Podcasts about wp engine

Introducing Russell Aaron I didn't learn WordPress at a fancy college or career academy. I graduated from the University of YouTube. My internship was the Las Vegas WordPress Meetup and WordCamp Vegas. The rest I learned building mortgage company platforms, working for casinos, inside managed WordPress hosts, and at some of the best WordPress development and support shops on the planet. Show Notes For more on Russell, check out his website: https://russellenvy.com Transcript: Topher DeRosia: All right. Here we go. Hey folks. Russell Aaron: And three, two, one. Topher DeRosia: Hey folks. Welcome to Hallway Chats. I’m Topher, and I’m here with Russell Aaron. I assume I pronounced that right, because it’s not that hard, but you never know. Russell Aaron: You know, so many people call me Aaron. They’ll tag me and they go, “Thanks, Aaron.” And I’m like, “You know, it’s Russell, but it’s cool.” Topher DeRosia: Yeah, nice. All right. Well, I saw a post on LinkedIn the other day from you talking about podcasts having the same people on episodes all the time. I thought, “Oh, I gotta have that guy on my podcast.” Because then you can’t go on any other ever again, because then you’ll be that guy. Russell Aaron: Maybe. Topher DeRosia: So, I snooped a little. You live much closer to me than I expected. Have we met? Did we meet at a WordCamp? Russell Aaron: I think we met at WordCamp Ann Arbor one year. Topher DeRosia: Oh, okay. I went to a whole bunch of those. Russell Aaron: Yeah. I think I spoke 2018, something like that. Topher DeRosia: Yeah. I was probably there. Russell Aaron: Yeah. Topher DeRosia: All right. So tell me where you live, what you do, all that kind of stuff. Russell Aaron: I currently reside in Indianapolis, Indiana, and I am just freelancing as of right now. You know, I live in a pretty small town where it’s kind of old school WordPress, if you will. Anyone who is worth their salt keys will remember a day when websites were not responsive or a business has a cousin of a friend of a brother who builds websites and, “Hey, he’s working on it,” and three years later, there’s still no new website. I kind of live in a town where I’m kind of getting back to my grassroots, where I stay up late at night with my insomnia, and I will roll up to a business and I will say, “Your new website can look like this today. If you pay me this much money, I will install it today, and this is your new website.” And it’s got your updated menu, and it’s responsive, and it works on mobile, and we can connect it to AppPresser and make it an app and stuff like that. So I’m kind of reliving the glory days of what I remember WordPress to be. Topher DeRosia: I’m also freelancing right now, sort of by choice, sort of not by choice. Somebody I’m married to would rather I had regular pay and insurance. Russell Aaron: Heard that. Topher DeRosia: Are you in the same boat, or did you do this on purpose? Russell Aaron: I did this on purpose. I was not working for the man, but I was working with some people. I’m over the tiny little granular things that somebody can fire you over. Like they’re watching if your mouse moves or they’re watching if you haven’t logged in. There’s just no more trust, I feel like, in so many cases. And so I know that I can do things better on my own, and I’m going to. Topher DeRosia: I have to admit, I love the freelance life. It is pretty special. Russell Aaron: Right. It’s almost like… what’s that movie? The 40-Year-Old Virgin, where they are making a website and they’re like, “Hey, Spider-Man 3’s on in five minutes. Let’s go watch it.” Like they totally ignore their job and they just go watch this movie now. It’s kind of like that. Topher DeRosia: Yeah. Yeah. For me, it’s doing stuff with my wife. She has a day job, but it has kind of chaotic hours and not specific days of the week. And so I work when she does, which sometimes is Saturday and Sunday, and then I just don’t on Tuesday and Thursday. That’s pretty great. Russell Aaron: I’m kind of in the same boat. My wife has a wonderful job, and she is with a great group, and she does global advocacy. I mean, she just deals with people that are happy with the product, and she keeps them happy. She does lots of stuff like that. I’m kind of the same thing, where their company is now starting to get into AI, and they have so many questions, and I’m over here building things with AI and doing things like that. So I’m not exactly consulting, but my ideas are going into their company through my wife. Topher DeRosia: My wife works at a grocery store, and they have a cash machine they use in the back office that runs Linux. Russell Aaron: Oh, wow Topher DeRosia: And the IT guys had to come in and do some work on it, and she saw the screen and she’s like, “Oh, is that Linux?” And I’m like, “Who are you, and what do you know?” Super nerd. So what’s your company name? Do you have one, or is it just WP Pro Support? Russell Aaron: WP Pro Support. Topher DeRosia: WP Pro Support. Okay. Do you concentrate more on support, or do you build more? Russell Aaron: I have been doing support since 2011. I formed my very first support company, and I launched it the same day that Shane Sanderson launched Maintainn. My buddy, who you might know, John Hawkins, I was at the Vegas WordPress Meetup Group, and I had the idea in Vegas WordPress Meetup Group where there’s 70 people sitting right here behind me and they all want help. And I was like, “How do I do this?” So I built my first thing where I gave everybody free-for-life support, and they were my test group, if you will. And they helped me work out my bugs and tickets, and they helped me work out how I actually operate and do stuff like that. Then when I launched it, literally that day, John goes, “Wait, have you seen this?” And we had no idea about each other, but we literally launched them the same day. Fast forward three years down the road, I ended up working for Maintainn when it was owned by WebDevStudios. But everything I’ve done in WordPress has been support, whether I’ve worked for a mortgage company, a casino in Vegas, hosting with Liquid Web, doing stuff with NerdPress or AppPresser. Everything I’ve done is support. That’s really where my passion is because I remember what it’s like being a first timer. I think that there is a huge market potential here of people are always going to be new. I don’t care who you are. There’s always somebody new walking in the door, and there has to be a person who will sit down and say, “Come here, I’ll hold your hand.” And I am that person. I always try to look at WordPress from that lens is if a new person is looking at this today, are they going to be happy? Are they going to be confused? And I go from there. So currently today I’m transitioning away from support as we know it, where you write a ticket and then somebody on the other end is like, “Hey, I fixed your site,” or whatever. And I’m transitioning to a new product that I’m working on. So I’m going to be getting away from traditional support, but I’m still going to be doing things in the support space, if that makes sense. Topher DeRosia: Yeah, that makes sense. When I first got into WordPress, it was 2010, and custom post types were brand new. Russell Aaron: Right? Topher DeRosia: And I was out of my element with WordPress. I did not know what I was doing, but I did know PHP, and no one else knew post types yet. So when it comes to that, I was on an equal footing, and that was my way in. That was my leverage. I made a lot of money in the early days just building custom post types. Russell Aaron: Custom post types and single-posttype.php or whatever. Yeah. Topher DeRosia: So I was a competent PHP guy who didn’t know WordPress. And I feel like we’re in kind of the same transition space right now with AI, where we have tons of competent WordPressers who don’t really know AI yet. I think there’s a great space for that, teaching our friends, teaching everybody we’ve known for 10 years in WordPress. You know what I mean? Russell Aaron: I do. That’s one of the things that I really love about WordPress is that… let’s take the new 7.0 that just came out, I think it re-leveled the playing field. Before this came out, there were people that were ahead of others when it comes to patterns or blocks or the command palette and stuff like that. But now I think with this, we’re back to an even playing field because every… I mean, not exactly. There’s still some people who know AI a lot better than others, but you’re always five minutes ahead of somebody and five minutes behind somebody else. Topher DeRosia: Oh, yeah. Russell Aaron: But I do think that with 7.0, a new level playing field has come out. And now is the time to start learning, or you got to wait until 7.1 comes out where that new level playing field comes out. But that’s what I love about WordPress is that it continues to happen. Like you said, CPTs. I still love CPTs. I think they’re one of my favorite things. I look at all of these features, you know, page builders, another time when the playing field was leveled again. Now you learn page builders and then shortcodes and then this and then that. I think that’s the one gift that WordPress keeps giving is that you might be out of date six months from now, but then 7.1 comes out and you’re caught right back up. Topher DeRosia: Right. Yeah. And while you’re five minutes ahead, you quick do a WordCamp talk. Russell Aaron: Yes. Yeah. Topher DeRosia: For that long, you know more than other people, right? Russell Aaron: At least it’s on video, right? Topher DeRosia: Right. I was an expert for a minute and a half. Russell Aaron: That was my 15 minutes of fame. Topher DeRosia: What is your WordCamp life like these days? When was the last one you went to? Russell Aaron: The last one I went to was in Vegas, 2018. It was at the Plaza Hotel, which I worked at. When John was putting that together, in Vegas we had a wonderful space, and it was called The Innevation Center, and it was at a data facility called Switch. And they donated so much to us, and we are so grateful to them. And then they kind of had a change in their policy where they weren’t doing things, and then they overpriced how much it would cost to hold events and stuff like that. I was working at a hotel, and so we had this giant convention space, if you will. And so because I was able to pull some strings, we got a great, great discount, all food paid for. I mean, all of it. So that was my last WordCamp. The after party was on top of a pool deck, and there was pickleball courts, and there was a pool, and there was an open bar. I mean, it was rad. That was my last one. I have kids now. My kids are seven and eight and so my WordPress travels have slowed. No, I’m sorry. I take it back. WordCamp US last year was my last one, where we went scorched earth. That’s what I call it. I call it WordCamp scorched earth. Topher DeRosia: I was there for that one. I used to go to a lot every year. Go to- Russell Aaron: Five, six? Topher DeRosia: Five and 10. But since COVID, I think maybe just US every year. It’s weird to just go to one. Russell Aaron: It is. And just US, it’s almost like we used to have what I used to call regional events, where I lived in Vegas, I would hit up WordCamp Orange County, then I’d hit up San Diego, then we’d hit up LA, and then we’d make our way up to Portland, and then maybe if San Francisco did one, and then Phoenix. I did all my regional stuff. And then every once in a while I would venture… I mean, I love WordCamp Minneapolis. Love the people up there. Love so much about that event. Used to do that a lot. What’s the one in Ohio that I used to go to? Topher DeRosia: In the teens, there were five in Ohio. And being in Michigan, I used to just cruise down there. Russell Aaron: It’s a three-hour, three-and-a-half-hour drive, huh? Topher DeRosia: Yeah. Russell Aaron: About that. Yeah. Topher DeRosia: At the time, I was working for a company that was paying me to go to WordCamps. I had to make the case for each one, but it was a really simple case for all the Ohio ones because I didn’t need a plane ticket. I just drive over there. It’s like five in Ohio. There was Ann Arbor, there was Detroit, there was Grand Rapids, there was Chicago. I mean, there was almost 10 WordCamps within a three-hour drive of me. Russell Aaron: That’s beautiful. Topher DeRosia: It’s just not there anymore. Russell Aaron: I was very fortunate to work for companies like WebDevStudios, where I could tell them, “Hey, I got into WordCamp Minneapolis. I’m going to speak there.” And because I’m speaking there, they would reimburse me X amount of dollars for something, and then they would sponsor the WordCamp, and then they would make a thing out of it. I mean, I was very fortunate in being able to do that. Then I worked with a really great company called NerdPress, and they are a fantastic group of people that do the same thing. And then I ventured out into different straits, and it was very much different. I’ll say that much. Topher DeRosia: Yeah. Those are good times. Russell Aaron: It’s almost like… the way that I put it is it’s like we all graduated. We all did our four years of college, we all graduated, and now we went to our temp jobs or we went to our internships. Like the band broke up. Topher DeRosia: Yep. Yeah, it is a lot like that. I have seen generations of WordPressers. There was all the crew before 2010 that were downloading zip files and hacking themes to even get them to run. Then there was after 2010, and custom post types were new and stuff. And then there’s the whole Gutenberg generation that never experienced all that crazy theme stuff. Russell Aaron: I mean, you tell people that child themes were so new that people didn’t even grasp the concept of a child theme, and today it’s so baked in. It’s not even something that people think about. It’s just you install this and the child theme, and it’s a thing. But I remember writing those by hand. Topher DeRosia: Yeah. No kidding. Then to a certain extent, not even having child themes anymore because nothing is stored on the file system. Russell Aaron: I love it. I love it. In my very first WordCamp talk in Vegas 2012, I made a prediction that everything was powered by the theme. Everything used to… I mean, that’s as far as I go back is every template was the same. It was left column, right sidebar, header, and every page, whether you liked it or not, looked like a blog post. And it wasn’t full-width, responsive. I remember a lot of that. And then corporate themes came out, and then cupcake themes came out, then lawn company themes came out, and then the rise of Envato and stuff like that. That’s a good name for a band, The Rise of Envato. Topher DeRosia: I’d go see them. Russell Aaron: But all that stuff comes out. And then you look at it now and it’s like, that seems so far away. I still remember the day that I learned about child themes, and I’ve never forgotten that. And I think, coming back full circle, that’s why I stay in this beginner support space because I’m kind of keeping that nostalgia around, I guess. Topher DeRosia: Yeah. There’s a lot of joy in watching people’s eyes light up when they get it. Russell Aaron: That’s the best part is just telling people what’s possible. When they’re frustrated with something and you go, “Oh, hey, Gravity Forms can do that.” And they’re like, “Wait, what?” And I’m like, “Yeah.” And they can also do… And I just start naming stuff. And I show all 50 extensions that they have and they’re just like, “Wait, what?” And I’m like, “Yeah.” I’m like, “This starts getting radical when you’re into it.” Topher DeRosia: There’s something I miss from old WordPress that I don’t see in modern WordPress. It might not be a thing. And that is dramatic new styling with a theme the instant you install it. My wife is not a computer person and does not care about computers. She loves design stuff. There was a time we used Winamp. Russell Aaron: Wow. Topher DeRosia: And she loved getting skins for Winamp. And she would download 30 in a day and try them all out. And then when I set her up for the blog the first time and showed her the theme repo on .org, this is in 2011, she would literally spend a day just downloading theme after theme after theme. Russell Aaron: Same way. Topher DeRosia: And you just install it and poof, your site looks amazingly different. These days, I mean, you install something like Kadence or GeneratePress or Ollie or any of them, really, and it’s kind of a blank canvas. Russell Aaron: It’s very minimalist. It’s very minimalist. Topher DeRosia: I miss the ability to say, “I feel like making a change today,” and two minutes later, your site looks completely different because you’re using… Russell Aaron: Couldn’t agree more. Couldn’t agree more. I mean, I look back at old pictures from when I would host the meetup group in Vegas, and there’s pictures of me talking, and then on the screen behind me is my old site, and it was this old layout. I bought the theme from Envato because I was just fascinated with it. It was everything that I wanted it to look like. But same thing is now when you change your theme from this one to that one, that dark grunge kind of thing is gone, and now you’ve got this bootstrap-looking thing or whatever. I agree with you. I think that comes from my days of being in MySpace. That’s how I got started with all this. So you could change your MySpace template like that, and I think that’s where it comes from, at least for me. Topher DeRosia: I haven’t even looked into it. Can you make a Gutenberg-based blog theme that has a very striking look and just release it? And then, I don’t know, just release a whole bunch of them like in the old days? Theme shops had 35 themes for sale, and they all looked different because they were all totally different themes. Russell Aaron: I remember there was a day on Envato where it was the same theme, it was just rebranded. So it was like theme name 1.0, and it was called Atlas. And then it’s the same theme but in orange, and now it’s 1.2, and it’s called Dungeon or something. And then we have 1.3 again. Same theme, same framework, but each version was named something different. It made that developer look like they had five different products instead of just one over and over. Now you look at something like a page builder, and it’s like, “We’ve got 500 different templates in one thing.” I can’t do that. I think that’s too much for me. Topher DeRosia: It’s like the days of the CSS Zen Garden. Russell Aaron: Right. Topher DeRosia: HTML is the same, CSS changes. Before I used WordPress, I built my own blog system. Russell Aaron: Oh, wow. Topher DeRosia: It never got super advanced, but I used it for 10 years. One of the things you can do in your HTML is register alternate stylesheets. It’s the same tag, it’s just an alternate word in there. And then in Firefox, at least, you can go under “view Page Style”, and they would all be listed there, and you can just choose different themes. I figured out the JavaScript, even though I didn’t know JavaScript. I figured out the JavaScript to make a little dropdown box in my sidebar so my visitors could say, “Oh, I want to change my theme here.” I never figured out how to do that in WordPress because everything was so tied to style.css. I didn’t know how to make a different one be the main one. But that’s something else I miss in WordPress is the ability to just so dramatically and dynamically change your design because your content is structured so well. Russell Aaron: You know, not only that, but I really liked the websites where there was a demo, and then it gave you a basic username. The username was demo, the password was demo. But then the one thing I never figured out was how every 24 hours the site would just reset. So somebody can go in there and they could do whatever they wanted to do. They could create their own pages. They could create their own blog posts. And for 24 hours, there was a page called Russell’s Awesome. But then after 24 hours, it would just reset. I always thought that was so cool, but I could never figure out how to do that. Topher DeRosia: Oh, yeah. And everybody was editing all at the same time, within that 24-hour period. Russell Aaron: I have since restructured my website. I use the block theme from WebDevStudios. I kind of feel like that’s where I got my education from. I was somebody who kind of dabbled around in WordPress, and then when I went to go work with them for three years, they had a set of standards that I couldn’t even fathom to begin with. But then as we built things and I saw how their machine works, how their business revolves, I was like, “You know, for me, this is the way that I like to do things, is the way that they like to do things.” And so my new website… I mean, not new website, but it’s my new theme, I actually had AI build it for me. I had Claude. I was using… It’s by ThemeIsle. Neve. I was using Neve, one of my favorite themes. Love them. So I was using that, and then my site was kind of all over the place. It was an “I’ll teach you how to do this”. That’s kind of the main focus of my site is I will jump on a call with you, and whatever questions you have, I’ll sit here for five hours with you if you want. I will teach you and until you get it. But then I also had this section about band names that were just… earlier when we were talking about the rise of Envato, you know, like I would have a section on my blog where you could create a new band name and then I had all these random blog posts. And so my website was kind of like this potluck, if you will, just like this random stuff. And I was like, you know, I want to be doing something else. I think my website needs to change. And I have those old blog posts still, but they’re hidden. So now with my new theme, I had AI look at my old site and say, this is what I think we should do. I picked out some colors and over like five days, I had it build me five different HTML pages, like completely different, you know? And then I started giving AI and I said like, “Okay, I want to look like this.” And then I was like, well, okay, I like this and I like this, but I also like this from this other site.” So I started feeding it information and like when the HTML came out, I had 12 different templates. I had my blog posts, I had my archive, but I had everything built in HTML. And the cool thing about the WDS block theme is that it serves everything as an HTML page. So I literally just took AI and said, “Take these HTML pages, bake them into how this theme does it,” and bam, my site came up. I had it done in maybe two days. Topher DeRosia: Wow. Russell Aaron: And then after that, I had it take all of those HTML pages and create me patterns. So now I can go in, and when I go into my full site editor, I can go to patterns, I have all my homepage patterns, my blog patterns, I sliced everything up, and they’re all WordPress native blocks. So I can literally go in and change the coloring on any page I want instead of having to edit the HTML or anything. And now that I have that, I feel this sense of freedom where I’m not worrying about an update coming tomorrow, if my update is gonna break or I don’t have to read a changelog that is not specific anymore. I can’t stress how much I love not having to read changelogs or the lack of changelogs. I mean, I’m fully happy with how things have come out. And over time, I’m gonna keep fine-tuning it, but I’m pretty much where I’m at right now. With all of this new technology that’s come out, I’ve really kind of found my love again for WordPress. I was kind of in a slump where I just wasn’t really doing anything. Now I take my son and we’ll drive down to Louisville, Kentucky. He rides BMX. So while he’s racing, I will literally have Claude Code open on my computer and I will log into the Claude app on my phone and I can keep sitting there having the same conversation. So this new thing that I’m building, I can still do it while I’m sitting there watching him race or while I’m doing something else. I was just like, this is fantastic. And then my wife will drive home and I’ll just sit there and I talk into my phone, I literally put the microphone on and I’ll be like, “You know, I don’t like that. And here’s my thoughts about this.” And you know, my phone dictates all of that and then I send it to my computer through the app and it just keeps spinning things up. Then by the time I get home, I have a new version that I can demo or I have a new version that I can test. I mean, I am just so fascinated by it. Topher DeRosia: That’s cool. Were we at WebDev at the same time? Russel Aaron: I don’t think so. Topher DeRosia: I was there just over three years ago. Russel Aaron: I was there 2015 through 2018. Topher DeRosia: Oh, yeah. I came much later. I was only there for like two months. Russell Aaron: Oh, wow. Sometimes that’s the way it goes. Topher DeRosia: Yeah. They were gonna get a big contract that hired a bunch of people and two months later didn’t get the contract and let us all go. Russell Aaron: As much as I hate that, that also taught me that the people that do great work or the people that show up every day and are putting in more than they’re getting out, those are usually the people that stay in companies like that. That really changed my work ethic. I used to be somebody who wanted to be not lazy, but I didn’t wanna be pressed for time or having to go, go, go and having to be on all the time. Now, I’m the opposite. Now, I’m like, now that I’ve done that, I kind of earn for that stretch for a little bit. I mean, you were just saying that how you’ve transitioned to where you are. I was watching a Barstool Sports interview with a guy who runs a pizza shop in… it’s either New Jersey or New York. The guy’s only open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. And he’s only open nine to six or something like that. And he built that business… well, it’s been in his family for like 60 years or something. He has one of the last original pizza ovens ever. But anyways, the point is, is that he lives at the pizza place, that’s where his entire life is, but he built the business around his life. I’m doing the same thing where if I wanna literally go jump on my bike right now and go for a two-mile ride, I’m gonna go do that. And I don’t have to feel like, hey, you’re not logged in and we’re not tracking your mouse. Like what’s happening? How come you’re not on Slack? You know what I mean? I’m not tied down to that. And I can’t stress that enough of like, that is where I wanna be. Topher DeRosia: Yeah. Yeah, it is a good life. We are at about the time to wrap it up. Okay. So I’m gonna do that. Where do you hang out online? Russel Aaron: Where do I hang out online? Topher DeRosia: Are you in any common WordPress Slacks? Russel Aaron: I’m on the main WordPress Slack sometimes. I tend to watch more than I