A Bridge Too Far

The WP Minute - WordPress news

I wanted to take today off, to have a bit of a reset from the weekly grind (often chaos) of WordPress stuff.

Instead, I’m hoping I can reset expectations with you, my valued reader/listener/viewer of the WP Minute. We’re going into our 4th year of publishing content for the WordPress Professional. I quietly stopped publishing content at the Matt Report, my first “big” WordPress media brand, with a rebranding goal that was simple: Get my name out of it. The WP Minute was born.

One thread remained, which pulled on highlights of WordPress the software and WordPress the community.

It was important that I challenged myself creatively — can I make WordPress media a sustainable business? — and keep things fresh for the consumer. There are a lot of options for you to choose from. My peers at WP Tonic just covered a bunch of them.

So what makes the WP Minute different?

• The WP Minute 5 minute briefing (what you’re reading/listening to now) which covers a variety of topics including “WordPress in the news”, important trends in the market, opinion pieces from yours truly, and a collection of links that you might find interesting.
• Freelancer articles written twice a month by our Editor, Eric Karkovack.
• A membership, a space for WordPress professionals to gather and talk about the latest and greatest of WordPress.
• The WP Minute+ a longer form podcast where I interview other WordPress professionals. It’s what I did with the Matt Report for a decade.
• Our YouTube channel where we produce tutorials for WordPress beginners and share interesting parts of our beloved software.

It’s a well-rounded approach to publishing content for a variety of WordPress media consumers:

• 5 Minutes for the busy professional.
• Thought provoking blog & newsletter for freelancers.
• Long form discussions that inspire, educate, and entertain those that want more of WordPress.
• Video tutorials for WordPress newbies and end users just starting out with WordPress.

We’re less flashy; fewer listicles.

We aim to take a more professional, often opinionated approach, to supporting the blue collar digital workers of WordPress.

To criticize WordPress, to be critical of its direction in open source, but not cynical. To make this a resource I wish I had, when I had started my agency back in 2007. We want WordPress to thrive, and we hope that the leadership at Automattic/.org who have outlined that path for us, truly lead us in that direction.

Most of the problems we face as a community have been less about the software, and more about us interacting as humans. If the software is going to continue to thrive, we need to build relationships, improve communications, and build the infrastructure necessary to handle the hard parts — again, with us humans.

It’s easy to label the friction we see on Twitter/X or in Slack as WPDrama. But tossing the WPDrama hashtag on to the flames doesn’t put out the fire, often times it can 10x the size of it. Humans love drama. The issue is, the more we use that label, the more WordPress culture gets known for it. It can be a gut punch to those who feel struggle at the core of the issue, leaving them gasping for air. Then all parties who are overwhelmed by the drama, quit.

I know this because people quit my content because of it. Overwhelmed and overstimulated, even if we weren’t the outlet covering it.

I miss the WP Tavern because Sarah did a fantastic job covering tough times like these. I’ve decided to draw a line in the sand and only cover the topics that will hit home with the WordPress Professionals in volume.

I encourage you to care about WordPress, care about each other, and stay committed to keep WordPress thriving. Tune out, but don’t give up. Respect others, and give space when needed. Understand that some people face day to day challenges that you don’t, regardless of their position in the community, or the dollars in their bank account.

I think the future is bright for WordPress. We’ll continue to be challenged, both internally and externally for years to come. The chaos that helps shape us, is part of the process, wether we like it or not.

I just hope you’re with us when we cross that bridge — together.

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