a:4:{s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:3:"rss";a:1:{i:0;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:3:"


";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:7:"version";s:3:"2.0";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:7:"channel";a:1:{i:0;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:61:"
	
	
	
	




















































";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"WordPress Planet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://planet.wordpress.org/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"language";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2:"en";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:47:"WordPress Planet - http://planet.wordpress.org/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"item";a:50:{i:0;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:70:"Akismet: The Top Six CAPTCHA Alternatives That Won’t Frustrate Users";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://akismet.com/?p=283673";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:84:"https://akismet.com/blog/the-top-six-captcha-alternatives-that-wont-frustrate-users/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16458:"<p>You know the drill. You’re super excited about a new purchase, commenting on a thrilling discussion in a forum, or providing feedback to an organization. You spend your time completing forms, writing thoughtful comments, or customizing your order only to find yourself trying to “check all the boxes with a stoplight in them” before actually submitting your&nbsp;information.</p>

<p>Everyone hates CAPTCHA puzzles, yet businesses continue to use them to filter out spam. Today, we’re going to explore the six best alternatives to CAPTCHA, all of which can protect you from spam activities without frustrating your prospects and customers. Finally, we’ll show you how <a href="https://akismet.com/features/">Akismet</a> uses machine learning to get progressively smarter about permanent spam&nbsp;removal.</p>


<span id="more-283673"></span>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The downsides of CAPTCHA and why alternatives are&nbsp;needed</h2>

<p>For years, users have been patient with CAPTCHA, which was one of the first solutions that helped pave the way to spam&#8209;free websites. It stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.” But like all solutions, there’s always room for improvement, and in today’s day and age, we need to find a better way to fight&nbsp;spam.</p>

<p>First, CAPTCHA puzzles are problematic for those with visual impairments, requiring not only the ability to see the CAPTCHA challenge but often to decipher extremely nuanced details within the images. Tests that require the user to type a string of characters can be difficult for dyslexic individuals, and some may be unfamiliar with cultural icons or graphics in visual&nbsp;ones.</p>


<p>Second, with so many technologies focused on enhancing user experience, frustrations like the inability to solve a CAPTCHA puzzle will stand out more, negatively affecting your conversion and engagement rates. Typically, CAPTCHA puzzles can take ten seconds or more to solve and interrupt your user at a critical point in their engagement journey — right before they check out, submit a comment, or request more information.&nbsp;</p>



<p>One <a href="https://moz.com/blog/captchas-affect-on-conversion-rates" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study by SEO software company, Moz</a>, found that many users abandon forms when they encounter a CAPTCHA —&nbsp;resulting in an overall conversion rate drop of three percent. Another <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/~jurafsky/burszstein_2010_captcha.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study by Stanford</a> found that only 71 percent of users even attempt to solve a CAPTCHA before abandoning the page altogether.</p>



<p>If that’s not enough, a CAPTCHA may incorrectly identify a real human being as a bot, blocking further interaction with a site, while allowing more sophisticated, advanced bots through.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Researchers at the University of California in Irvine recently conducted <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.12108" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a study testing both humans and bots</a> on popular CAPTCHA puzzles. The study found that bots solved distorted&#8209;text CAPTCHA tests almost perfectly in less than a second, while human beings had an accuracy rate of between 50 percent and 84 percent, spending up to 15 seconds per&nbsp;puzzle.</p>

<p>Finally, it takes some significant computing power for CAPTCHAs to work properly, slowing down load times for web pages and adding to user&nbsp;frustration.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, efforts to improve CAPTCHA puzzles are still lacking. Audio versions were supposed to be a solid solution, but <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5504799" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis</a> shows that they’re more time intensive and significantly more difficult for certain users depending on their native language. <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/~jurafsky/burszstein_2010_captcha.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Another study</a> noted a 50 percent failure rate with audio&nbsp;options.</p>


<p>Forcing people to complete any kind of test is simply not the best option if you want to maximize engagement and conversions.&nbsp;</p>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What to look for in bot and spam&nbsp;protection</h2>

<p>Before jumping into the six alternatives to CAPTCHA puzzles, here are some key things you’ll want to look for when choosing your bot&#8209;detecting&nbsp;solution.</p>

<p>First, you’ll want to be sure that your solution can successfully block bots and spam while allowing prospects and customers easy access to your site and offerings. Unfortunately, a static software solution won’t work, as bad actors are continuously trying to up their game with more sophisticated, human&#8209;like bots all the time. Be sure your selected alternative can stay ahead of the bot&nbsp;creators.</p>