do involve anymore. A long time ago, I used to be very vocal and I used to be not afraid to walk in to a room guns blazing. With the big cultural shift that happened in WordPress, I tend to just sit back now and be more self-reserved. So I post on my website, russellenvy.com. I’m on LinkedIn. I’ve been utilizing Reddit a lot too. I think for me, Reddit is a place where I kind of disagree with the fact that you can hide behind a pseudonym, but I do like the brutal honesty that people will have because they are hiding behind something and they will say, dude, this flat out sucks. Or they’ll be like, Hey, this is great, but it would be cool if, or somebody can be like, “Hey, that already exists. You’re not doing anything new.” I do like that. Because it kind of not puts me in my place, but it shows me either how connected or disconnected I am to what I think I’m doing. And so Reddit is a very great place. I mean, everything is russellenvy.com except for Twitter or X, whatever you want to call it. Topher DeRosia: All right, cool. Russel Aaron: Where do you hang out at? Topher DeRosia: I am in probably 40 slacks, but the vast majority of them, I don’t look at. I’m there so that someone can ping me. I’m in a couple of slacks in India. Okay. I’m in the WordPress Italian community Slack. Russel Aaron: That’s interesting. Topher DeRosia: Post status make, of course there’s a hero press Slack. I have my own company Slack, my local meetup has a Slack. There’s just a lot of them. I wouldn’t say I’m super active on any of them. I just occasionally interact with somebody. I use my own company Slack to invite my clients in when we talk there. Russel Aaron: Right. Do you find yourself reading things more than, you know… from the outsider looking in, I post a lot and it looks like I post a lot… I mean, especially on LinkedIn, but I’m always consuming more than I’m posting. Do you find yourself doing that? Like where you’re… maybe not keeping up with the trades anymore, but like, you know… I used to read maybe 1,500 blog posts a week and then… what was that service where you could like save…? I used to have a service where you could save articles and then that way, late at night, I would just read, you know, maybe 10 or 15 of them a night. But now I look at things like Reddit where I see… I just look at somebody who’s going on there and asking for help. Again, it’s a standard WordPress person that, hey, I’m new to this, I don’t know how, and I’m looking at it and I’m just like, how can we make that better? That’s kind of where I’m at these days. Topher DeRosia: I don’t read a whole lot in Slack. It really is for my convenience. I’m pretty active with my RSS reader. I follow a lot of stuff. Russell Aaron: Oh, wow. Topher DeRosia: Because I don’t wanna go chase it all down all over the internet. So, you know, there’s that. I’m on LinkedIn a fair amount, Facebook a little bit. I’m on Mastodon and Blue Sky mostly just to post stuff. It’s funny, I have more followers… No, let me say it this way. Mastodon, I have the fewest followers, but the most engagement from those followers. Russell Aaron: Isn’t that interesting? Topher DeRosia: Yeah, I’ll post something and I’ll get some favorites or reposts or whatever. Blue Sky, I get almost nothing at all, despite the fact that I have like a thousand followers there. Russell Aaron: But Blue Sky is a community that is fast-moving. I almost compare it to anything Meta has, which is you can post today right now and in three minutes you’re 785 posts down. That’s what I really love about Reddit is that I posted something about this AI team that I’m building that I give away for free on GitHub, and so for like five days, I was the number two post on that subreddit. And the volume that I saw from that. I mean, Reddit really loves human writing. If you go in there, you post something that somewhat seemingly might suggest that you had AI do anything with it, they will just downvote it. But if you write original and you write from the heart and stuff, like your stuff skyrockets there. I’ve learned a lot from Reddit because of that. Topher DeRosia: That’s really cool. Russell Aaron: It’s interesting. Topher DeRosia: Yeah. All right, well, thanks for chatting with me. Russell Aaron: Thank you for the time. Topher DeRosia: And now you can’t be on anybody else’s podcast. Russell Aaron: I’m actually starting my own, sir. Topher DeRosia: Are you? All right. Russell Aaron: I have, like you said, the reason why we started this is because you saw something from me that says, “I’m tired of the indie circuit,” if you will. I put out a LinkedIn post, I don’t know, maybe a month ago at this point and I asked people if they wanted to be on a show. So I have WP Roundtable. I got that from Kyle Mahler, a person who I love in WordPress more than I can express. One of the best people on the planet, I feel like. I was thinking about starting that up again, because we don’t have WP Watercooler anymore. We don’t have anything like that. That’s kind of where I got my start from. But again, I also identify that that’s kind of the problem is that every Monday or Friday I was on a show and I was one of the people that you would see constantly. And so I was sitting there thinking and I was like, what doesn’t the space have? What kind of show do I wanna watch? Because I don’t watch shows when they come out, do you? Topher DeRosia: No. Russell Aaron: I always watch them maybe four weeks down the road at like 2:30 in the morning when I have nothing going on. And by that point, the information is almost stale. I mean, the way that anything works these days. And there’s a few that I might watch maybe within 48 hours of coming out, but at this point, there is something… a new idea that myself and… the guy’s actually an automatician. And so it’s actually kind of interesting because we don’t wanna say anything that would put him in a position to where he’s saying something bad about the company he works for, but I’m also the person where I get to say something to the person who works at Automattic to maybe incite some change. So we are working on something like that, but it’s not going to be an interview show. It is not going to be something where you tune it out or you put it on a 2.5 playback speed just to get through it. You know what I mean? And that’s really what the emphasis of my post was about is that so many of the interviews go that way. Topher DeRosia: Yeah. Are you familiar with wppodcasts.com? Russell Aaron: Yes. Topher DeRosia: Okay, good. So when you get it started up, submit it there. Russell Aaron: That’s a place. I’m very fascinated by Gary Vaynerchuk. Are you familiar with Gary V? Topher DeRosia: No. Russell Aaron: I watch something Gary V every day. That guy makes me feel like I’m lazy every single day, but he is also one of the people that says like, “Hey, you’re 40, you’re still just a baby.” A lot of people feel like I should be two kids, a house, marriage, this, that, and because I’m not, I’m behind the ball. And he’s one person that’s like, “Listen, you’re still a kid.” And he’s like, “You’re 40, I’m 40, and you have 10 years until you’re 50.” And even then you’re still so young to where you can generate something again and from 50 to 60, you can now do. That kind of mentality really moved me around. Why I bring that up is, I’m trying not to post on the same places that everybody else is. I wanna find that new venture. Substack is a great one. And they also have a way to release podcast episodes through them. So they can actually be your entire engine. So like you don’t have to host them on different places and stuff like that. So I’m looking for different plays like that. Topher DeRosia: All right, cool. Well, I look forward to hearing about it when it comes out. I’m sure you’ll post on LinkedIn. Russell Aaron: Yes, yeah. Topher DeRosia: All right. All right then, well, I will maybe find you on Slack or Reddit or someplace. Russell Aaron: Slack, Reddit, LinkedIn. Either way, please keep in touch. First of all, it’s great to see somebody familiar in the space. It’s great. I mean, just talking about the old days, I could sit here and do it forever. Topher DeRosia: All right, I’ll see ya. Russell Aaron: Have a good one. Topher DeRosia: All right, so that was the end of the podcast. If you could send me a headshot. And yep, that’s the one. Cool. And any links you want in the liner notes. Russell Aaron: Cool. Topher DeRosia: And two or three sentences about you and what you do and whatnot. Russell Aaron: Cool. I noticed that you… are you trying to revive Hallway Chats? Or is it something that when you just find something interesting, you’re like, hey, I’ll go do that. Topher DeRosia: That’s it right there. Russell Aaron: Okay. Sure, sure. Topher DeRosia: There was a time when it was a weekly podcast and now it’s a whenever I feel like it podcast. Russell Aaron: I love it. I think that’s the biggest reason why I’m trying to do something different is I really dislike watching a podcast. The first thing they do is they come on and they go, “Hey, welcome to WP whatever. Hey, sorry we didn’t post this week. I was bit…” If you are gonna say you’re gonna post every Wednesday at one, that’s on you. But I do not like when things start off with an apology. Like just get to it. Because I’m not watching it Wednesday at one. I mean, unless you’re Joe Rogan, or unless you are somebody who has a huge following that people will watch you live because it’s important. Otherwise, it’s just consumable stuff, you know? Topher DeRosia: Yeah. For years, I posted it Heropress weekly on Wednesday without fail. I would ignore my family to go get it done. Then I was talking to Morton Rand Hendrickson. You know him? Russell Aaron: Uh-huh. Topher DeRosia: Yeah, he’s a huge fan of Heropress. And I said to him, “Do you read every week?” He’s like, “Oh no, not at all.” He’s like, “Oh, I thought you really liked it.” And he said, “Oh, I love it. But I don’t have time to read every week.” Every few months I’ll get depressed about the WordPress community and I’ll go read 10 essays. And then one time I was at WordCamp Ann Arbor, probably the same one you were at and Josepha came to me and said that… she was kind of a sounding board for employees that come to her and said, “Listen, I’ve been working support all day and people suck and I’m depressed and I hate life.” And she would just listen for a while and then at the end they would say, “Okay, I’m gonna go read a bunch of Heropress and I’ll feel better.” And it really changed my perspective of what I was making. I wasn’t making a weekly publication. I was making an archive, a collection to be used as a tool, a library. Russell Aaron: I’m gonna say this poorly, but it’s almost like you are creating a support help hotline where it’s like, if you’re on the verge of blowing up your website, please call this number. We’ll talk you down from it. It’s almost like you’re building that. Topher DeRosia: That’s funny. Russell Aaron: That’s interesting. And then now you’re just selective about it or you’re so far- Topher DeRosia: I’m less aggressive about finding essayists and less insistent that they get it to me by a certain time. Like I would find somebody and say, listen, I need it by Sunday on this date. And they were like, “Okay.” And that worked for a while. Russell Aaron: Oh, before, before. Okay. Topher DeRosia: Yeah. But now I’ll find somebody… No, I don’t go looking as often. Russell Aaron: You’ll maybe find something that somebody wrote and you’ll be like, “Hey, are you interested in doing this?” Topher DeRosia: Yes. And I don’t find people as often. I used to find my people on Twitter and I’m not on there anymore. Russell Aaron: Like by personal choice? Topher DeRosia: Yeah. Russell Aaron: Okay. Topher DeRosia: I just left Twitter. Russell Aaron: Oh, wow. You feel like your life improved? Topher DeRosia: Yes and no. Russell Aaron: Okay. Topher DeRosia: I feel the loss of what Twitter was. And it’s not there anymore. It’s just gone. Russell Aaron: Especially around WordCamp and stuff like that. That used to have to be the place that you’d be on, you know? Topher DeRosia: The Twitter I loved doesn’t exist anymore. And so, yeah, I feel that loss. Russell Aaron: I need a t-shirt that says that. Topher DeRosia: Yeah. Wow. I’m in the process of making a printable store. Printable? Printful. Printful store. Russell Aaron: Cool. Topher DeRosia: With Woo, to make a video with. I need to make a bunch of products. Maybe I’ll make one of those. Russell Aaron: It’s interesting. Wow. You just flat-out left X. Do you feel like with Heropress, it was… and again, this is why I made that post, is that people almost see it like they can make the rounds. And it’s like, well, I haven’t gone there yet. And so they’re gonna submit something to you because they’re gonna get some press out of it. And it’s not so much what’s best for your brand or it’s not best for your website. They just see it as, well, I’m gonna get some exposure there. Do you feel like it used to be that? Topher DeRosia: No. I’ve gotten maybe two or three submissions ever like that. And a couple of them, I was able to say, “No, that’s not what we’re about. It’s this other thing, what Heropress is actually about.” And they’re like, “Oh, well, okay, that’d be great.” And they do that. And maybe one or two people have said, “I built this great company and everyone should come use my company.” Like, no, not so much. Russell Aaron: Interesting. Topher DeRosia: And that’s the end of it. Russell Aaron: I remember back in, I wanna say like 2013, people used to call each other out and be like, why are you giving the same speech at WordCamp Miami, WordCamp Minneapolis, WordCamp San Diego. And that’s kind of where I was at with that same LinkedIn post. It’s like, I really, really enjoy watching Matt Cromwell’s show, but the guy that he just had on also was on Jonathan Denwood and was also on this one. It was also on, I was like, I’ve already seen this. Maybe I get three more percent information that wasn’t in that last, or because Matt knows a little bit more about personal stuff in WordPress or building a business, he might have some more insight there, but it’s like, I’ve already heard this and I’m kind of already over it. And that’s kind of where I was at is you don’t have to just say, I’m gonna do this one and that’s it. But it’s almost like, you’re making yourself not… what’s the word. Not credible because you’re going around and saying the same thing and it’s just, you’re not doing anything different than a blog post could have done. Topher DeRosia: You know what I mean? I don’t feel too bad about repeating WordCamp talks because, especially at small camps, because a lot of people are just gonna go to their local camp and never go to another one. And unless they cruise.tv, they’re not gonna see it. I struggle a little bit with podcasts because I’ve been asked a lot over the last 10 years to come on a podcast and talk about the story of WordPress. And it’s the same story every time, you know? And so, I’ll try to mix it up a little bit, give different information that I’ve never given before, that sort of thing. But it is something I think about and struggle with a little bit. Russell Aaron: What do you struggle with about it? Topher DeRosia: I don’t wanna just say the same thing over and over again. You know, I don’t want people to go, oh, Topher’s on another podcast episode. Oh, I’ve heard this story. I don’t need to be on this episode. Fortunately, it’s been around long enough that I can give a brief synopsis of the beginning and talk about stuff that’s happened in the last couple of years. Russell Aaron: Right. Topher DeRosia: Which is gonna be really different from the podcast episode I was on in 2020. Russell Aaron: You know? Right. Topher DeRosia: It’s an interesting dilemma when you have one story to tell and everybody wants you to tell it. How do you deal with that? Russell Aaron: Well, I’ve noticed that too. It is like, you know, I’ll watch [Insert Famous Name Here], and they have a podcast, and they’re interviewing, again, [Insert Famous Name Here], and that person was also just on That Famous Name and That Famous Name. I actually saw somebody, it’s like almost a year ago, and they were just like, “Do you want me just to say this so your show has this speech in it or are you genuinely asking me?” Because, you know, like you want this story so you can post it on your social media. But I’ve already given that story 15 different times because they wanted it for their own, you know? And it’s almost going that way where I kind of respect it in a way because you don’t want to post other people’s content. But I also feel like I’m tired of saying the same shit over and over again. It’s interesting, man. Topher DeRosia: Yeah, that’s a dilemma. Russell Aaron: So you’re just like kicking back and… are you building something for you that you think is gonna scale or are you trying to get away from WordPress? That’s kind of where I’m at right now. Topher DeRosia: Yes and no. I have always wanted to… I’ve always been better with people than code. I’m a life coach. Russell Aaron: Yeah. I did not know that about you. Topher DeRosia: I love talking to the client more than coding. I love helping people learn things. And so those skills could be anywhere in WordPress, but also could be anywhere outside of WordPress. So I’m looking for those jobs and they are not out there. Russell Aaron: Right. Topher DeRosia: So here we are. Russell Aaron: I’m to the point now where my son, he’s eight, but he races BMX, like actual bikes and stuff. And so there’s a college here in Indianapolis and it’s one of the best cycling schools in the country. And there’s like five Olympians that practice every Tuesday and Thursday and they’re right in our back door. These are people that have a great social following, but they don’t post very well. They have a brand name, but they don’t have a website. So I’m noticing that every new space that I go into, it’s kind of like I get to jump back into WordPress again, where it’s like, hey, I just built a website for this BMX track in Louisville, Kentucky. It’s one of the best tracks in the country by everybody that has ever raced in a sport, they all vote that it’s one of the best, but they don’t have a website period. I just went through this where they have a guy, he’s their treasurer and he’s like, “Well, I’m an AI software guy.” And I’m like, “Well, how come you don’t have a website?” And he’s like, “Well…” And I’m like, “Listen, I submitted a new version of a we… literally, I uploaded it to my Russell website or to my Russell Envy site and I just put it in a sub-folder and I was like, “Your website could look like this today.” I was like, “For free. I don’t want anything from you. No free anything.” I was like, “I want to donate this to you because I want to grow the sport.” And the guy’s like, “I wanted to build it and React.” And I’m like, “Well, why didn’t you?” And the guy’s like, “Uh.” And I’m like, “I have free hosting for life from WPEngine.” And I was like, “I won’t charge you guys ever. I will host a site. I have free with AppPresser. I’ll build you guys an app where you guys can send push notifications.” And the guy’s like, “Well, I want to have a lot of control and say over it.” And I was just like, “All right, you know what?” And then I built my own. Now I own a domain all about their BMX track and now they’re calling me going, “We should have went with you.” I’m to the point now where I’m nice. And then it’s just like, “Dude, I’m 10,000 miles over you and I’m going to go this way.” Liquid Web did that to me. Liquid Web brought me in and they were like, “We’re going to…” I was supposed to be the OG stellar WP. They brought me in, I was hiring all my friends and I was bringing in people and we were building something. And then they called me and they were like, “Well, you can either be a level two support person or you could just not work here.” And I was like, “Well, I don’t work here anymore.” And they were like, “Well, wait, hang on.” And I literally hit “click” and I have never logged on since. Topher DeRosia: That’s funny. Russell Aaron: I’m in that same boat where, you know, I don’t have to work for you. You know what I mean? Like, fuck, I’m 40. I should be doing something on my own anyway. I kind of wish I had… what was WP 101? Sean did that for all those years. I wish I would have done that. Or every week, I should have had some YouTube about talking about something and maybe I could have monetized that, but I’m not behind the ball. I let the ball slip is what I feel like. Topher DeRosia: It’s not too late to start. I picked that up when Sean, quit and I’ve got a YouTube channel with a bunch of stuff on it. I published one today. Russell Aaron: Oh wow. It’s just interesting things that you think about, or is it like educational, like tutorials? Topher DeRosia: It’s educational tutorials, but stuff that I find interesting. Like today I made a desktop wallpaper for WordCamp Europe. Russell Aaron: Nice. Topher DeRosia: And I did it by going to their webpage in my browser and using the console to hack the HTML and CSS until it looked like a screen, a wallpaper. Russell Aaron: That’s fucking cool. Topher DeRosia: So I published it right before I’d started talking to you, like minutes before that. And it has three views. Russell Aaron: Woohoo. Topher DeRosia: But a couple of weeks ago I did one called fun and games in the terminal. And it’s how to play Tetris in the terminal and how to make a choo-choo train go across your screen when you type LS wrong. And it has 784 views right now. Russell Aaron: That’s awesome. Topher DeRosia: I did one on how to brighten a photo. I did a series. I’m working on a series called Topher learns how, or I talk to people who know how to do things that I really should know how to do, but don’t. I talked to Scott Kingsley Clark about pods, which has been around forever, but I’ve never used. I talked to Donata about Termageddon, because I know it’s important, but I have stayed away because I don’t understand and it’s scary. Russell Aaron: Termageddon. I’ve never heard that. Topher DeRosia: Oh. You know the little cookie consent things, privacy policies and whatnot? Russell Aaron: Yeah. Topher DeRosia: So when you sign up with term again, you pay a surprisingly low monthly fee and they have a human get on the phone with you and talk through your requirements of where you live, your legal stuff. Like, are you in Europe? Are you in California? Where are you? Where are your customers, your viewers? Then you drop in a short code for your privacy code and for the cookies and they keep them up to date based on how the laws change. So you don’t have to pay attention to, Oh, did California make some crazy new law about cookies? What do I need to do to update my site? It’s really, really great. So I did an interview with her. Russell Aaron: $12 a month or $119 a year. Topher DeRosia: Yeah. Russell Aaron: What is the point of having a privacy policy if you don’t pay extra for limiting your liability? Wow. That’s amazing. Topher DeRosia: It is. Russell Aaron: That’s someone just thinking outside the box. Topher DeRosia: Yeah. I have a couple of videos where I was given an account at a hosting company that I’ve never used and videoed logging in for the first time and getting to a website. Russell Aaron: Oh, wow. Just from first login to setting everything up to now you have something production. Wow. Topher DeRosia: Yeah. Specifically not reading the docs. Russell Aaron: Oh, just trying to brute force your way through it. Topher DeRosia: Yeah. Russell Aaron: That’s smart, dude. Topher DeRosia: It’s partly about… well, they may have wonderful docs. It may be super easy to do if you read all the docs. I don’t want to read the docs. Russell Aaron: Me neither. Topher DeRosia: Clickety clickety click, I have a website. So I did GreenGeeks. I did honesthosting.io. I did X cloud. So that’s the kind of stuff I’m doing. Russell Aaron: That’s interesting. That is something that, that Gary V talks about a lot is that it used to have to be where you are this WordPress brand and you do just this and all your videos could only be about that. Anytime you stepped outside the box, people were like, “Why am I watching this?” And today now we’re to finally to where my website would probably actually thrive is it’s so random. It’s just something out of my head and one thing can skyrocket and it’s like hitting the jackpot, you know? That’s interesting. Topher DeRosia: Another thing I did is I made a site called topher.how and because I realized I had never really made stuff in my own channel. I’ve been blogging for decades, making videos, WinningWP. I have over a hundred videos on WinningWP. Russell Aaron: WinningWP? Topher DeRosia: Yeah. Russell Aaron: Did you start that when Charlie Sheen started doing Winning? Topher DeRosia: No, no, no, no. But I was thinking, boy, I’d love to have all this stuff on my own website, but I don’t want to go find it all and copy paste posts. And then I realized nearly every place I’ve ever made content has RSS for their authors. Russell Aaron: Yeah. Topher DeRosia: And so I found the sites, found my author RSS feed and started piping them into WP all import. And now topher.how has all my content from the last 15 years on a dozen different sites, doesn’t more than a dozen different sites, all my videos, all my posts, everything on wordpress.tv, all that stuff. So it’s kind of a portfolio. Yeah, so you can go to topher.how and see all my stuff. Russell Aaron: That was actually one thing that I was really proud of was that my entire WordPress journey is documented on somebody else’s project. So, like you go to WPwatercooler and my resume, what is great about it is that it is not me who can edit those videos, it is not me who can master them. Those words are there. Those words are me. You want to know my qualifications in WordPress, there’s all my shit. For me, I was like, “That’s actually pretty sick. You know what I mean?” Topher DeRosia: Yeah. Russell Aaron: Wow. Topher.how. Oh, dude, do you know who Jeffrey Zinn is? Topher DeRosia: No. Russell Aaron: Oh God. Him and Brandon Dove they have Pixel Jar. Have you ever heard of Pixel Jar? Topher DeRosia: Maybe. Russell Aaron: They’re big West coasters. I’ll tell you that much. He just wrote me, “He literally just said, dude, how do you find the time to write so much on LinkedIn? I enjoy all your stuff, but mostly I’m blown away by the volume.” Topher DeRosia: Nice. Russell Aaron: I’m going to write him back and just tell him the truth. But you know, it’s all thought man. Interesting. Topher, I’ve had a lot of fun. Am I taking up your time? Topher DeRosia: I should get back to work. Russell Aaron: All right, sir. Have a good one. Topher DeRosia: All right. I’ll see ya. Russell Aaron: Bye. Topher DeRosia: Bye.

