leverages expertise from senior design, UX and development team members Rob Loach and Thiago de Mello Bueno. The new app seeks to help citizens dig into local issues that affect them, and then propose and collaborate on solutions.

Every year I try to attend as many industry conferences as possible, but over the years I’ve become more selective about which ones I go to. I find them to be incredibly valuable and insightful, but they also cost money and take time, so I grade them pretty hard. This year I had the pleasure of attending several UX-focused conferences. Each was great in different ways, and I came away leaving inspired each time, and wanting to share some of the lessons I learned, so I wrote this blog post.

Mother Jones is a politically progressive American magazine reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. The magazine tapped Kalamuna to increase their social media presence by adopting the new Facebook Instant Articles standard, which delivers incredibly fast and immersive reading experiences for people on Facebook, making mobile browsing quick and easy. In fact, Facebook Instant Articles:

This year we were happy to have six team members offering sessions at the Bay Area Drupal Camp in Berkeley, California. From topics ranging from the business of running an agency to actually making the Internet, we had a ton to share. Click to see videos of all of our sessions.   How To Grow Support To Become A Cornerstone Of Your Business Katy Pool, Jr. Developer + John Ouellet, Sr. Developer and Support Manager As a web agency, how can you offer support to clients so they benefit and you make a profit?

This Friday, November 4, I’ll be playing XCOM 2 for 24 hours to raise money for Extra Life, a charity that benefits Hospitals in the Children's Miracle Network. My game of choice also happens to be a very sneaky way to secretly train up project managers, like some kind of modern day The Last Starfighter. So how can fighting aliens make you a better project manager?

I have been a Palliative Care Nurse for a few years now. I like my job; actually, I love my job. People often ask me how I can work in a field as emotional as Hospice, but it’s always been a blessing for me. Being with someone as they pass offers a sense of purpose. I have always equated it to being a reverse-midwife: instead of delivering babies, I am delivering souls.  There’s this one thing though: the poop. You know, the poop I find on my elbow at the end of my shift that didn’t come from me or one of my children, the poop that is on my shoes or scrubs that warrants just throwing my uniform away at the end of the day. And now Drupal. Why?