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The WP Minute brings you news about WordPress in under 5 minutes -- every week! Follow The WP Minute for the WordPress headlines before you get lost in the headlines. Hosted by Matt Medeiros, host of The Matt Report podcast.
We're press media Corp.
You might even chuckle
when you hear the phrase.
This experimental initiative
is a team that replaced the
WordPress marketing team.
Not commercial WordPress, mind you, but
the open source.org side of the house.
If you've been following me for any amount
of time, you don't need me to spell out
how important this initiative could be.
A chance to legitimize the work.
Only a handful of people across the entire
globe have dedicated their professional
careers towards myself, included.
Before we dive deeper into what
the media Corp could accomplish.
Let's take a look at
the outgoing struggles.
With the marketing team.
How could a volunteer led marketing
team accomplish the fundamental
responsibilities of marketing with no
access to website traffic data survey
results, or have a stake in the product?
That's right.
It's nearly impossible.
I know some of the people that were
leading the charge with that effort and
led it with great care in intention.
But they were handcuffed.
Let's face it open source.
WordPress doesn't function like a
commercial product because it isn't,
which is why it has succeeded.
Marketing has to come organically
with no budget or access.
You're basically building out
tasks for a team to accomplish.
Take the box, keep moving, but don't, you
dare critically think about how you can
impact the brand sentiment of WordPress.
In my previous post, who was responsible
for WordPress marketing are reported
on the media Corps initiative stating
that I'd reserve my opinion until
I saw the process mature a bit more
consider the rest of this, my reaction
as the dust settles on the media
cores contributor kickoff call.
Our north star that I've been following
is how do we keep WordPress thriving?
This was a call to action.
Put out by Joseph A.
Hayden jumbo, C executive director of
WordPress in the state of the word 2023.
It's recognized that in order for
WordPress to escape a growth plateau,
that the community needs to go
beyond code quality and features.
Humans need to recognize WordPress
cores worth importance and
benefits for the greater open web.
Simply put.
People need to recommend WordPress more.
If you can't do it with a volunteer
marketing team, forge a bond with
the people that have been the biggest
cheerleaders for WordPress WordPress
media, but this is open source.
WordPress, why do we need an
official team to wrangle the media?
What even is WordPress media?
I've been covering WordPress
for well over 10 years.
And whenever I needed anything, I
reached out to the person and asked
if.org was releasing something new.
I read about it, decided if it was
newsworthy for my audience and then
reported on it or shared my opinion.
Yes.
Something like the WordPress media
Corp helps galvanize the work I've
been doing here at the WP minute in
my previous podcast, Matt report, but
the approach has been opaque at best.
Starting with the initial
WordPress media kickoff call.
Based on the call to action to comment.
If you want to be involved from the
initial roadmap post, I was under
the impression that the kickoff
call was going to include media
folk and the contributing team.
I wasn't alone on that assumption.
Either check out the comments.
The kickoff call commenced and a
private call with a contributing team.
And Bob Dunn, founder of do the
Wu who somehow found himself
with the media liaison title
record scratches.
Where did that come from?
Was it voted on?
Did WordPress media folks
put Bob's name in a hat?
Before we go further.
I have nothing against Bob.
Everyone loves Bob.
He oversees some solid content
that helps WordPress thrive.
That said this was the media course
for a shot at launching a meeting and
through transparency out of the window.
We'll get to the media Corp media
partnership requirements in a minute.
So just hold that thought.
But there's another issue at hand
that I've talked about ad nauseum.
WordPress media is tiny, impossible
to turn into a sustainable business.
And largely depends on in kind
sponsorships that genuinely see value
in this type of content existing.
one only needs to look at the lack of
effort to turn around the WP Tavern, to
see the proverbial proof in the pudding.
That's if you define WordPress
media, like we do at the WP minute
versus what WP beginner would
publish nothing wrong with that.
It's just two different paths.
Remember the media Corp team
still hasn't released how they
will definitively define this.
more on that later, I do this
work because I love WordPress.
And because I think people should be
informed on certain topics on the most
widely used web publishing software.
Do the Wuhan, the WB minute, both jockey
for those in-kind sponsors to keep
us afloat, to help pay our writers,
production teams and other overhead
to be included in the media Corp.
Kickoff call is the equivalent to the.
The theme team, holding a private
meeting to change how themes get
included and only inviting Sujay power
from Astro themes on the zoom call.
But that's just my opinion, which
is also my self-imposed job to
analyze these community events.
It's what I do.
I'll reiterate nothing against Bob
it's just media business brand and
trust are really the only things
we have and it goes both ways.
This isn't the only time I've seen
favoritism play out in WordPress media.
I recall my team being rejected as media
partners for word camp Europe, 2023.
While I sat back and saw some
other brands, have their logos
added to the website with barely
a peep out of them on social media
or blog posts covering the event.
WordPress media is a perfect storm.
There's only 10,000 English speaking
people in the world that actually
care about this type of content.
Eight people in the world, myself included
who actually care about covering it.
And so few people that know about
the brands like WP minute and
repository who tirelessly cover it.
I miss Sarah Gooding.
There's only a handful of WP media types.
As I see it, independent WordPress
news sites, paper of record, WP Tavern.
General WordPress tutorial, information,
blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels.
People that do it for funsies and
people that do it because their company
tells them to blog about WordPress.
Which brings me to the current
media core requirements.
On how they're evaluating us.
I have a focus on producing content
that is 80% about WordPress.
Report factual news or produce
relevant educational content.
Maintain high standards of
content, quality and journalism.
And here to WordPress community
guidelines and respect
information sensitivities, if any.
Have you ever come across
fake WordPress news?
Who decides what the standards of
content quality and journalism are.
I mean, I lost that word, camp,
media partnerships, lot to a tech
YouTuber, and I know I barely pass
high school, so maybe I won't cut it.
There'll be another debate report
news or relevant educational content.
Here's a huge gap in scrutiny and
body of work, possibly ethics.
When you put tutorial brands
on the same level as new sites.
Hopefully you see the tug of war here.
A small group of people being held to
high levels of quality and standards.
Serving a tiny audience for very
little income in an oversaturated
space of link sharing emails wrapped
in a big capital M media blanket.
So, what do I want to see?
Come from this?
Besides feeling validated, I'm
happy to have a more refined
process for getting updates about
WordPress releases or features.
I would like to see a more concrete
definition of WordPress journalism.
It would be great to get recognition
as WordCamp media partners.
If you're already a media Corp partner.
Uh, process to be heard up channel
back to WordPress, the software
and leadership teams based on what
we're seeing from our audiences.
I also don't like the fact that
we're slapping the experimental
label on this it's too.
easily used as an out, if
this whole thing doesn't work.
And it's also a way to bulldoze
some of the voices that have
legitimate concerns or have unique
ways of contributing to media.
Almost like an internship for
volunteers to do marketing.
Where have I seen this movie before?
We need more folks
covering WordPress news.
We need the Tavern back.
We need WordPress thriving
so that it continues to grow.
In the end, I'm hopeful for this
team and effort to flourish.
With or without the WP minutes
involvement, we'll see how this
shapes up, because I know that I
would do this without an official
team or badge or qualification
matrix, or someone saying that my
work is worthy enough to be included.
Go open-source and keep
WordPress thriving.
Oh, and by the way, Happy
birthday, WordPress.