Parce que… c'est l'épisode 0x2F7! Shameless plug 3 au 5 juin 2026 - SSTIC 2026 24 et 25 juin 2026 - Troopers 26 et 27 juin 2026 - leHACK 19 septembre 2026 - Bsides Montréal 1 au 3 décembre 2026 - Forum INCYBER - Canada 2026 24 et 25 février 2027 - SéQCure 2027 Description Le déclencheur : une attaque publique au WordCamp US En septembre 2024, Matt Mullenweg, fondateur de WordPress et dirigeant d'Automattic, profite de sa présentation de clôture au WordCamp US pour s'en prendre violemment à WP Engine, un hébergeur spécialisé WordPress. Il les qualifie de « cancer pour l'écosystème ». Le ton est d'autant plus choquant que les WordCamp sont des événements communautaires accessibles et abordables, portés par l'esprit de l'open source — le WordCamp Montréal, par exemple, ne coûtait que 50 dollars pour un weekend complet. WP Engine est un acteur majeur qui a bâti tout son modèle d'affaires autour de WordPress, offrant de l'hébergement dédié et ayant acquis plusieurs produits populaires, dont Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), un plugin utilisé par des millions de sites. Mullenweg reproche à WP Engine de générer d'importants revenus grâce à WordPress sans contribuer suffisamment au projet. Il avait d'ailleurs lancé l'initiative « Five for the Future », invitant les entreprises bénéficiant de l'écosystème à y consacrer 5 % de leurs ressources. Or, aucune obligation légale ne contraint quiconque à contribuer, et Mullenweg lui-même tire profit de l'écosystème via Automattic et WordPress.com. L'escalade : actions légales et blocages Trois jours après l'attaque publique, WP Engine réplique par une mise en demeure pour diffamation et extorsion. Le 25 septembre, Mullenweg bloque l'accès des serveurs de WP Engine au dépôt officiel de plugins et thèmes WordPress, empêchant des centaines de milliers de sites clients de recevoir leurs mises à jour, y compris les correctifs de sécurité. WP Engine doit alors développer en urgence des solutions de contournement. Le 30 septembre, la communauté découvre que WordPress.org — la plateforme qui héberge tout l'écosystème open source — appartient personnellement à Matt Mullenweg et non à la fondation WordPress, créée pourtant pour assurer transparence et gouvernance indépendante. Cette révélation amplifie l'inquiétude : une seule personne contrôle l'infrastructure sur laquelle repose près de 40 à 50 % des CMS du web, alors que le deuxième concurrent plafonne sous les 5 %. Le 2 octobre, WP Engine dépose une plainte officielle pour pratiques anticoncurrentielles et abus de pouvoir, rendant publics des échanges compromettants entre Mullenweg et la direction de WP Engine. Le chaos interne et la prise de contrôle d'ACF En parallèle, les employés d'Automattic s'interrogent sur les agissements de leur patron, qui communique de façon impulsive sur les réseaux sociaux et son blogue. Mullenweg pose un ultimatum à ses employés : être avec lui ou partir, avec un délai de 24 à 48 heures. Environ 159 personnes, soit près de 10 % de l'effectif, choisissent de quitter l'entreprise. Mullenweg reprend ensuite le contrôle du plugin ACF au nom de la sécurité de l'écosystème, s'appuyant sur la licence GPL qui régit les extensions déposées sur le dépôt WordPress. Il crée un clone baptisé SCF (Secure Custom Fields) et redirige silencieusement les mises à jour d'ACF vers SCF, de sorte que la plupart des utilisateurs changent de plugin sans même s'en rendre compte. Cette manœuvre soulève de sérieuses questions sur la pérennité de SCF, un produit gratuit sans modèle économique ni équipe dédiée à long terme. Pour les agences comme celle de Maxime, la situation est un casse-tête : faut-il informer les clients, revenir à ACF, attendre ? L'équipe de Maxime décide de redéployer ACF sur les sites concernés, estimant que les clients sont pris en otage dans ce conflit. Les conséquences sur l'écosystème Mullenweg réduit drastiquement les contributions d'Automattic au projet open source, passant de 4 000 heures par semaine à environ 45, provoquant une stagnation du développement. La version 6.8 de WordPress accumule les retards. BlackRock, investisseur dans Automattic, dévalue ses parts. Des développeurs commencent à remettre en question la pertinence de publier sur le dépôt WordPress. Face à cette centralisation problématique, des initiatives émergent pour décentraliser la distribution des extensions. WP Engine rachète WP Packagist et Roots lance WP Packages, offrant des alternatives au dépôt officiel. L'adoption reste cependant un défi majeur pour les utilisateurs non techniques. L'arrivée de EmDash par Cloudflare Le 1er avril 2025, Cloudflare lance EmDash, une solution de gestion de contenu basée sur le framework Astro. Son approche distingue le contenu statique du contenu dynamique grâce au concept d'« îles », offrant de meilleures performances. EmDash isole également les plugins dans des sandbox pour renforcer la sécurité, contrairement à WordPress où un plugin défaillant peut compromettre tout le site. Maxime reconnaît l'intérêt technique de cette solution, mais tempère l'enthousiasme : aucun écosystème de plugins, aucune communauté établie, aucun expert disponible. Cloudflare a les moyens financiers de soutenir le projet, mais il est trop tôt pour y migrer des projets clients. WordPress n'est ni mort ni véritablement menacé à court terme. Perspectives La bataille juridique entre Automattic et WP Engine devrait connaître des avancées en juin 2025. Maxime anticipe une tentative de règlement hors cour de la part de Mullenweg, face à un WP Engine soutenu par un fonds d'investissement de plusieurs milliards déterminé à aller jusqu'au bout. Plus le conflit dure, plus il nuit à l'ensemble de l'écosystème. L'espoir reste qu'un retour à la maturité permette à chacun de poursuivre son activité dans un marché suffisamment vaste pour tous. Collaborateurs Nicolas-Loïc Fortin Maxime Jobin Crédits Montage par Intrasecure inc Locaux virtuels par Riverside.fm

In this episode of TWiW, the panel discusses WP Engine's acquisition of WPackagist, recent rapid-fire WordPress security updates, and highlights educational initiatives within the WordPress community. They also explore an agency's strategic use of AI, preview upcoming features in WordPress 7, and cover the expanded functionality of the Ollie theme for WooCommerce. Additional topics include the release of a per-page theme switcher plugin, WordCamp Asia updates, and privacy considerations with Signal. The conversation is, as always, lively with tangents, especially on the growing intersection of AI and WordPress development.