<p>Second, be sure your alternative is either much easier to complete, or, better yet, invisible to your prospects, customers, and visitors. Your goal is to reduce or eliminate friction to create a more positive overall user&nbsp;experience.</p>


<p>Along the same lines, look for a cloud-based solution so that your page load times are unaffected by the bot-catching activities.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Finally, you must ensure that your solution complies with global and local government data privacy rules and regulations. Remember that CAPTCHA alternatives cannot protect your site alone; instead, they must be one component of an <a href="https://jetpack.com/features/security/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">overall security program</a> to protect your site from malicious activity and threats.&nbsp;</p>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What are the best alternatives to&nbsp;CAPTCHA?</h2>

<p>Fortunately, several alternatives to CAPTCHA are available on the market today, working to block spam effectively, without negatively affecting your user experience. Here are the top six to&nbsp;consider:</p>


<img width="1600" height="733" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2024/01/image.png" alt="" class="wp-image-283675" />



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. <a href="https://akismet.com/">Akismet</a></h3>


<p>Founded in 2005, Akismet has been on a mission to rid the world of spam for nearly two decades. Its solution is different from CAPTCHA, primarily because it works completely in the background of a website and does not rely on user input to identify bot or spam attacks. As a result, it protects sites from unwanted bot activity without relying on prospects, customers, or visitors to prove they’re&nbsp;human.</p>

<p>More than 100 million <a href="https://akismet.com/blog/convertkit-customerstory/">customer websites</a> rely on Akismet, which has successfully removed more than 500 billion pieces of online spam from the web. Used by both WordPress sites and others, Akismet has generated one of the largest databases of spam activity in the&nbsp;world.</p>

<p>In addition, the solution relies on advanced machine learning technology to continuously improve, staying ahead of the bad actors who are always looking for new ways to break through site&nbsp;protections.</p>

<p>Self&#8209;hosted spam&#8209;fighting solutions can negatively affect the performance of the site itself, slowing down page load speeds. Akismet is a cloud&#8209;based solution, removing the operating activity from your site while delivering the protection you&nbsp;desire.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. A&nbsp;honeypot</h3>

<p>A honeypot anti&#8209;spam trap is designed to trick harmful bots and spam generation programs into identifying themselves as spam. Like a real honeypot that attracts various people, animals, and insects, a honeypot anti&#8209;spam trap lures bots and spam programs with something that’s not visible to human&nbsp;beings.</p>

<p>One of the most common honeypot anti&#8209;spam traps is to incorporate a field within the code that is not required or even seen by a human completing the real contact, order, or comment form. A bot, however, will scan that field and complete it, revealing its identity as a robot&nbsp;spammer.</p>

<p>The honeypot then filters out and deletes that submission. While this method of spam detection can be effective for some basic bots, the honeypot anti&#8209;spam trap can be circumvented by more sophisticated spam&nbsp;efforts.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Time&#8209;based form&nbsp;submissions</h3>

<p>Another CAPTCHA alternative is time&#8209;based form submissions. The idea is that humans will take a certain amount of time to complete a form, submit an order, or write a comment, while bots typically submit spam responses much&nbsp;faster.</p>

<p>Although time&#8209;based form submissions can work in theory to weed out the most basic bots, bad actors who are set on spam attacks can easily program a bot to slow down its activity. So companies that use this method are hoping that spammers targeting their site will be too unsophisticated to slow down their bot submissions and will just move on to other targets. This is, frankly, a fairly weak form of&nbsp;protection.</p>


<img width="1600" height="744" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2024/01/image-1.png" alt="Google reCAPTCHA landing page" class="wp-image-283677" />


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. reCAPTCHA&nbsp;v3</h3>

<p>reCAPTCHA v3 is a more advanced bot detection solution, helping site owners identify spam activity on their website and customize the level of protection to suit their risk&nbsp;tolerance.</p>


<p>Like the other CAPTCHA alternatives, version three doesn’t rely on user interaction to make the bot or spam determination, but works in the background of a website. It uses adaptive risk analysis to alert site owners of suspicious behaviors and should be placed on multiple pages so that patterns of abusive activities are more accurate.&nbsp;</p>


<p>While this sounds pretty lovely, there are a fair number of downsides to using reCAPTCHA v3. First, though it allows for more customized control by site owners, it also requires advanced setup and integration with Google’s API, which could be difficult for the average site&nbsp;owner.</p>

