As most know, I am the organizer of the South Florida PHP Users Group and I am passionate about helping the PHP community grow in south Florida. Over my years as a developer I have noticed the decline of technology in this market, and specifically the PHP community. It was this that led me to organize a group dedicated to turning this trend around, and and grow the PHP community rather than continue to watch it decline.

He shares suggestions on a few different topics, spurred by a conversation at a recent meeting he attended:

• Having a litte-to-no distraction workplace
• Being open to telecommute/remote workers
• Avoiding the "sweat shop" mentality
• Advocating bringing in a fresh perspective (hiring an entry-level dev)
• Supporting company-provided training opportunities
• Respect them as professionals
• Not worrying as much about salary and more about the quality of the developerA

In this edition I talked with Geeky Boy, [Adam Culp @adamculp], who is The Leader and Organizer of The South Florida PHP User Group (aka @SunShinePHP will be held in Miami / Florida in feb 2013 and is promising a 'dedication to putting together the best Community led conference of the year'.

Adam answers questions about:

• How he got started with PHP
• His opinion of PHP now as compared to when he started with it
• Advice to up and coming PHP developers
• Resources/books he recommends
• His respect for Michelangelo van Dam and his work in the PHP community
• Advice to people wanting to get involved in the PHP community