✏️ Suscribirse https://youtube.com/live/CaFVvQcZK7Q WordPress 7 se acerca y trae algo que llevábamos tiempo esperando: conectores nativos de inteligencia artificial. En el episodio 247 de Negocios y WordPress hablamos de eso, de cómo estamos usando Make para automatizar Factura Directa, de la polémica con Anthropic y el Departamento de Defensa, de InstaWP como herramienta de staging, y de si tiene sentido pasarse de ChatGPT a Claude. Un episodio cargado. WordPress 7 y los conectores de IA nativos La gran novedad que se viene el 19 de abril es WordPress 7, y uno de sus cambios más interesantes es una nueva pantalla en Ajustes llamada Conectores. La idea es simple: configuras ahí tus claves API de los principales proveedores de IA —OpenAI, Claude y Gemini de momento— y a partir de ahí esos accesos quedan disponibles para que cualquier plugin los aproveche. Lo interesante no es la pantalla en sí, sino lo que representa: WordPress se está poniendo la fontanería para que el ecosistema construya encima. Ya no cada plugin gestionando sus propias claves, sino una capa centralizada. ¿Cómo funciona técnicamente? Cada conector se instala como un plugin ligero que añade un campo de API key. Las claves se guardan en base de datos cifradas, igual que ya hace cualquier plugin de pagos o SMTP. El acceso está restringido por defecto a administradores mediante la capacidad prompt. La arquitectura es bidireccional: desde WordPress puedes consultar a la IA, y desde la IA puedes interactuar con WordPress vía MCP. El artículo que comentamos en el episodio lo explicaba bien: OpenAI está pensado si quieres texto, imagen y código; Claude si priorizas calidad en investigación y análisis. A partir de aquí, los plugins decidirán qué modelo usan y para qué. Temas de bloques a medida: ¿merece la pena? Yani lleva unas semanas metiéndole mano a los temas de bloques personalizados para su serie de vídeos en canal, y el resumen es claro: tiene ventajas, pero el workflow es un lío. El Site Editor genera variables CSS, escalas tipográficas fluidas con clamp() y presets de color automáticamente. Bien. El problema viene cuando quieres control total: acabas tocando el theme.json, archivos de CSS separados, templates en base de datos y templates en archivo, y todo desperdigado. Para alguien que quiere un diseño a medida, el desarrollo con tema clásico o con Bricks sigue siendo más predecible y potente. Otra cosa es si estás construyendo algo para que un cliente edite con el editor nativo. El framework de utilidades CSS de Elías En paralelo, lo que sí está funcionando es construir un sistema de clases de utilidad propio para usarlo con Generate Blocks: variables de espacio en cuatro tamaños, clases de margin, padding, gap, tipografía, flex y container. Todo cargado en el editor para ver los cambios en tiempo real. Simple, portable y sin dependencias. Automatización con Make: Factura Directa y Amelia Dos clientes activos esta quincena con FacturaDirecta. Make no tiene módulo oficial, pero hay uno de la comunidad que funciona bien. Para lo que no cubre, HTTP request directo a la API y listo. Stripe → Factura Directa En lugar de escuchar el evento payment.succeeded, mejor usar invoice.paid. La factura de Stripe ya incluye los line items y toda la información necesaria para generar la factura fiscal en Factura Directa. Amelia → Factura Directa Amelia tampoco tiene módulo en Make, pero tiene API. La solución: un escenario programado cada semana que recorre las citas nuevas y lanza la facturación automática por cliente. Compatible con pagos en Stripe, en efectivo o cualquier otro método que uses en Amelia. InstaWP: staging real sin cambiar de hosting InstaWP permite crear un entorno de staging desde producción sin salir del panel de WordPress. Lo que más gusta: puedes acceder al staging directamente desde la instalación de producción, sin otro login ni panel externo. Lo que funciona bien Perfiles de FTP para cambiar entre staging y producción sin tocar casi nada. MCP integrado: puedes montarlo como carpeta local en Finder o explorador. Repositorio Git conectado al hosting para deployments. Lo que aún hay que pulir No todo es compatible automáticamente. Algunos plugins como Gravity Forms requieren exportar e importar los formularios a mano entre entornos. Y el deployment selectivo —solo archivos modificados, no la instalación completa— todavía no está tan claro como en soluciones tipo WP Engine o Kinsta. El precio: desde 2 $/mes por sitio en el plan sandbox. El plan starter con 10 GB de disco sale a 5 $/mes. Claude vs ChatGPT: ¿cuál usar para desarrollo? La polémica de la semana viene del contrato de Anthropic con el Departamento de Defensa de EE.UU., con cláusulas sobre vigilancia masiva y uso quirúrgico de sus modelos en armamento. El gobierno respondió mal, OpenAI firmó su propio contrato poco después sin esas restricciones, y el debate sobre qué empresa tiene los valores más alineados está servido. Más allá de la política, la pregunta práctica: ¿ChatGPT o Claude para desarrollo web y automatización? Lo que se ve en foros y comunidades de indie hackers es consistente: los desarrolladores prefieren Claude. El estándar MCP lo creó Anthropic, Claude Code es la herramienta de referencia en flujos agénticos, y el modelo Sonnet en particular tiene fama de ser más preciso en código. ChatGPT sigue siendo el top of mind para uso general, tiene más integraciones y el ecosistema más maduro. Pero si programas mucho, Claude tiene ventaja percibida. En precio, Claude Pro sale a 17 $/mes en anual frente a los 20 $/mes de ChatGPT Plus. La diferencia tampoco es decisiva. Onboarding automatizado en Discord con Make El proceso de alta en la comunidad de Yan ha dado otro paso. Antes: el usuario entraba al servidor, rellenaba un formulario con su usuario de Discord, y una automatización le asignaba el rol premium. Ahora: cuando alguien se une al servidor, recibe un mensaje privado con una URL que ya lleva su nombre de usuario pre-relleno como parámetro. Al hacer clic, la propia URL verifica si está logado en la web, y si es así, llama a Make directamente para asignar el rol. Sin formulario, sin fricción. Quedan por cubrir los casos edge: usuario no logado, usuario logado pero sin acceso, usuario no en el servidor. Pero la base ya funciona. Agentes de IA vs automatizaciones clásicas Un debate recurrente que tiene cada vez más matices: ¿cuándo tiene sentido un agente y cuándo basta una automatización en Make? La realidad es que muchos ejemplos que se venden como "agentes revolucionarios" son simplemente llamadas a una API con algo de lógica encima. Eso ya lo hace Make, más barato y sin quemar tokens en cada paso. Los agentes tienen sentido real cuando el flujo es no determinista: cuando el siguiente paso depende de una interpretación, cuando hay que tomar decisiones con información incompleta, o cuando el usuario quiere interactuar en lenguaje natural sin configurar nada. Para el 90% de las automatizaciones de negocio habituales —facturación, onboarding, publicación— una automatización clásica sigue siendo más predecible, más barata y más fácil de mantener. Preguntas frecuentes ¿Qué son los conectores de IA de WordPress 7? Una nueva pantalla en Ajustes que centraliza las claves API de proveedores como OpenAI, Claude o Gemini, para que cualquier plugin pueda usarlas sin gestionarlas por separado. ¿Se puede automatizar Factura Directa con Make? Sí. Hay un módulo creado por la comunidad y para lo que no cubre, funciona perfectamente con el módulo HTTP de Make llamando directamente a la API de Factura Directa. ¿Es InstaWP una alternativa válida al staging manual por SFTP? Para proyectos pequeños y medianos sí. El acceso directo desde producción y los perfiles FTP hacen el flujo bastante cómodo, aunque el deployment selectivo todavía tiene limitaciones. ¿Estás usando ya Make para automatizar tu facturación, o tienes otro flujo montado? ¿Y qué hay de los conectores de WordPress 7, le ves utilidad real en tus proyectos? Cuéntalo en los comentarios.

We kick things off in FOLLOW UP with the ongoing "nuclear war" between Automattic and WP Engine, where discovery has revealed Matt Mullenweg's alleged hit list of competitors and a desperate attempt to bully payment processors—because nothing says "open source" like an eight-percent royalty shakedown. Meanwhile, the Harvard Business Review confirmed what we already knew: AI isn't reducing our work; it's just compressing it until we're all working through lunch and burning out faster while Polymarket turns our collective brain rot into a literal "attention market" where you can bet on Elon's mindshare.Transitioning to IN THE NEWS, Elon has officially pivoted SpaceX from Mars to the Moon, presumably because building a "self-growing lunar city" is easier than admitting the Red Planet is hard, though his xAI all-hands rant about "ancient alien catapults" suggests he's been staring at the sun too long. Between X allegedly taking blue-check lunch money from sanctioned Iranian leaders, Meta facing trials for creating "predator-friendly hunting grounds," and Russia finally pulling the plug on WhatsApp, the internet is looking more like a digital dumpster fire than ever. Add in Discord leaking 70,000 government IDs, OpenAI shoving ads into ChatGPT while safety researchers flee the building like it's on fire, and a "cognitive debt" crisis eroding our ability to think, and you've got a recipe for a tech-induced psychosis that even crypto-funded human trafficking can't outpace.In MEDIA CANDY, we're wondering about the soft-core porn intro in the latest Star Trek: Starfleet Academy while Apple buys the total rights to Severance for seventy million dollars—because in-house production is the only way to keep those ballooning budgets under control. Super Bowl trailer season gave us a glimpse of The Mandalorian and Grogu and a Project Hail Mary teaser, while Babylon 5 has finally landed on YouTube for free, proving that even 90s serialized sci-fi eventually finds its way to the clearance bin.Over in APPS & DOODADS, Meta Quest is nagging us for our birthdays like a needy relative, while Roblox had to scrub a mass-shooting simulator—because "AI plus human safety teams" is apparently just code for "we missed it until it hit the forums." Ring's Super Bowl ad for "Search Party" accidentally terrified everyone by revealing a mass surveillance network for pets that's a slippery slope toward a police state, and Waymo is now paying DoorDashers ten bucks just to walk over and close the car doors that autonomous tech still can't figure out.Wrapping up with THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVE, we dive into the Mandalorian Hasbro reveal where Sigourney Weaver's action figure comes with no accessories because her existence is enough of a flex. We explore the grim reality of "RentAHuman," where humans are paid pittance to pretend AI agents are actually doing work, and look at "Trash Talk Audio," which sells a $125 microphone made out of a literal old telephone for that authentic Gen-X "get off the line, I'm expecting a call" aesthetic. From Marcia Lucas finally venting about the prequels and a rare book catalog specifically for our aging generation, we're reminded that while the future is a chaotic mess of "GeoSpy" AI and corporate reshuffling at Disney, at least we still have our cynical memories and some free versions of Roller Coaster Tycoon to keep us from losing it completely.Sponsors:CleanMyMac - Get Tidy Today! Try 7 days free and use code OLDGEEKS for 20% off at clnmy.com/OLDGEEKSDeleteMe - Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use promo code GOG at checkout.Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordShow notes at https://gog.show/733FOLLOW UPAutomattic planned to target 10 competitors with royalty fees, WP Engine claims in new filingAI Doesn't Reduce Work—It Intensifies ItPolymarket To Offer Attention Markets In Partnership With Kaito AIIsrael Arrests Members of Military for Placing Polymarket Bets Using Inside Information on Upcoming StrikesIN THE NEWSUnable to Reach Mars, Musk Does the Most Musk Thing PossibleWe'll Find the Remnants of Ancient Alien Civilizations': Read Musk's Gibberish Rant from His xAI All-Hands MeetingElon Musk's X Appears to Be Violating US Sanctions by Selling Premium Accounts to Iranian LeadersMeta Faces Two Key Trials That Could Change Social Media ForeverWhatsApp is now fully blocked in RussiaRussia is restricting access to Telegram, one of its most popular social media apps. Here's what we knowDOJ may face investigation for pressuring Apple, Google to remove apps for tracking ICE agentsDiscord Launches Teen-by-Default Settings GloballyDiscord says hackers stole government IDs of 70,000 usersFree Tool Says it Can Bypass Discord's Age Verification Check With a 3D ModelTesting ads in ChatGPTOpenAI Researcher Quits, Warns Its Unprecedented ‘Archive of Human Candor' Is DangerousOpenAI Fires Top Safety Exec Who Opposed ChatGPT's “Adult Mode”Anthropic AI Safety Researcher Warns Of World ‘In Peril' In ResignationMusk's xAI loses second co-founder in two daysAmerica Isn't Ready for What AI Will Do to JobsMonologue: No, Something Big Isn't ComingThe Scientist Who Predicted AI Psychosis Has a Grim Forecast of What's Going to Happen NextCrypto-Funded Human Trafficking Is ExplodingMEDIA CANDYShrinkingStar Trek: Starfleet AcademyPoor ThingsProject Hail Mary | Final TrailerMinions & Monsters | Official TrailerDisclosure Day | Big Game SpotThe Mandalorian and Grogu | A New Journey Begins | In Theaters May 22Babylon 5 Is Now Free to Watch On YouTubeApple acquires all rights to ‘Severance,' will produce future seasons in-houseOptimizing your TVAPPS & DOODADSTumbler Ridge Shooter Created Mall Shooting Simulator in RobloxHere's how to disable Ring's creepy Search Party featureWaymo Is Getting DoorDashers to Close Doors on Self Driving CarsTikTok US launches a local feed that leverages a user's exact locationApple just released iOS 26.3 alongside updates for the Mac, iPad and Apple WatchTHE DARK SIDE WITH DAVEDave BittnerThe CyberWireHacking HumansCaveatControl LoopOnly Malware in the BuildingWe Call It ImagineeringYour First Look at Hasbro's 'Mandalorian and Grogu' Figures Is Here (Exclusive)I Tried RentAHuman, Where AI Agents Hired Me to Hype Their AI StartupsTrash Talk AudioRoger Reacts to Star Wars - A New HopeMarcia Lucas Finally Speaks Out | Icons Unearthed: Unplugged (FULL INTERVIEW)What's wrong with the prequels?Rare Books, Gen X editionGeoSpyCLOSING SHOUT-OUTSRobert Tinney, who painted iconic Byte magazine covers, RIPBud CortSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A story about choosing margins over momentum—and letting investors call you wrongThis episode is for SaaS CEOs stuck around 20% EBITDA and wondering what it actually takes to double it without cutting their way there.Most SaaS companies treat 20% EBITDA as a healthy number. Georgi Petrov targets 50.Georgi, CEO of Uxify, has founded four companies in 15 years with two exits—including one to WP Engine. He doesn't get there by cutting. He gets there by building differently from day one: small teams with high ownership, self-service at premium prices, and a refusal to add cost before it earns its place.And this inspired me to invite Georgi to my podcast. We explore why targeting 50% EBITDA changes every hiring decision, every pricing decision, and every partnership decision a founder makes. Georgi shares hard-won lessons on why small teams outperform large ones, why focus beats optionality, and why selling business outcomes—not product features—makes premium self-service pricing work.We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: – Acknowledge you cannot please everyone – Focus on the essenceGeorgi's journey proves that starting from profit forces every decision to earn its place.Here's one of Georgi's quotes that captures how he actually gets to 50% EBITDA:"Most of the high-leverage decisions that we made turn out to be not so good decisions. We find the good somewhere in the middle. Not having a support team sounds like a high-leverage decision, but that's ultimately bad, because customers need 24/7 support. So, ultimately, expand the support team, but do it in a smarter way, and that's how we end up. If we're super able to leverage a lot, very likely we can achieve much more than 50%, but I think you end up somewhere about 50% ultimately."By listening to this episode, you'll learn:Why profitability shapes better decisions than fundraising ever willWhat self-service at premium prices requires to actually workWhy the biggest partners rarely deliver the biggest resultsWhen adding people stops creating productivity and starts destroying itFor more information about the guest from this week: Guest: Georgi Petrov, CEO of Uxify Website: uxify.com

This episode breaks down an article by Jason Cohen, founder of WP Engine and SmartBear, outlining his step-by-step roadmap from idea to product-market fit (PMF) for startups, especially DevTools. His 8 step roadmap provides insights on personal fit, market validation, customer interviews, building an SLC (simple, lovable, complete) MVP, sales focus, retention, prioritization, and founder psychology, drawing from Cohen's unicorn success and pitfalls to avoid.Links:   • Jason Cohen    •  WP Engine   •  Smart Bear    •  Jason Cohen's articleThis episode is brought to you by WorkOS. If you're thinking about selling to enterprise customers, WorkOS can help you add enterprise features like Single Sign On and audit logs. 

Jason Cohen is a four-time founder (including two unicorns, one being WP Engine) and an investor in over 60 startups, and has been sharing his lessons on company building at A Smart Bear for nearly 20 years. In this episode, Jason shares his methodical five-step framework for diagnosing stalled growth—a problem that faces almost every team.We discuss:1. Jason's five-step framework: logo retention, pricing, NRR, marketing channels, target market2. A small tweak that'll double response rates on your cancellation surveys3. Why “it's too expensive” is almost never the real reason customers cancel4. The “elephant curve” of growth5. How repositioning the same product can increase revenue 8x6. When to reconsider if growth is even the right goal for your business—Brought to you by:10Web—Vibe coding platform as an APIStrella—The AI-powered customer research platformBrex—The banking solution for startups—Episode transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/why-your-product-stopped-growing—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0—Where to find Jason Cohen:• Preorder Jason's book: https://preorder.hiddenmultipliers.com/• X: https://x.com/asmartbear• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncohen• Blog: https://longform.asmartbear.com• Website: https://wpengine.com—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Jason Cohen(05:19) Jason's writing journey(08:25) Questions to ask when your product stops growing(18:17) Getting real customer feedback(20:27) Analyzing cancellation reasons(26:54) Onboarding and activation(29:35) Quick summary(35:46) Revisiting pricing strategies(41:46) Positioning strategies(47:52) Why pricing is inseparable from your strategy(52:06) The importance of net revenue retention (NRR)(01:00:25) Asking whether or not this is good for the customer(01:04:34) Leveraging existing customers(01:06:42) Are your acquisition channels saturated? The “elephant curve”(1:09:41) Why all marketing channels eventually decline(01:12:04) Direct vs. indirect marketing channels(1:13:36) Getting creative with new channels(01:19:04) Do you actually need to grow?(01:25:57) Deciding when to quit(01:29:27) Book announcement(01:33:21) AI corner(01:34:35) Contrarian corner(01:37:43) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• Tyler Cowen's website: https://tylercowen.com• How to Perform a Customer Churn Analysis (and Why You Should): https://www.groovehq.com/blog/learn-from-customer-churn• Linear: https://linear.app• Jira: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira• Patrick Campbell's post on X about pricing: https://x.com/Patticus/status/1702313260547006942• The art and science of pricing | Madhavan Ramanujam (Monetizing Innovation, Simon-Kucher): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-art-and-science-of-pricing-madhavan• Pricing your AI product: Lessons from 400+ companies and 50 unicorns | Madhavan Ramanujam: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/pricing-and-scaling-your-ai-product-madhavan-ramanujam• Pricing your SaaS product: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/saas-pricing-strategy• M&A, competition, pricing, and investing | Julia Schottenstein (dbt Labs): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/m-and-a-competition-pricing-and-investing• “Sell the alpha, not the feature”: The enterprise sales playbook for $1M to $10M ARR | Jen Abel: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-enterprise-sales-playbook-1m-to-10m-arr• Buffer: https://buffer.com• AG1: https://drinkag1.com• How to find hidden growth opportunities in your product | Albert Cheng (Duolingo, Grammarly, Chess.com): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-find-hidden-growth-opportunities-albert-cheng• How Duolingo reignited user growth: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-duolingo-reignited-user-growth• The Elephant in the room: The myth of exponential hypergrowth: https://longform.asmartbear.com/exponential-growth• HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com• Zigging vs. zagging: How HubSpot built a $30B company | Dharmesh Shah (co-founder/CTO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-30-years-of-building• Adjacency Matrix: How to expand after PMF: https://longform.asmartbear.com/adjacency/• Ecosystem is the next big growth channel: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ecosystem-is-the-next-big-growth• ChatGPT apps are about to be the next big distribution channel: Here's how to build one: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/chatgpt-apps-are-about-to-be-the• 10 contrarian leadership truths every leader needs to hear | Matt MacInnis (Rippling): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/10-contrarian-leadership-truths• Breaking the rules of growth: Why Shopify bans KPIs, optimizes for churn, prioritizes intuition, and builds toward a 100-year vision | Archie Abrams (VP Product, Head of Growth at Shopify): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/shopifys-growth-archie-abrams• Geoffrey Moore on finding your beachhead, crossing the chasm, and dominating a market: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/geoffrey-moore-on-finding-your-beachhead• ER on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/ER-Season-1/dp/B0FWK5WJQ4• The Pitt on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/The-Pitt-Season-1/dp/B0DNRR8QWD• Wispr Flow: https://wisprflow.ai• Anker: https://www.anker.com—Recommended books:• Will: https://www.amazon.com/Will-Smith/dp/1984877925• Monetizing Innovation: How Smart Companies Design the Product Around the Price: https://www.amazon.com/Monetizing-Innovation-Companies-Design-Product/dp/1119240867• Hidden Multipliers: Small Things That Accelerate Growth: https://preorder.hiddenmultipliers.com• On Writing Well: The Essential Guide to Mastering Nonfiction Writing and Effective Communication: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Well-Classic-Guide-Nonfiction/dp/0060891548• Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition: The Updated Version of the Insightful Guide on Bringing Cutting-Edge Products to the Mainstream: https://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Chasm-3rd-Disruptive-Mainstream/dp/0062292986—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