<p>There’s some <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90369697/googles-new-recaptcha-has-a-dark-side" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pushback around privacy</a>, as it provides Google with <em>a lot</em> of data, and it can also prevent the functioning of certain positive bots, like SEO&nbsp;crawlers.</p>


<p>And while it’s good at detecting spammers, it’s known to falsely label real user interactions as spam without providing recourse for these individuals.&nbsp;</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">5. Reimagined CAPTCHA&nbsp;puzzles</h3>

<p>With reducing friction is the number one reason businesses want to find a CAPTCHA alternative, there have been developments in simplifying the puzzles themselves. For example, instead of presenting blurry pictures and asking users to identify some random item in each of them, organizations have added a field at the end of their form asking for the solution to a simple math&nbsp;problem.</p>

<p>Similar solutions require checking a box to indicate that visitors are human, using a slider bar before completing the submission, or playing a short drag&#8209;and&#8209;drop game to&nbsp;continue.</p>


<p>All of these function very much like popular CAPTCHA puzzles, but may be less frustrating for the user. Unfortunately, more sophisticated bots may be able to find ways to complete these tasks as easily or better than human beings. And any barrier, even if it’s quick to get through, will deter some positive activity.&nbsp;</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">6. General web security&nbsp;protections</h3>

<p>If you run a site, you already know the importance of site security and probably have some general protections like <a href="https://jetpack.com/features/security/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">firewalls</a>, <a href="https://jetpack.com/features/security/secure-authentication/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multifactor authentication</a>, and <a href="https://jetpack.com/upgrade/scan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">malware detection</a> in place.&nbsp;</p>


<p>While these can protect your site from a wide variety of cybersecurity threats and may prevent some spammy behavior in the process, they aren’t really designed to specifically address spam.&nbsp;</p>


<p>It’s important for every website to find a solution for this specific problem to keep your comment sections, form submissions, and order process free from spam and bot&nbsp;activity.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Why Akismet is the best CAPTCHA&nbsp;alternative</h2>

<p>Whether you’re a WordPress user or rely on another website platform, Akismet is the best alternative to CAPTCHA. First and foremost, its ability to work completely behind the scenes means that your website visitors are released from the task of solving time&#8209;consuming, frustrating puzzles before completing an order, leaving a comment, or filling out a&nbsp;form.</p>

<p>This fact alone means that you’ll improve your user experience, reduce friction in engaging with your organization, and increase conversions. All of those benefits ultimately lead to higher profits and long&#8209;term&nbsp;success.</p>

<p>In addition, because Akismet has been on a mission to remove spam from the web for nearly 20 years, it has amassed a significant database of spam information and taken advantage of machine learning technology to stay ahead of spam creators. This experience and massive database means that Akismet is incredibly effective at identifying spam and is continuously improving its&nbsp;performance.</p>

<p>With 99.9% accuracy, though, it’s already at the top of the&nbsp;game.</p>

<p>Finally, Akismet doesn’t negatively affect the performance of your website because it operates in the cloud. This means that page load times don’t decrease, even as Akismet is busy protecting your organization from bot attacks and&nbsp;spam.</p>

<p>To learn more about how <a href="https://akismet.com/enterprise/">Akismet can protect your business</a>, reach out&nbsp;today.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently asked&nbsp;questions</h2>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What is&nbsp;CAPTCHA?</h3>

<p>A CAPTCHA is a computer&#8209;generated test used to differentiate humans from bots. It became a popular way to block spam attacks automatically in the early 2000s. CAPTCHA tests may include checking a box, typing a series of characters, or solving a visual puzzle before comments, forms, or orders are&nbsp;submitted.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Why is there a need to find alternatives to&nbsp;CAPTCHA?</h3>

<p>CAPTCHA tasks can be extremely frustrating to users, especially when they’re difficult to solve or incorrectly identify a human as a bot. They create a poor user experience, reduce conversions, and can leave a negative brand impression. They also limit engagement with visually impaired&nbsp;visitors.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Is it possible to stop spam without&nbsp;CAPTCHA?</h3>

<p>Yes, fortunately, there are alternatives to fight spam effectively without using CAPTCHA puzzles. The most effective is <a href="https://akismet.com/pricing/">Akismet</a>, which not only successfully removes and blocks spam from websites, but continuously improves its performance through machine&nbsp;learning.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What is&nbsp;Akismet?</h3>

<p>Akismet is a cloud&#8209;based, spam&#8209;fighting solution that works completely in the background to rid your site of malicious activity. It requires no interaction from your users, which means no added friction in your user experience. Akismet has successfully removed more than 500 billion pieces of spam from the&nbsp;web.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Why is Akismet the best alternative to&nbsp;CAPTCHA?</h3>