When a major Amazon cloud outage brings everything from smart mattresses to Snapchat grinding to a halt, what does it reveal about our digital fragility—and are we trusting the cloud a little too much? A Single Point of Failure Triggered the Amazon Outage Affecting Million Pluralistic: The mad king's digital killswitch (20 Oct 2025) Trump and Xi will 'consummate' TikTok deal on Thursday, treasury secretary says 3,000 YouTube Videos Exposed as Malware Traps in Massive Ghost Network Operation Can YouTube Replace 'Traditional' TV? All the implications of F1's game-changing TV move Foreign hackers breached a US nuclear weapons plant via SharePoint flaws Browser Promising Privacy Protection Contains Malware-Like Features, Routes Traffic Through China iCloud data helps crack NBA and mob poker scheme Rubbish IT systems cost the US at least $40bn during Covid: study Counter-Strike cosmetics economy loses nearly $2 billion in value overnight GM to introduce eyes-off, hands-off driving system in 2028 WordPress co-founder files countersuit against WP Engine over trademark violations a16z-Backed Startup Sells Thousands of 'Synthetic Influencers' to Manipulate Social Media as a Service Bill Gates-Backed 345 MWe Advanced Nuclear Reactor Secures Crucial US Approval Programmer Gets Doom Running On a Space Satellite Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Richard Campbell and Doc Rock Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: deel.com/twit zapier.com/twit helixsleep.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit zscaler.com/security

When a major Amazon cloud outage brings everything from smart mattresses to Snapchat grinding to a halt, what does it reveal about our digital fragility—and are we trusting the cloud a little too much? A Single Point of Failure Triggered the Amazon Outage Affecting Million Pluralistic: The mad king's digital killswitch (20 Oct 2025) Trump and Xi will 'consummate' TikTok deal on Thursday, treasury secretary says 3,000 YouTube Videos Exposed as Malware Traps in Massive Ghost Network Operation Can YouTube Replace 'Traditional' TV? All the implications of F1's game-changing TV move Foreign hackers breached a US nuclear weapons plant via SharePoint flaws Browser Promising Privacy Protection Contains Malware-Like Features, Routes Traffic Through China iCloud data helps crack NBA and mob poker scheme Rubbish IT systems cost the US at least $40bn during Covid: study Counter-Strike cosmetics economy loses nearly $2 billion in value overnight GM to introduce eyes-off, hands-off driving system in 2028 WordPress co-founder files countersuit against WP Engine over trademark violations a16z-Backed Startup Sells Thousands of 'Synthetic Influencers' to Manipulate Social Media as a Service Bill Gates-Backed 345 MWe Advanced Nuclear Reactor Secures Crucial US Approval Programmer Gets Doom Running On a Space Satellite Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Richard Campbell and Doc Rock Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: deel.com/twit zapier.com/twit helixsleep.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit zscaler.com/security

When a major Amazon cloud outage brings everything from smart mattresses to Snapchat grinding to a halt, what does it reveal about our digital fragility—and are we trusting the cloud a little too much? A Single Point of Failure Triggered the Amazon Outage Affecting Million Pluralistic: The mad king's digital killswitch (20 Oct 2025) Trump and Xi will 'consummate' TikTok deal on Thursday, treasury secretary says 3,000 YouTube Videos Exposed as Malware Traps in Massive Ghost Network Operation Can YouTube Replace 'Traditional' TV? All the implications of F1's game-changing TV move Foreign hackers breached a US nuclear weapons plant via SharePoint flaws Browser Promising Privacy Protection Contains Malware-Like Features, Routes Traffic Through China iCloud data helps crack NBA and mob poker scheme Rubbish IT systems cost the US at least $40bn during Covid: study Counter-Strike cosmetics economy loses nearly $2 billion in value overnight GM to introduce eyes-off, hands-off driving system in 2028 WordPress co-founder files countersuit against WP Engine over trademark violations a16z-Backed Startup Sells Thousands of 'Synthetic Influencers' to Manipulate Social Media as a Service Bill Gates-Backed 345 MWe Advanced Nuclear Reactor Secures Crucial US Approval Programmer Gets Doom Running On a Space Satellite Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Richard Campbell and Doc Rock Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: deel.com/twit zapier.com/twit helixsleep.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit zscaler.com/security

When a major Amazon cloud outage brings everything from smart mattresses to Snapchat grinding to a halt, what does it reveal about our digital fragility—and are we trusting the cloud a little too much? A Single Point of Failure Triggered the Amazon Outage Affecting Million Pluralistic: The mad king's digital killswitch (20 Oct 2025) Trump and Xi will 'consummate' TikTok deal on Thursday, treasury secretary says 3,000 YouTube Videos Exposed as Malware Traps in Massive Ghost Network Operation Can YouTube Replace 'Traditional' TV? All the implications of F1's game-changing TV move Foreign hackers breached a US nuclear weapons plant via SharePoint flaws Browser Promising Privacy Protection Contains Malware-Like Features, Routes Traffic Through China iCloud data helps crack NBA and mob poker scheme Rubbish IT systems cost the US at least $40bn during Covid: study Counter-Strike cosmetics economy loses nearly $2 billion in value overnight GM to introduce eyes-off, hands-off driving system in 2028 WordPress co-founder files countersuit against WP Engine over trademark violations a16z-Backed Startup Sells Thousands of 'Synthetic Influencers' to Manipulate Social Media as a Service Bill Gates-Backed 345 MWe Advanced Nuclear Reactor Secures Crucial US Approval Programmer Gets Doom Running On a Space Satellite Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Richard Campbell and Doc Rock Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: deel.com/twit zapier.com/twit helixsleep.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit zscaler.com/security

When a major Amazon cloud outage brings everything from smart mattresses to Snapchat grinding to a halt, what does it reveal about our digital fragility—and are we trusting the cloud a little too much? A Single Point of Failure Triggered the Amazon Outage Affecting Million Pluralistic: The mad king's digital killswitch (20 Oct 2025) Trump and Xi will 'consummate' TikTok deal on Thursday, treasury secretary says 3,000 YouTube Videos Exposed as Malware Traps in Massive Ghost Network Operation Can YouTube Replace 'Traditional' TV? All the implications of F1's game-changing TV move Foreign hackers breached a US nuclear weapons plant via SharePoint flaws Browser Promising Privacy Protection Contains Malware-Like Features, Routes Traffic Through China iCloud data helps crack NBA and mob poker scheme Rubbish IT systems cost the US at least $40bn during Covid: study Counter-Strike cosmetics economy loses nearly $2 billion in value overnight GM to introduce eyes-off, hands-off driving system in 2028 WordPress co-founder files countersuit against WP Engine over trademark violations a16z-Backed Startup Sells Thousands of 'Synthetic Influencers' to Manipulate Social Media as a Service Bill Gates-Backed 345 MWe Advanced Nuclear Reactor Secures Crucial US Approval Programmer Gets Doom Running On a Space Satellite Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Richard Campbell and Doc Rock Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: deel.com/twit zapier.com/twit helixsleep.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit zscaler.com/security

When a major Amazon cloud outage brings everything from smart mattresses to Snapchat grinding to a halt, what does it reveal about our digital fragility—and are we trusting the cloud a little too much? A Single Point of Failure Triggered the Amazon Outage Affecting Million Pluralistic: The mad king's digital killswitch (20 Oct 2025) Trump and Xi will 'consummate' TikTok deal on Thursday, treasury secretary says 3,000 YouTube Videos Exposed as Malware Traps in Massive Ghost Network Operation Can YouTube Replace 'Traditional' TV? All the implications of F1's game-changing TV move Foreign hackers breached a US nuclear weapons plant via SharePoint flaws Browser Promising Privacy Protection Contains Malware-Like Features, Routes Traffic Through China iCloud data helps crack NBA and mob poker scheme Rubbish IT systems cost the US at least $40bn during Covid: study Counter-Strike cosmetics economy loses nearly $2 billion in value overnight GM to introduce eyes-off, hands-off driving system in 2028 WordPress co-founder files countersuit against WP Engine over trademark violations a16z-Backed Startup Sells Thousands of 'Synthetic Influencers' to Manipulate Social Media as a Service Bill Gates-Backed 345 MWe Advanced Nuclear Reactor Secures Crucial US Approval Programmer Gets Doom Running On a Space Satellite Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Richard Campbell and Doc Rock Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: deel.com/twit zapier.com/twit helixsleep.com/twit expressvpn.com/twit zscaler.com/security

Plus - Automattic files counterclaims against WP Engine in WordPress lawsuit, alleging trademark misuse; Can steroids combat population collapse? The Enhanced Games wants to find out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ezinne and Oji Udezue have over 50 years of combined product leadership experience at Microsoft, Twitter, Atlassian, WP Engine, Typeform, and Calendly. They've witnessed every major shift in product management, and, despite their seniority, they're taking beginner AI courses and learning from engineers half their age, and Oji is coding more now than in the past decade—from Waterfall to Agile to AI. They are also the authors of Building Rocketships, a guide to building great products. In this conversation, the couple shares hard-won lessons they've learned from companies successfully adapting to AI, including their “shipyard” framework and their “sharp problem” methodology.What you'll learn:1. The “shipyard” framework: why the best AI teams embrace controlled chaos2. Why Oji writes more code now than in the past 10 years—despite being a PM for more than 25 years3. The three skills that matter most for PMs in 2025: curiosity, humility, and agency4. How to identify “sharp problems”5. AI at the core vs. AI at the edge: why companies that are building entirely new AI-centric codebases will beat those just “sprinkling AI” on existing products6. The counterintuitive truth: engineers are moving so fast with AI that PMs are now the bottleneck7. Their biggest product lesson from 50 combined years—Brought to you by:Mercury—The art of simplified financesVanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security.Coda—The all-in-one collaborative workspace—Where to find Oji and Ezinne:• ProductMind on Substack: https://substack.com/@ojiudezue• ProductMind on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/productmindco• ProductMind on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ProductMindX/videos• ProductMind on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/07OVh5pdSv0szHPwWktzQQ• ProductMind website: https://www.productmind.co/• Oji on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ojiudezue/• Ezinne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezinne/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Oji and Ezinne(04:14) The evolving role of product managers(08:01) Challenges and opportunities in product management(10:34) Sharp problems(12:37) The shipyard model for product development(17:02) Hiring PMs in the AI era(24:55) The importance of staying humble(27:16) Hands-on learning and personal projects(39:10) Companies succeeding with AI adoption(46:25) Lessons from 50 years in product(49:22) Simplicity in design(51:24) The role of communication in strategy(55:17) Career intentions and personal growth(01:00:00) Ethics and responsibility in product management(01:03:09) Introducing Building Rocketships(01:06:42) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• How 80,000 companies build with AI: products as organisms, the death of org charts, and why agents will outnumber employees by 2026 | Asha Sharma (CVP of AI Platform at Microsoft): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-80000-companies-build-with-ai-asha-sharma• Picking sharp problems, increasing virality, and unique product frameworks | Oji Udezue (Typeform, Twitter, Calendly, Atlassian): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/picking-sharp-problems-increasing• Atlassian: https://www.atlassian.com/• Joff Redfern on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mejoff/• Brownian motion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownian_motion• Calendly: https://calendly.com/• Women in Product: https://womenpm.org/• Brian Chesky's secret mentor who died 9 times, started the Burning Man board, and built the world's first midlife wisdom school | Chip Conley (founder of MEA): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/chip-conley• Home Assistant: https://www.home-assistant.io/• What people are vibe coding (and actually using): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/what-people-are-vibe-coding-and-actually• How many layers should I wear today?: https://layers.today/• Typeform: https://www.typeform.com/• David Okuniev on X: https://x.com/okuiux• Clay: https://www.clay.com/• Martin Eriksson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martineriksson/• Geoffrey Moore on finding your beachhead, crossing the chasm, and dominating a market: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/geoffrey-moore-on-finding-your-beachhead• Dave Mendlen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemendlen/• Deepfake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepfake• How to kickstart and scale a marketplace business: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-kickstart-and-scale-a-marketplace• Forever on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81418639• Paradise on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/paradise-2b4b8988-50c9-4097-bf93-bc34a99a5b4f• Sinners: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31193180/• Claude: https://claude.ai/• Nespresso Vertuo: https://www.nespresso.com/us/en/vertuo-coffee-machines• Gamma: https://gamma.app/• Framer: https://www.framer.com/• Lovable: https://lovable.dev/• Building Lovable: $10M ARR in 60 days with 15 people | Anton Osika (CEO and co-founder): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-lovable-anton-osika• Llama: https://www.llama.com/—Recommended books:• Building Rocketships: Product Management for High-Growth Companies: https://www.amazon.com/Building-Rocketships-Management-High-Growth-Companies/dp/1962339068• Coda version of Building Rocketships: https://www.productmind.co/brpro• Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making: https://www.amazon.com/Build-Unorthodox-Guide-Making-Things/dp/0063046067• The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can't Stop Talking About: https://www.amazon.com/Let-Them-Theory-Life-Changing-Millions/dp/1401971369/Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.My biggest takeaways from this conversation: To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

In episode #346 of "This Week in WordPress," Nathan Wrigley is joined by Taco Verdonschot, Dave Grey, and Alex Osmuchenko for a lively discussion covering the latest in WordPress and beyond. The panel dives into upcoming features in Gutenberg 21.5, including the new accordion block and command palette, while sharing perspectives on the ongoing WP Engine vs. Automattic legal saga. They highlight the launch of the F.A.I.R. package manager site, growing educational initiatives like WordPress credits in Costa Rica, and a packed schedule of upcoming WordCamps and WP Accessibility Day. The team also explores the new Telex tool for building blocks with AI, a revealing page builder accessibility report, and Rocket.net's partnership with Hosting.com. As usual, there's plenty of banter, travel tales from WordCamp US, and an airport security story involving a suspicious Wapuu card game. Dive in for news, community, and plenty of WordPress insights!

Today's guest is Matt Mullenweg, Co-founder of WordPress, which powers over 43% of all websites on the internet, and founder of Automattic.Our conversation explores the 2000's internet, the early days of Automattic, and the decisions and philosophies that set them up for success 20 years later.We talk open source software, why Matt's such a big proponent of it, how Automattic built its business model as one of the first SaaS companies (that now owns companies like Tumblr and WooCommerce), and how AI is changing engineering.Matt also shares how to build a community around your product, “Conscious Capitalism”, what he learned running one of the first distributed teams, and lessons on optimism from Walt Disney.Thanks to Ramp for supporting this episode. It's the corporate card and expense management platform used by over 40,000 companies, like Shopify, CBRE and Stripe. Time is money. Save both with Ramp. Get your $250 here.Timestamps:(3:48) WordPress: Powering 43% of the internet(8:30) Outcompeting Reid Hoffman's startup in the early days(14:03) Why open source wins over the long-term(16:21) Business models in open source(21:12) Starting Automattic in 2005, one of the first SaaS companies(28:45) Spending most of Automattic's Seed round on servers(33:36) How to use Community + Word of Mouth for early growth(38:38) Matt's current situation with WP Engine(43:30) How to give back in open source(53:55) Best practices from 20 years of a remote company(59:59) Lessons on optimism from Walt Disney(1:12:33) How AI is changing coding(1:16:09) How Automattic created an internal employee secondary market(1:23:51) How open source increases longevity (1:26:08) Matt's favorite classical thinkersReferenced:AutomatticWordpressMatt's BlogBay Lights in SFInnocence ProjectVesuvius ChallengePlastic ListThe Giving PledgeDAFFYPessimist ArchiveMatt's favorite quote from Rudy FranciscoMaintenance by Stuart BrandWe are as Gods by Stuart BrandMarginal Revolution by Tyler CohenFollow MattTwitterLinkedInFollow TurnerTwitterLinkedInSubscribe to my newsletter to get every episode + the transcript in your inbox every week.

What does it take to scale a B2B SaaS company from zero to $100 million in ARR? In the final episode of Season 6 of the Grow Your B2B SaaS Podcast, we explore this big question with two standout guests: Oji and Ezinne Udezue. They've worked with top tech companies like Typeform, WP Engine, and Twitter. They also co-wrote Building Rocketships: Product Management for High-Growth Companies. Beyond their resumes, they bring a unique perspective as a married couple with 20 years of partnership, both in life and in product leadership. This episode is full of sharp insights and practical strategies for anyone looking to build and grow successful SaaS products.Key Timecodes(0:00) - Knowing Your Ideal Customer Profile(0:09) - Most Important Task for Founders(0:59) - Closing Off Season 6 with a Bang(1:46) - Guest Welcome(1:53) - Diving Into Product Management(2:02) - Product Management as a Craft(3:19) - The Importance of Sharp Problems(4:44) - Why SaaS Founders Need Product Management(6:22) - Founders Thinking as Product Managers(7:54) - Misconceptions in Product Management(8:32) - Admin Layer of Product Management(9:27) - AI's Role in Product Management(10:19) - Calculated Decisions and Customer Needs(10:52) - AI as a Tool, Not a Replacement(11:13) - Scaling from Zero to $100 Million ARR(12:29) - Finding a Sharp Problem(13:46) - Sharpening Your ICP(16:05) - Building and Refining Your Product(18:13) - Signals Before Investing in Growth(19:38) - The Fundamentals of Product-Market Fit(20:36) - Creating a Unicorn vs. a Small Business(22:32) - Product Strategy Across Revenue Stages(25:41) - Strategic Moats and Distribution(26:11) - What is Product-Market Fit?(27:18) - Customer Investment as a Sign of Fit(28:23) - Phases of Growth in SaaS(30:56) - Virality vs. Network Effects(32:54) - When to Think About Virality and Network Effects(35:02) - AI as a Risk and Opportunity(36:18) - AI's Impact on Workflows(39:15) - Rethinking Business with AI(42:34) - Advice for SaaS Founders Starting Out(45:10) - Growing Towards 10 Million ARR(49:03) - Making Decisions When Not in the Room(51:01) - Summary of Key Points(51:26) - Building Rocketships Pro Edition(53:21) - Building a Community of Product Managers(53:57) - Closing Remarks and Call for Feedback

Today, I'm talking with Matt Mullenweg, the founder and CEO of Automattic and the public face of WordPress. Last year, Matt essentially went to war, publicly and in the courts, against a hosting company called WP Engine, and there's been significant fallout at Automattic and the broader WordPress community.   It's been a long, drawn-out saga. That said, Matt was willing to come on the show and talk through some of this thinking here, why he made some of the decisions he did, and also what he regrets about how some of this went down.  Links:  The messy WordPress drama, explained | Verge Celebrating 20 Years of Automattic | Automattic Matt Mullenweg: ‘WordPress.org just belongs to me' | Verge Automattic offered employees another chance to quit over | Verge WordPress owner Automattic is laying off 16 percent of workers | Verge Tumblr will move all of its blogs to WordPress | Verge Beeper was just acquired by Automattic | Verge Automattic acquires relationship manager Clay | TechCrunch How WordPress and Tumblr are keeping the internet weird | Decoder How to buy a social network, with Tumblr CEO Matt Mullenweg | Decoder Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Here's the replay from the most recent live Q&A that was held on my YouTube channel!Special offer extended to you as a podcast listener

What does it mean to build world-class products in the age of AI? In this episode, Randy Silver talks to Ezinne and Oji Udezue, co-authors of Building Rocketships, a playbook for building high-growth companies in today's fast-evolving tech landscape. Together, they unpack what product looks like now, how AI changes collaboration, and why ambition, clarity, and disciplined execution matter more than ever.Key takeaways— Building world-class products starts with clear ambition and choosing big, meaningful problems— AI isn't replacing PMs, it's changing the way product work gets done—especially in how we collaborate— Vibe coding enables faster iteration and clearer communication through prototyping in code— The product manager's job is to lead teams and help the organisation build the right thing, not just anything— Clarity, focus, and leadership buy-in are essential to successful transformation, even in legacy organisations— Product teams need to shift from writing specs to orchestrating systems that drive customer and business outcomes— Every product person should master the full arc: solving today's problems, helping customers succeed, and spotting future opportunitiesChapters 0:00 The "should PMs code?" debate1:54 First product roles and how the book came to life4:49 The mission behind Building Rocketships7:13 Why the book is for leaders and their partners10:01 Differences between world-class teams and everyone else13:35 What ambition really looks like17:10 How clarity transforms legacy companies23:10 AI, vibe coding, and the new spec: working prototypes30:10 Redefining the product team's role in the AI age35:02 What skills PMs actually need to thrive now42:54 The one mistake PMs can't afford to makeFeatured Links: Follow Ezinne on LinkedIn | Follow Oji on LinkedIn | ProductMind | Buy their new book 'Building Rocketships: Product Management for High Growth Companies'Our HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath. Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury's. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group's Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He's the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon's music stores in the US & UK.

WordPress hits play after a messy pause, but is it too little, too late for the CMS giant? Meanwhile, Google's AI experiments are changing the rules for email marketing, local search, and desktop Discover, leaving marketers everywhere scrambling for a playbook that doesn't exist. Erin and SEO pro Cindy Krum break down WordPress's mudslinging match with WP Engine and the quiet return to development, all while raising eyebrows over community trust. We check on Google's ever-evolving SERPs—AI Overviews, the deployment of Discover on desktop, and the not-so-sneaky ways impressions and clicks are decoupling faster than you can say “zero-click search.” Added to the mix: AI's impact on your inbox and why we might all end up living the “Dead Internet Theory.” Is SEO on life support or just evolving (again)? We debate the rosy new journey-centric approach while side-eyeing Google's “trust us, bro” attitude toward data transparency. Buckle up for a rapid-fire tour through the SEO wilderness—tracking AI hallucinations, local search creepiness, and why “hyper-personalization” might not sell more cannolis after all. News from the EDGE: [00:03:22] WordPress Unpauses Development - but is it out of time? [00:08:05] Google Discover on Desktop [00:12:53] AI is Making a Major Impact on Email Marketing [00:16:57]  Title Sponsor: Site Strategics SEO News from the EDGE: [00:20:01] The Great Decoupling Of Google Search [00:26:06] AI Overviews Research: How Google's AI Answers Vary Across Five States [00:32:07] AI and Local Search: The New Rules of Visibility [00:37:49] Sponsor: WAIKAY from InLinks [00:40:33] Google Search Console to Show AI Mode Performance [00:46:01] Is SEO Still Relevant In the AI Era? Thanks to our sponsors! Site Strategics https://edgeofthewebradio.com/site Inlinks https://edgeofthewebradio.com/waikay Follow Us: X: @ErinSparks X: @Suzzicks X: @TheMann00 X: @EDGEWebRadio

On today's episode, we're talking with Jeremy Pollock, VP of Product at WP Engine. In this episode, we discuss: Why speed is the new moat — Jeremy is pushing PMs to use AI, ship code, and move fast, because in the AI era, slow teams fall behind for good How WP Engine is enabling product teams to use AI — through access, training, and best practices that turn weeks of work into hours And, How big, aspirational product goals create momentum — giving teams the motivation to “eat their vegetables” and tackle the foundational work required for long-term success Links LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dane-molter-6b937231/ Navan: https://navan.com/ Resources (Ethically) cheat your way to $250M+ | Mikal Lewis, Product Exec. (Whole Foods, Nordstrom): https://youtu.be/5txeT2U_YQo Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:06 Dane Molter's Journey From Amex to Grubhub 01:44 The Grubhub Experience: Embracing Imperfection 04:08 The Push for Hypergrowth in Product 05:19 Lessons in Product Risk and Innovation 06:59 The Bigger Picture: Product Beyond Technology 09:30 Focusing on Bravery in Product Innovation 12:12 Applying Product Lessons at Navan 17:50 Enterprise Travel Challenges and AI Solutions 19:53 Business Outcomes and Accountability 20:13 Learning Business Mechanics at Amex 26:15 The Importance of Small Tests in Product Testing 34:27 Navigating AI and Emerging Technologies 37:45 Outro Follow LaunchPod on YouTube We have a new YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@LaunchPod.byLogRocket)! Watch full episodes of our interviews with PM leaders and subscribe! What does LogRocket do? LogRocket's Galileo AI watches user sessions for you and surfaces the technical and usability issues holding back your web and mobile apps. Understand where your users are struggling by trying it for free at LogRocket.com (https://logrocket.com/signup/?pdr).

In this episode of the Post Status Happiness Hour, host Michelle Frechette interviews Tim Bouchard, and Ron Brennan discuss the upcoming Color Code event, a conference focused on design, technology, and marketing. Unlike traditional WordCamps, Color Code aims to be more inclusive, welcoming participants from various platforms and technologies. The event will feature a diverse lineup of speakers, interactive elements like a live graffiti art competition, and networking opportunities. Set to take place in Buffalo, New York, the conference emphasizes accessibility and community involvement, promising a dynamic and engaging experience for all attendees.Top Takeaways:Networking and Collaboration Opportunities: The Color Code event emphasizes the power of in-person connections. With a focus on creative professionals, marketers, and developers, the event is designed to facilitate collaboration through both formal presentations and informal networking (the "hallway track"). Attendees can expect meaningful conversations and potential partnerships that might not happen in a purely virtual setting.Diverse and Relevant Topics: The event will cover a range of cutting-edge topics, such as AI, content strategies, and the challenges of decoupling from major tech players like Google. These presentations, led by volunteer speakers, aim to provide valuable insights and practical knowledge, making the event a great opportunity for professionals to stay informed on industry trends.Affordability and Accessibility: With an affordable ticket price ($40), including lunch and the after-party, Color Code positions itself as an accessible event for professionals of all backgrounds. The organizers also plan to record sessions and make them available online, ensuring that those who can't attend in person still have access to the valuable content.Mentioned In The Show:Color CodePress ConfWP EngineMeetupSeneca One TowerDouglas DevelopmentLuminousGene McCarthy's

This week, we're running it back to one of our most popular episodes. Recorded live at SaaStock USA 2023, host Alex Theuma is joined by Jason Cohen, Founder of WP Engine. In the episode, Jason reflects on his multi-decade journey as a serial entrepreneur, and shares his lessons from building and scaling WP Engine into a SaaS giant, including: - His journey as a serial entrepreneur. - The science behind why your startup really is like your baby. - Founding WP Engine, the world's largest managed Wordpress platform - From bootstrapped to venture backed, the decision to raise money. - Why most founders shouldn't raise money—and how to know if you're one of them. - How to build a practical strategy that involves the whole team. - How to know your own strengths and why he replaced himself as CEO. Guest links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncohen/ WP Engine: https://wpengine.com/Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward: 

Matt Mullenweg is the co-founder of WordPress, the open source platform powering a staggering 43% of the internet. He also serves as CEO of Automattic—the parent company of brands like WordPress.com, WooCommerce, and Tumblr—which is worth over $7 billion, with over 1,700 employees across 90 countries. In this episode, he discusses some of the most controversial topics surrounding WordPress, Automattic, and the broader open source community.—What you'll learn:• Matt's response to public criticism• Why products like Meta's Llama are “fake open source”• How his team is turning around Tumblr after acquiring it for just $3 million (after Yahoo bought it for $1.1 billion)• Why he mortgaged his home to fund San Francisco's iconic Bay Lights project• Matt's philosophy: “Don't just build a product; build a movement”• Why open source matters: “If the Founding Fathers were around today, they'd be open source advocates”—Brought to you by:• WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs• Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security.• Loom—The easiest screen recorder you'll ever use—Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-creator-of-wordpress-opens-up-matt-mullenweg—Where to find Matt Mullenweg:• X: https://x.com/photomatt• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattm/• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photomatt/• Website: https://ma.tt/—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Matt Mullenweg(05:10) Matt's career journey(11:15) Bay Lights project and philanthropy(17:28) How Matt got involved with open source(23:25) Why products like Meta's Llama are “fake open source”(27:14) The future of open source and how to get involved(35:25) Building a successful online community(39:12) The WP Engine controversy(50:24) Facing criticism and controversy(55:29) Addressing community concerns(01:08:29) Forking Advanced Custom Fields(01:11:15) The role of social media and public perception(01:16:43) Acquiring and reviving Tumblr(01:24:25) Automattic's acquisition strategy(01:28:51) Final thoughts and future plans—Referenced:• WordPress: https://wordpress.com/• Automattic: https://automattic.com/• CNET: https://www.cnet.com/• Akismet: https://akismet.com/wordpress/• Jetpack: https://jetpack.com/• Toni Schneider on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonischneider/• WooCommerce: https://woocommerce.com/• Beeper: https://www.beeper.com/• Day One: https://dayoneapp.com/• Simplenote: https://simplenote.com/• Pocket Casts: https://pocketcasts.com/• Creative Commons: https://creativecommons.org/• Audrey Capital: https://audrey.co/• Stripe: https://stripe.com/• SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com/• Calm: https://www.calm.com/• August: https://august.com/• Daylight Computer: https://daylightcomputer.com/• Keys Jazz Bistro: https://keysjazzbistro.com/• Joomla: https://www.joomla.org/• Drupal: https://new.drupal.org/• Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/• Wix: https://www.wix.com/• Squarespace: https://www.squarespace.com/• Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/• Gravatar: https://gravatar.com/• The Bay Lights: https://illuminate.org/projects/thebaylights/• The Bay Lights 360: https://illuminate.org/the-bay-lights-360/• Ben Davis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-davis-sf/• Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts: https://www.houstonisd.org/hspva• Jack Dorsey: We're Losing our Free Will to Algorithms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_8NganZSFI• Marc Andreessen: https://a16z.com/author/marc-andreessen/• Bill Gurley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billgurley/• An inside look at X's Community Notes | Keith Coleman (VP of Product) and Jay Baxter (ML Lead): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-x-built-the-best-fact-checking-system-on-the-internet• Llama: https://www.llama.com/• WordCamp US & Ecosystem Thinking: https://ma.tt/2024/09/ecosystem-thinking/• As Wall Street Chases Profits, Fire Departments Have Paid the Price: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/17/us/fire-engines-shortage-private-equity.html• WordCamp Asia: https://asia.wordcamp.org/2025/• Justin Baldoni Hit with Defamation Suit as PR Teams Turn on Each Other over Blake Lively's ‘It Ends with Us' Smear Campaign Allegations: https://deadline.com/2024/12/justin-baldoni-defamation-lawsuit-publicist-blake-lively-1236241784/• How WordPress Hot Nacho Scandal Shapes WP Engine Dispute: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/how-wordpress-hot-nacho-scandal-shapes-wp-engine-dispute/539069/• Gutenberg: https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/• ClassicPress: https://www.classicpress.net/• Behind the founder: Marc Benioff: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-founder-marc-benioff• Mary Hubbard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryfhubbard/• Brian Chesky's new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach• Founder mode: https://paulgraham.com/foundermode.html• Cow.com: https://www.cow.com/• David Karp on X: https://x.com/davidkarp• Marissa Mayer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissamayer/• Alibaba: https://www.alibaba.com/• WP Engine Tracker: https://wordpressenginetracker.com/• Kumbh Mela: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela—Recommended book:• Maintenance: Of Everything (in progress): https://books.worksinprogress.co/book/maintenance-of-everything/addenda/page/introduction—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe

On the podcast today, we have Simon Harper. He's here to discuss the current challenges and dynamics of the WordPress community. He explores the fragmentation within the community, sparked by tensions from a trademark dispute between WP Engine and Matt Mullenweg of Automattic. The conversation touches on the challenges of managing a large, diverse community, the impact of money in open-source projects, and potential strategies for fostering positivity and unity, such as emphasising contributions and uplifting the community's achievements amidst ongoing disputes. So, if you are interested in the future of WordPress and its community dynamics, this episode is for you.

The recent controversy between WordPress and WP Engine put Matt Mullenweg (Co-Founder of WordPress, CEO of Automattic) under intense online scrutiny. In our conversation, he shared lessons from the controversy and managing through crisis, as well as this thoughts on the future of open source AI and more.(00:00) Intro(01:17) Controversy with WP Engine(03:36) Understanding Open Source and Trademarks(04:36) Automattic's Role and Contributions(08:26) Navigating Legal Battles and Community Relations(18:27) Leadership and Personal Resilience(21:49) The Impact of Social Media on CEOs(31:22) Future Outlook and Reflections(32:42) Exploring the Quinn Model and Open Source Innovations(33:17) The Evolution of AI Interfaces and User Interactions(35:36) AI as a Writing and Coding Partner(38:07) The Power of Open Source in AI Development(40:00) Commoditizing Complements: A Business Strategy(41:39) The Battle with Shopify and Open Source Models(42:33) The Impact of Open Source on Market Dynamics(43:55) USB-C Transition and Gadget Recommendations(47:53) The Benefits of Sabbaticals(53:34) The Future of WordPress and Automattic(59:12) Employee Ownership and Liquidity Programs(01:04:33) Conclusion and Final Thoughts Executive Producer: Rashad AssirProducer: Leah ClapperMixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA 

Manton and Daniel catch up on the latest developments in the WordPress vs. WPEngine kerfuffle, and continuing after-effects. They talk about Matt Mullenweg's tendency lately to deliver seemingly calm and encouraging messages that are nonetheless laced with evidence of his spite towards antagonists. Finally they talk about Automattic's decision to reduce its own contribution to WordPress Core development, and the implications for the rest of the WordPress community. The post Episode 625: What Fresh Hell appeared first on Core Intuition.

Supreme Court agrees to hear challenge to TikTok ban U.S. Weighs Ban on Chinese-Made Router in Millions of American Homes Personal Data of Rhode Island Residents Breached in Large Cyberattack YouTube TV increases price by $10 a month starting in January YouTube's year of the livingroom WordPress CEO Rage Quits Community Slack After Court Injunction Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024 NotebookLM gets a new look, audio interactivity and a premium version 1-800-ChatGPT Roose celebritizes Claude The weirdest job in AI Nvidia's $249 Jetson Nano supercomputer The Trouble With Searching Google for 'the Best' Joanna Stern book all about her Feeling at home? New app lets US homebuyers see neighbors' politics Masnick: Katie Couric Is Wrong: Repealing Section 230 Won't Stop Online Misinformation LFGSS and Microcosm shutting down 16th March 2025 (the day before the Online Safety Act is enforced) Seat patterns from public transports all around the world A compendium of transit tickets. Top uses of Claude (by country) Always Go To The Funeral Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Download or subscribe to This Week in Google at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: cachefly.com/twit

Supreme Court agrees to hear challenge to TikTok ban U.S. Weighs Ban on Chinese-Made Router in Millions of American Homes Personal Data of Rhode Island Residents Breached in Large Cyberattack YouTube TV increases price by $10 a month starting in January YouTube's year of the livingroom WordPress CEO Rage Quits Community Slack After Court Injunction Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024 NotebookLM gets a new look, audio interactivity and a premium version 1-800-ChatGPT Roose celebritizes Claude The weirdest job in AI Nvidia's $249 Jetson Nano supercomputer The Trouble With Searching Google for 'the Best' Joanna Stern book all about her Feeling at home? New app lets US homebuyers see neighbors' politics Masnick: Katie Couric Is Wrong: Repealing Section 230 Won't Stop Online Misinformation LFGSS and Microcosm shutting down 16th March 2025 (the day before the Online Safety Act is enforced) Seat patterns from public transports all around the world A compendium of transit tickets. Top uses of Claude (by country) Always Go To The Funeral Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Download or subscribe to This Week in Google at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: cachefly.com/twit

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 22:15:00 GMT http://relay.fm/connected/532 http://relay.fm/connected/532 The 2024 Annies 532 Federico Viticci, Stephen Hackett, and Myke Hurley The guys revisit the biggest stories of year, ranking each month on the most scientific scale known to humankind. The guys revisit the biggest stories of year, ranking each month on the most scientific scale known to humankind. clean 6784 Subtitle: The Year of John TernusThe guys revisit the biggest stories of year, ranking each month on the most scientific scale known to humankind. This episode of Connected is sponsored by: Zocdoc: Find the right doctor, right now with Zocdoc. Sign up for free. Vanta: Automate compliance, manage risk, and prove trust — continuously. Learn more. NetSuite: The leading integrated cloud business software suite. MasterClass: Give one annual Membership and get one free. Links and Show Notes: Get Connected Pro: Preshow, postshow, no ads. Submit Feedback Give the Gift of RelayGet 20% off any annual plan! The Ticci Scale Connected #404: The Non - Relay FM Connected #483: Send John Your Face - Relay FM Apple Vision Pro available in the U.S. on February 2 - Apple Joanna Stern's Vision Pro Demo Apple revises US App Store rules to let developers link to outside payment methods, but it will still charge a commission - 9to5Mac Apple Details How It Plans to Comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act - MacStories How I Modded My iPad Pro with a Screen Protector, iPhone Holder, and Magnetic Stereo Speakers - MacStories Mac at 40 Archives — 512 Pixels Even After 40 Years, the Macintosh's Spirit is the Same — 512 Pixels Apple Closing Its Infinite Loop Store — 512 Pixels Apple readies Apple Watch Series 9 ban workaround by disabling blood oxygen functionality [U] - 9to5Mac Apple to Sell Watches Without Blood Oxygen Feature - Bloomberg Myke Hurley | Quite the day so far. | Instagram Apple made an AI image tool that lets you make edits by describing them - The Verge Apple joins AI fray with release of model framework - The Verge Apple's decision to drop iPhone web apps comes under scrutiny in the EU - The Verge Apple to Wind Down Electric Car Effort After Decadelong Odyssey - Bloomberg Apple Releases iOS and iPadOS 17.4 with Major Safari and App Store Changes in the EU, Transcripts for Podcasts, New Emoji, and More - MacStories The European Commission Fines Apple Over €1.8 Billion - MacStories The App Store, Spotify, and Europe's thriving digital music market - Apple Apple will allow users to download apps directly from a developer's website, in latest EU App Store rule change - 9to5Mac Understanding the DOJ's Antitrust Complaint Against Apple - MacStories MacPad: How I Created the Hybrid Mac-iPad Laptop and Tablet That Apple Won't Make - MacStories MacBook Air Updated with M3 — 512 Pixels The MacBook Air's wedge is truly gone — and I miss it already - The Verge The Apple Jonathan: A Very 1980s Concept Computer That Never Shipped — 512 Pixels Defending the Jonathan — 512 Pixels Apple Releases Spatial Personas Betas to visionOS 1.1 Users - MacStories Automattic Acquires Messaging Integrator Beeper - MacStories Delta - Game Emulator on the App Store Third-party iPhone app store AltStore PAL is now live in Europe - The Verge Apple still has one more 'season' of FineWoven accessories in the works, but the end is near - 9to5Mac Schiller doesn't know whether the App Store is profitable; no notes – 9to5mac Antitrust: What is it, and why is Apple being investigated? - 9to5Mac App Store Archives - 9to5Mac Apple users are being locked out of their Apple IDs with no explanation - 9to5Mac Apple's Next CEO: List of Apple Insiders Who Could Succeed Tim Cook - Bloomberg Apple Announces New 11" and 13" iPad Pros - MacStories Apple Expands the iPad Air Lineup - MacStories Apple Reveals New Keyboards and the Apple Pencil Pro - MacStories Final Cut Pro 2 and Logic Pro 2 for iPad Updated Along with Their Mac Counterparts - MacStories Thoughts and First Impressions on the New iPad Pros from Apple's Event in London - MacStories Not an iPad Pro Review: Why iPadOS Still Doesn't Get the Basics Right - MacStories Apple announces new accessibility features, including Eye Tracking - Apple Apple Marks Global Accessibility Awareness Day with a Preview of OS Features Coming Later This Year - MacStories Apple elaborates on iOS 17.5 bug that resurfaced deleted photos - 9to5Mac How We're Trying to Protect MacStories from AI Bots and Web Crawlers – And How You Can, Too - MacStories EU says Apple anti-steering rules in breach of DMA, officially investigating Core Technology Fee terms - 9to5Mac NPC: Next Portable Console - MacStories AI Companies Need to Be Regulated: An Open Letter to the U.S. Congress and European Parliament - MacStories Microsoft and Apple ditch OpenAI board seats amid regulatory scrutiny - The Verge OpenAI aims to attract more investment by removing 'AGI' clause with Microsoft, FT reports | Reuters Withholding Apple Intelligence from EU a 'stunning declaration' – 9to5mac ten. | the movie. - YouTube Google's Antitrust Loss, Why Apple Doesn't Just Build a Search Engine, and What Comes Next - MacStories Existential thoughts about Apple's reliance on Services revenue – Six Colors iOS 18.1 beta 2 with Apple Intelligence now rolling out to developers - 9to5Mac Apple's requirements to hit creators and fans on Patreon Ticci Tabs on the App Store Performa Month — 512 Pixels Fortnite is back on the iPhone — with a whole app store in tow - The Verge Apple's App Store Head to Leave in Reorganization Amid Global Scrutiny - Bloomberg iOS and iPadOS 18: The MacStories Review - MacStories macOS Sequoia 15.0 review: The opening act – Six Colors Meta Steps Up Pressure on Apple Vision With Orion AR Glasses and Cheaper Quest 3 - Bloomberg The messy WordPress drama, explained - The Verge Making a Dent in the Universe — 512 Pixels After Five Years of Pro iPhones, I'm Going iPhone 16 Plus This Year - MacStories Croissant: A Beautifully-Designed App for Cross-Posting to Multiple Social Media Accounts - MacStories M4 MacBook Pro offered for sale on Russian site; likely real - 9to5mac Apple Announces a Minor Update to the iPad mini - MacStories iPad mini Review: The Third Place - MacStories Apple Tweaks EU Core Technology Fee to Avoid Bankrupting Unexpectedly Viral Apps - MacRumors Apple Intelligence is available today on iPhone, iPad, and Mac - Apple Apple Reveals A Partial Timeline for the Rollout of More Apple Intelligence Features - MacStories Apple's new Mac mini is more mighty, more mini, and built for Apple Intelligence - Apple 'Ted Lasso' to Return to Apple TV+ as Season Four Allegedly 'Confirmed' - MacRumors “Submerged” brings immersive narrative to Vision Pro – Six Colors Apple's Dan Riccio, Key Executive in Both the Jobs and Cook Eras, to Retire - Bloomberg Apple now selling top head strap for Apple Vision Pro's Solo Knit band - 9to5Mac ResMed Kontor Head Strap (Medium/Large) - Apple Apple Seeds First Public Betas of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2 With New Apple Intelligence Features - MacRumors Testing the Vision Pro With New Ultrawide Display Option in visionOS 2.2 - MacRumors Pre-Orders Begin for Book Commemorating Apple Music's 100 Best Albums - MacStories EU puts iPhone interoperability with watches and headphones on notice - The Verge Apple debuts The Weeknd's immersive music experience for Apple Vision Pro - Apple (UK) WordPress parent company must stop blocking WP Engine, judge rules - The Verge MacStories Selects 2024: Recognizing the Best Apps of the Year - MacStories Apple honors 2024 App Store Award winners - Apple Apple Intelligence now features Image Playground, Genmoji, and more - Apple His Majesty King Charles III visits Apple's U.K. headquarters - Apple Myke Hurley | We are so excited to share that we're having a baby! | Instagram

So You Want to Solve the NJ Drone Mystery? Our Expert Has Some Ideas Infowars Sale to The Onion Rejected by Federal Bankruptcy Judge Federal appeals court declines to temporarily block ban on TikTok, teeing up showdown at SCOTUS over controversial law WordPress parent company must stop blocking WP Engine, judge rules Crypto's Legacy Is Finally Clear Tech Industry and CEOs Curry Favor With Trump Ahead of His Inauguration AI Is Detecting More Breast Cancer Cases, Study Suggests Huge randomized trial of AI boosts discovery — at least for good scientists GM Calls It Quits on Mary Barra's $50 Billion Robotaxi Dream You Can Buy a Car on Amazon Now Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Cathy Gellis, Mike Elgan, and Emily Forlini Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: mintmobile.com/twit shopify.com/twit

So You Want to Solve the NJ Drone Mystery? Our Expert Has Some Ideas Infowars Sale to The Onion Rejected by Federal Bankruptcy Judge Federal appeals court declines to temporarily block ban on TikTok, teeing up showdown at SCOTUS over controversial law WordPress parent company must stop blocking WP Engine, judge rules Crypto's Legacy Is Finally Clear Tech Industry and CEOs Curry Favor With Trump Ahead of His Inauguration AI Is Detecting More Breast Cancer Cases, Study Suggests Huge randomized trial of AI boosts discovery — at least for good scientists GM Calls It Quits on Mary Barra's $50 Billion Robotaxi Dream You Can Buy a Car on Amazon Now Host: Leo Laporte Guests: Cathy Gellis, Mike Elgan, and Emily Forlini Download or subscribe to This Week in Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: mintmobile.com/twit shopify.com/twit

In this episode, Jason DeFillippo and Brian Schulmeister dig into the Hawk Tuah meme coin disaster and where influencer-driven crypto schemes go off the rails, leaving chaos in their wake. They unpack WP Engine's big win against Automattic in a high-stakes WordPress legal battle and take a closer look at Waymo's rapid rise to match Lyft's market share in San Francisco.The discussion heats up with GM's decision to shut down its troubled Cruise robotaxi brand, Amazon's bold move into the car-selling business with Hyundai, and reports of mysterious car-sized drones over New Jersey raising more questions than answers. They also dive into Google's new quantum chip, Willow, which promises to rewrite the rules of computing and science.On the legal and policy front, the guys covers Apple's billion-dollar lawsuit over abandoned child safety tools, updates to the Kids Online Safety Act, and Google's push to break Microsoft's grip on OpenAI's cloud hosting. Meanwhile, LG's exit from the Blu-ray market marks the end of an era, and MasterClass's new AI-powered mentorship platform points to the future of learning.In Media Candy they spotlight upcoming releases like The Wheel of Time season three, Reacher season three, and the new documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story. They also revisit music nostalgia with an acoustic set from the Descendents and a deep dive into the origins of pop-punk.Finally, they tackle a troubling lawsuit involving a chatbot allegedly influencing a teen's behavior and the emotional fallout from a failed robotic companion for kids. This episode is packed with tech updates, big moves, and a glimpse into the evolving digital landscape. Don't miss it!Sponsors:Mint Mobile - Get a new 3-month premium wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at MintMobile.com/Grumpy. DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off.1Password Extended Access Management - Check it out at 1Password.com/grumpyoldgeeks. Secure every sign-in for every app on every device.Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordShow notes at https://gog.show/677FOLLOW UPExposing the hawk tuah scamHowie Mandel's Son-In-Law Behind Disastrous 'Hawk Tuah Girl' Meme Coin LaunchThe Hawk Tuah Memecoin Rug Pull Is The Apotheosis Of Bag CultureWP Engine wins preliminary injunction in WordPress legal battleWaymo's market share is now equal to Lyft within SF.IN THE NEWSGM ends support for Cruise robotaxisAmazon Is a Car Dealership NowMystery "Car-Sized" Drones Reach the Skies of New YorkPentagon says mystery drones over New Jersey are 'not US military,' not likely foreignWhat do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?White House: Drones are manned aircraft; NJ lawmakers say that's not what they were toldMeet Willow, our state-of-the-art quantum chipApple sued for failing to implement tools that would detect CSAM in iCloudX helped senators update the Kids Online Safety Act so it can't be ‘used to stifle expression'Google Asks Feds to Kill Microsoft's Cloud Hosting Deal With OpenAIAI Firm's ‘Stop Hiring Humans' Billboard Campaign Sparks OutrageBogus AI-Generated Bug Reports Are Driving Open Source Developers NutsHow Cryptocurrency Turns to Cash in Russian BanksCloudflare 2024 Year in ReviewMEDIA CANDYThe Wheel of Time Spins Back Up Again in March 2025Day of the JackalLionessSiloDune ProphecyShrinkingLower DecksReacher Season 3AfraidInside Out: Dream ProductionsMusic by John WilliamsBeatles ‘64Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve StoryApple Music expands its live radio offerings with three new stationsDescendents go Acoustic! | Taylor Guitars SoundcheckWHO INVENTED POP-PUNK??Before Dookie 1: How Punk Became Pop (1976-87)Before Dookie 2: How Punk Became Pop (1988-94)LG stops making Blu-ray players, marking the end of an era — limited units remain while inventory lastsAPPS & DOODADSApple Watch just gained a helpful new feature for inspiring you to stay activeWSKEN for Apple Watch Ultra 2/Ultra Screen Protector 49mm,9H Tempered Glass + Titanium Alloy Frame, [Keep Original] [Touch Sensitive] Lightweight Protective Film iwatch 2 Pack,OriginalGoogle Wallet can now hold your US passportMasterClass On Call gives you on-demand access to AI facsimiles of its expertsMom sues after AI told autistic son to kill parents for restricting screen timeStartup will brick $800 emotional support robot for kids without refundsDvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E MinorDashaun Wesley - Labels! Out Now!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amanda Silberling of TechCrunch joins us this week! Did OpenAI's Sora video generation model train on gaming and streaming content? A judge ruled that Automattic is to stop blocking WP Engine's access to WordPress.org. And Image Playground, Genmoji, and more generative AI features now available within Apple Intelligence. Amanda talks about how OpenAI's Sora video generation model is supposedly training on video games and streaming content. Mikah shares how WP Engine won an injunction against Automattic, owner of WordPress, and that Automattic must stop blocking WP Engine's access to WordPress.org's resources. Jason Howell stops by to share his time recently with Android XR, Google's new AI-powered OS that brings the augmented, virtual, and mixed reality experience to devices such as headsets and glasses. And Image Playground and Genmoji arrives to Apple Intelligence, and Mikah demonstrates these new features, which are now available to users. Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Amanda Silberling Guest: Jason Howell Download or subscribe to Tech News Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: INFO.ACILEARNING.COM/TWIT - code TWIT100 bigid.com/tnw shopify.com/twit Melissa.com/twit

Google introduces its new generative AI video model, Veo. TikTok is fighting back, seeking to pause the US ban pending a review from the Supreme Court. A judge is currently blocking the sale of Infowars to The Onion. And Leo and Jeff help Pars decide on the best gifts for a white elephant party. - Google's new generative AI video model is now available. - Google introduces A.I. agent that aces 15-day weather forecasts. - Meet Willow, our state-of-the-art quantum chip. - Google is suing a federal regulator over supervision of its payment division. - Hawk Tuah memecoin dumps 90% amid backlash over controversial launch. - TikTok seeks to pause US ban pending Supreme Court review. - Frank McCourt's Project Liberty advances bid for TikTok. - The Supreme Court must intervene in the TikTok case. - Bluesky teases paid subscription, Bluesky+, in new mockup. - Are those drones over New Jersey? Sightings mount, and still no answers. - Introducing Reddit answers. - Cloudflare 2024 Year in Review. - Instagram rolls out 'trial reels' that aren't shown to a creator's followers. - Infowars sale to The Onion rejected by Federal bankruptcy judge. - Debanking (and Debunking?) - YouTube's new auto-dubbing feature is now available for knowledge-focused content. - The AI We Deserve. - New KOSA, same as old KOSA, but now with Elon's ignorant endorsement. - 404 Media objects to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's subpoena to access our reporting. - Casey Newton: The phony comforts of AI skepticism. - WordPress parent company must stop blocking WP Engine, judge rules. - Bluesky stats! - Advertising is stupid. AI is stupid. The singularity is never. Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau Download or subscribe to This Week in Google at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-google. Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: INFO.ACILEARNING.COM/TWIT - code TWIT100

Wed, 11 Dec 2024 23:15:00 GMT http://relay.fm/connected/531 http://relay.fm/connected/531 Gill Sands 531 Federico Viticci, Stephen Hackett, and Myke Hurley This week: Myke shares some news, Federico covers iOS 18.2, and Stephen launches a new awards program. This week: Myke shares some news, Federico covers iOS 18.2, and Stephen launches a new awards program. clean 5856 Subtitle: Stephen Will Give You $20 to Listen to This EpisodeThis week: Myke shares some news, Federico covers iOS 18.2, and Stephen launches a new awards program. This episode of Connected is sponsored by: Fitbod: Get stronger, faster with a fitness plan that fits you. Get 25% off your membership. Ecamm: Powerful live streaming platform for Mac. Get one month free. Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code CONNECTED. MasterClass: Give one annual Membership and get one free. Links and Show Notes: Get Connected Pro: Preshow, postshow, no ads. Submit Feedback Myke Hurley | We are so excited to share that we're having a baby! Our daughter is due in February, and we feel so fortunate that our family is growing. | Instagram Myke Hurley: "The Meta Ray-Bans now let me choose John Cena as the assistant voice. 10/10 Product of the year." — Bluesky Kristen Bell told Instagram to ‘get rid of AI' before she became its official voice - The Verge WordPress parent company must stop blocking WP Engine, judge rules - The Verge WordPress CEO Rage Quits Community Slack After Court Injunction – 404 MacStories Selects 2024: Recognizing the Best Apps of the Year - MacStories The MacStories Selects 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award - MacStories Apple honors 2024 App Store Award winners - Apple Give the Gift of Relay Apple honors 2024 App Store Award winners - Apple The JerAImies Genmoji Magnetic Leather Back – NOMAD Apple Intelligence now features Image Playground, Genmoji, and more - Apple Apple Intelligence in iOS 18.2: A Deep Dive into Working with Siri and ChatGPT, Together - MacStories iOS and iPadOS 18.2: Everything New Besides Apple Intelligence - MacStories A Look at Apple Intelligence's Image Creation Tools — 512 Pixels

Paris Marx is joined by tante to discuss troubling developments in the open source world as Wordpress goes to war with WP Engine and a new definition of open source AI doesn't require being open about training data.tante is a sociotechnologist, writer, speaker, and Luddite working on tech and its social impact.Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.Also mentioned in this episode:tante wrote about the problem with the Open Source Initiative's definition of open source AI.Check out this link for the full breakdown on the Wordpress drama.Wordpress changed its trademark guidelines on September 19 regarding the use of the WP abbreviation.Tumblr and Wordpress started selling user data for AI training earlier this year.A lot of the controversy around Richard Stallman started blowing up in 2019.Support the show

More Wordpress & WPEngine shots fired; hate mail; European road organizations reject the Cybertruck; EU fines against X; civil rights commission pans FART (facial recognition technology); FCC looking into broadband caps; NYT tells Perplexity to stop using its content; AI writing police reports; Instagram becoming Myspace; TikTok knows damn well how bad their product is; Google, Amazon go nuclear for their AI; the Diplomat; Lincoln Lawyer; Shrinking; Silo; Apple digital car keys; new Amazon kindles; robot vacuum hacked; Ham license update; fridges; old songs on road trips.Sponsors:DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off.1Password Extended Access Management - Check it out at 1Password.com/grumpyoldgeeks. Secure every sign-in for every app on every device.Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordShow notes at https://gog.show/670FOLLOW UPThe GOG Store is OPEN!Response to DHH - OriginalResponse to DHH - EditedWordPress.org's latest move involves taking control of a WP Engine pluginSecure Custom FieldsInternal blog post reveals Automattic's plan to enforce the WordPress trademark using 'nice and not nice lawyers'Employees Describe an Environment of Paranoia and Fear Inside Automattic Over WordPress ChaosIN THE NEWSEuropean Road Safety Orgs Are Terrified of the CybertruckThe EU's Fines Against Elon Musk May Be Much Larger Than AnticipatedCivil Rights Commission Pans Face Recognition TechnologyFCC launches a formal inquiry into why broadband data caps are terribleThe New York Times tells Perplexity to stop using its contentFrom Elon Musk to cop car chases, how a software engineer launched a police AI startupProsecutors in Washington State Warn Police: Don't Use Gen AI to Write ReportsInstagram is introducing profile cards to help users find new friendsTikTok is reportedly aware of its bad effects on teen usersGoogle strikes a deal with a nuclear startup to power its AI data centersAmazon goes nuclear, to invest more than $500 million to develop small modular reactorsNASA's Europa Clipper mission is on its way to JupiterMEDIA CANDYThe Diplomat, Season 1The Lincoln Lawyer Season 3Apple TV+ announces sixth season for “Slow Horses,” starring Gary OldmanShrinking on Apple TV+ gets early season 3 pickupSilo — Season 2 Official Trailer | Apple TV+APPS & DOODADSApple may be adding digital car key support for specific Volvo, Polestar and Audi vehiclesGoogle is purging ad-blocking extension uBlock Origin from the Chrome Web StoreAdobe starts rolling out generative AI video tools in betaAdobe shows off 3D rotation tool for flat drawingsAmazon announces first Kindle ever with color screen, retailing for $279Robot vacuums spew racial slurs at owners in wake of hackWalk the Distance app deleted...THE DARK SIDE WITH DAVEDave BittnerThe CyberWireHacking HumansCaveatControl LoopOnly Malware in the BuildingWP Engine asks court to stop Matt Mullenweg from blocking access to WordPress resourcesHamStudyShe'll Be Coming Around The MountainRoll Out The BarrelOh! SusannaI've Been Working On The RailroadThis Land is Your LandOh My Darling ClementineClementine (Live) - Tom LehrerThis Land Is Your Land (Live) - The Clancy BrothersSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Adobe unleashes its Firefly AI video model broadly. Mark Gurman lays out Apple's headset strategy going forward. What's been going on with the Internet Archive. What the heck IS going on with WordPress? VC deals are dropping precipitously. And a review of the Meta Quest 3S.Sponsors:WashingtonPost.com/rideShopify.com/rideLinks:Adobe's AI video model is here, and it's already inside Premiere Pro (The Verge)Apple Has a New Smart Home Strategy: Screens Everywhere (Bloomberg)The Internet Archive is back as a read-only service after cyberattacks (The Verge)In latest move against WP Engine, WordPress takes control of ACF plugin (TechCrunch)Venture capital deal activity is slowing down (Axios)Meta Quest 3S review: Impressive VR for $300 (Engadget)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The beginning of the end for Wordpress; open source, or not; police Cybertrucks; Apple Intelligence rolling out; dystopian AI text summaries; X sends money to the wrong bank, argues that Twitter ceased to exist; Internet Archive attacked; Instagram, Threads moderation out of control; the Penguin; Beetlejuice; Salem's Lot; Joker; Kaos cancelled; Bitcoin doc; Green Day demastered; Roblox; Megalopolis; Tesla's Cybercab; is Elon a modern PT Barnum, or worse; ham radios, HamFests, TRS-80, cameras, Disneyland and chasing the nostalgia dragon.Sponsors:DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off.1Password Extended Access Management - Check it out at 1Password.com/grumpyoldgeeks. Secure every sign-in for every app on every device.Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordShow notes at https://gog.show/669FOLLOW UPJason's Threads PostMatt Mullenweg: ‘WordPress.org just belongs to me'Why WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg has gone 'nuclear' against tech investing giant Silver LakeWPEngine, Matt, Automattic & Wordpress.org megathreadWordpress.org/Matt vs WPEngine megathread, Part 2Automattic is doing open source dirtyThe Pettiest Drama in the Tech World Is Taking Place at … WordPress?DirectusCalifornia Cops Show Off Absurd New Cybertruck With Music From Terminator MoviesTeslas "nearly unusable" for police workIN THE NEWSThe first Apple Intelligence features are expected to arrive on October 28Man learns he's being dumped via “dystopian” AI summary of textsX reportedly paid its Brazil fines to the wrong bank, causing further delay in reinstatement caseX lost a court battle after trying to claim ‘Twitter ceased to exist'The Internet Archive taken down by DDoS attacksInstagram and Threads moderation is out of control - The VergeChina Joins SpaceX in Ruining Astronomy for EverybodyMEDIA CANDYThe PenguinBeetlejuice BeetlejuiceSalem's LotSalem's Lot 1979Joker: Folie à Deux Bombed—What Went Wrong?Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren, and Pierce Brosnan in Talks for Guy Ritchie's ‘Ray Donovan' Offshoot ‘The Donovans''Kaos' Canceled: Jeff Goldblum Netflix Comedy Series Won't Get Second SeasonReacher Gets Early Season 4 Renewal At Prime VideoControversial HBO Documentary Concludes Peter Todd Invented BitcoinGreen Day's Dookie has been demastered into Game Boy carts, a toothbrush and other weird formatsAmazon Seeks to Dismiss Prime Video Ad Tier LawsuitAPPS & DOODADSRoblox Is Playing Dumb About the Bots and Predators on Its Platform, Hindenburg Research SaysMeta is working to fix Threads' engagement bait problemAT THE LIBRARYConstituent Service - A Third District Story by John Scalzi and narrated by Amber BensonEarn It: Unconventional Strategies for Brave Marketers by Steve PrattPolostan: A thrilling historical epic from #1 New Yortk Times bestselling author Neal Stephenson, perfect for fans of historical fiction and espionage thrillers. (Bomb Light) Kindle Edition by Neal StephensonMists of Time: Echoes of Extinction: Book 3 by D. Ward CornellTHE DARK SIDE WITH DAVEDave BittnerThe CyberWireHacking HumansCaveatControl LoopOnly Malware in the BuildingEnable iPhone orientation lock for specific appsA Look Inside Apple's $130 USB-C CableMegalopolisTesla's Cybercab Is HereI am seriously considering getting my ham radio license. I want this, but I do not need this - stuff vs. experiencesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week: Big storms are the new norm, and they're costing America big time. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss the economic toll and surging insurance coasts of climate change. They also examine the curious case of a Canadian carpenter who made and lost a fortune on Tesla options, and Felix reveals what he'll be up to on his upcoming sabbatical. In the Numbers Round, Emily discusses a Subtack that charts the most well-connected actors. In the Plus bonus mini-episode: WordPress is a nonprofit foundation that supports around 40% of the internet, but its for-profit arm has locked horns with a major competitor. The hosts join Slate's Nitish Pawah to discuss the battle between Automattic and WP Engine with the fate of a chunk of the web in the balance. Want more Slate Money? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you'll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the Slate Money show page. Or, visit slate.com/moneyplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nilay, Alex, and David discuss Microsoft's new Copilot announcements, and the friendlier face the company is trying to put on its chatbot. They also wonder: what, exactly, is an AI companion supposed to do for you, and how is it supposed to do it? They then dive into OpenAI's huge funding round, before exploring all the new gadgets of the week and some deep drama in the WordPress universe. Finally, it's time for a lightning round of news about Dish and DirecTV, Progressive Web Apps, and Nintendo's fight against emulation. We also send off Alex, our sadly departing co-host, with cake and Plex servers. Further reading: Microsoft gives Copilot a voice and vision in its biggest redesign yet Read Microsoft's optimistic memo about the future of AI companions Shh, ChatGPT. That's a Secret. - The Atlantic College students used Meta's smart glasses to dox people in real time Sonos has a plan to earn back your trust, and here it is Chromebooks are getting a new button dedicated to Google's AI Microsoft is discontinuing its HoloLens headsets Google's Pixel Buds are now fully supported on Windows and macOS. Automattic demanded a cut of WP Engine's revenue before starting WordPress battle DirecTV and Dish are merging Nintendo has reportedly shut down Ryujinx, the Switch emulator that was supposedly immune Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why are big tech companies talking about building power plants and what does nuclear energy have to do with it? Plus Automattic employees who disagreed with the handling of the WP Engine dispute were offered a severance package to leave the company. And Meta Unveils AI Video Generator and rolls out a redesign of Facebook for Gen-Z.Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Molly Wood, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe.Link to the Show Notes.

Google has updated Lens and is taking a page out of Perplexity's book. OpenAI's new canvas workspace. Why an upcoming iPhone SE might have some interesting internals. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Links:Google Lens now lets you search with video (The Verge)Google brings ads to AI Overviews as it expands AI's role in search (TechCrunch)OpenAI launches new ‘Canvas' ChatGPT interface tailored to writing and coding projects (TechCrunch)iPhone SE 4 to feature Apple's first 5G modem, A18 chip, same cameras as iPhone 15 (9to5Mac)159 employees are leaving Automattic as CEO's fight with WP Engine escalates (TechCrunch)Weekend Longreads Suggestions:Saving Cyberpunk 2077: How CD Projekt Red recovered from one of video games' most disastrous launches (EuroGamer)The Flying Car Is Finally Here. It's Slightly Illegal. (Intelligencer)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OpenAI raised their round, and it basically broke all the records. The whole Wordpress mess has gotten so crazy that WPEngine is suing. Using Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses to dox people in real time. And you'll never guess the reason why you're about to see more ads on streaming video. Hint: you'll endure it.Sponsors:Lumen.me/rideLinks:OpenAI raises $6.6 billion in largest VC round ever (Axios)OpenAI asks investors not to back rival start-ups such as Elon Musk's xAI (Financial Times)OpenAI feels competitors breathing down its neck (Financial Times)WP Engine sues WordPress co-creator Mullenweg and Automattic, alleging abuse of power (TechCrunch)Someone Put Facial Recognition Tech onto Meta's Smart Glasses to Instantly Dox Strangers (404Media)Spotify adds a new, automatically updating playlist for offline listening (TechCrunch)Amazon to increase number of advertisements on Prime Video (Financial Times)Venture Dealmaking Reflects Selective Tastes of Investors (Bloomberg)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sam Altman stands alone at OpenAI; Gen Z employees not impressing bosses; X complies with Brazil's Supreme Court, but kill blocking; former FTX Exec given light sentence; Microsoft to reopen Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power AI; banning Chinese smart cars; Click to cancel bill passed into law in California; The Cure, Underworld new albums; Bad Monkey; Culinary Class Wars; BBC sound effect library; Duolingo piano; Wordpress vs WP Engine; Jony Ive working on a new AI device startup; AI playlists; Archive.today; more books released as Audible first exclusives; grumpy old Greeks.Sponsors:Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordDeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off.1Password Extended Access Management - Check it out at 1Password.com/grumpyoldgeeks. Secure every sign-in for every app on every device.Show notes at https://gog.show/667FOLLOW UPThe Intelligence Age by Sam AltmanOpenAI CTO Mira Murati says she's leaving the companyOpenAI's chief research officer has left following CTO Mira Murati's exitHow it started vs. How it's goingIf AI is helping people code better, why aren't products getting better?London Newspaper Plans to Revive Dead Art Critic With AI, Lays Off Real WritersMan Behind Biden Deepfake Robocalls Hit With $6 Million FineChatGPT's New Voice Assistant Is Here to Creep You OutHere's why companies are rapidly firing Gen Z employeesIN THE NEWSX is reportedly now complying with orders from Brazil's Supreme CourtX is nerfing the block button: Blocked users will be able to see your postsFormer FTX Exec Caroline Ellison Sentenced to Two Years and Must Forfeit $11 BillionDoNotPay has to pay $193K for falsely touting untested AI lawyer, FTC saysMicrosoft deal would reopen Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power AIQualcomm is reportedly eyeing a takeover of IntelFirst TikTok, now smart cars: How Biden's new proposed ban will affect U.S. automakersCloudflare's new marketplace will let websites charge AI bots for scrapingCalifornia's 'click to cancel' subscription bill is signed into lawDramatic Drone Video Shows Chinese Rocket Crash-Landing in Failed TestMEDIA CANDYThe Cure Announce the Release of “Alone,” Their First New Single in 16 YearsUnderworld - Black PoppiesBad MonkeyCulinary Class WarsThe BBC sound effects library is now completely free to access.The Last of Us Season 2 | The Last of Us Day Official Teaser | MaxAPPS & DOODADSDuolingo, best known as a language learning app, now makes a pianoMatt Mullenweg calls WP Engine a 'cancer to WordPress' and urges community to switch providersMullenweg: WP Engine Filed Legal Action Against WordPressOpen Source, Trademarks, and WP EngineCharitable ContributionsWP Engine is banned from WordPress.orgAnnouncing PanelsTech YouTuber MKBHD's Panels app is a bit underwhelmingSkewered by so many peopleThe Obligatory Mea Culpa Postlinks to all wallpapers (hd/sd) are preloaded right after the app is launched, all you need are basic mitm skills to get them for free. the file with links isn't authenticated or protected at allYup, Jony Ive is working on an AI device startup with OpenAISpotify's AI Playlists are rolling out for Premium users in the USArchive.todayAT THE LIBRARYThe Original by Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette KowalNot Till We Are Lost Bobiverse Book 5 by Dennis E. TaylorEchoes of Extinction by D. Ward CornellReverberations: Echoes of Extinction: Book 2 by D. Ward CornellSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Caroline Ellison benefits from being cooperative. Has your company unknowingly hired remote workers from North Korea? What is going on with this WordPress back and forth? Why OpenAI has to let people look at their training data. And why is everyone upset at Marquess Brownlee?Sponsors:Hims.com/rideLinks:Caroline Ellison sentenced to two years in prison for her role in FTX scandal (Axios)Dozens of Fortune 100 companies have unwittingly hired North Korean IT workers, according to report (The Record)The DOJ sues Visa for locking out rival payment platforms (The Verge)Automattic sends WP Engine its own cease-and-desist over WordPress trademark infringement (TechCrunch)OpenAI Training Data to Be Inspected in Authors' Copyright Cases (The Hollywood Reporter)Marques Brownlee says ‘I hear you' after fans criticize his new wallpaper app (The Verge)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.