<p>Akismet is the best alternative to CAPTCHA because it successfully blocks spam by working behind the scenes, freeing your visitors from frustrating puzzles. With nearly two decades of experience, Akismet has one of the largest spam databases available and continues to improve its detection capabilities through machine learning&nbsp;technology.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 10 Jan 2024 15:16:59 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"Jen Swisher";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:1;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:97:"WPTavern: #105 – Pascal Birchler on Revolutionizing Image and Video Processing Within WordPress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48:"https://wptavern.com/?post_type=podcast&p=152160";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:111:"https://wptavern.com/podcast/105-pascal-birchler-on-revolutionizing-image-and-video-processing-within-wordpress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:45214:"Transcript<div>
<p>[00:00:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Welcome to the Jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley.</p>



<p>Jukebox is a podcast which is dedicated to all things WordPress. The people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case, new ways to interact with your media within WordPress.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;d like to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast player of choice, or by going to WPTavern.com forward slash feed forward slash podcast, and you can copy that URL into most podcast players.</p>



<p>If you have a topic that you&#8217;d like us to feature on the podcast, I&#8217;m keen to hear from you and hopefully get you, or your idea, featured on the show. Head to WPTavern.com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox, and use the form there.</p>



<p>So on the podcast today, we have Pascal Birchler. Pascal is a longstanding WordPress community member, and Core committer, with a focus on internationalization, WP-CLI, and performance.</p>



<p>He&#8217;s been working on a project for the past six months to enhance the media capabilities of the WordPress block editor. His work includes client side image optimization, image compression, video enhancements, and speech to text features such as subtitle generation.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s unlike anything that I&#8217;ve ever seen, you upload media into the block editor and it&#8217;s manipulated right there inside the editor, by the browser, not by some remote server.</p>



<p>This is all achieved by harnessing the power of WebAssembly, and we discover what Pascal has managed to achieve thus far, and how he thinks that there&#8217;s going to be so much more to come.</p>



<p>We talk about how you can change images from legacy formats, like JPEG and GIF, into other, more modern formats, such as WebP and AVIF. Pascal explains how this is actually achieved, and why the new format so desirable. It&#8217;s all about reducing file sizes, server resource consumption, and the speed boost your site will gain as a result.</p>



<p>We also get into the conversion of animated GIFs into videos, and creating videos with transcripts on the fly. And remember, this is all done in the block editor, with the browser itself as the workhorse.</p>



<p>Pascal seems to be onto something here, and it&#8217;s really compelling listening to him argue that something like his plugin might be worthy of inclusion into WordPress Core at some point.</p>



<p>He explained some other projects, which he&#8217;s been working on inspired by the high volume of feedback he received after releasing his plugin.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re interested in pushing the boundaries of user experience, performance optimization, and compliance with evolving web standards this episode is for you.</p>



<p>If you want to find out more, you can find all of the links in the show notes by heading to WPTavern.com forward slash podcast, where you&#8217;ll find all the other episodes as well. And so without further delay, I bring you Pascal Birchler.</p>



<p>I am joined on the podcast today by Pascal Birchler. Hello, Pascal.</p>



<p>[00:03:42] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> Hello. Hi there.</p>



<p>[00:03:43] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Very, very nice to have you with us. We&#8217;re going to talk today, well, I think it&#8217;s broadly, we&#8217;re going to be talking about images. But there&#8217;s an awful lot of different technologies that Pascal has been working on over the, well, I don&#8217;t know how long. But I&#8217;ve only recently caught sight of the projects that you&#8217;ve been working on.</p>



<p>Pascal, just before we begin that, would you just tell us a little bit about yourself? Perhaps what your day job is, what your relationship is with WordPress, and so on. Just a little bio time really.</p>



<p>[00:04:10] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> Sure, yeah. So my name is Pascal, and I&#8217;ve been a WordPress community member for, I don&#8217;t know, 15 years now or so. So I&#8217;ve been doing a lot of contributions around internationalisation, so like anything multilingual. But recently also performance, and day-to-day, that&#8217;s really what I&#8217;m focusing on.</p>



<p>So I started as a WordPress contributor. Then I joined Google, as part of a team that is trying to make the web faster, that includes making WordPress faster.</p>



<p>[00:04:36] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, the performance team have been doing great work over the last, well, I&#8217;m going to say about 18 months it feels like they&#8217;ve been in existence. But WordPress itself has been made significantly quicker, over the various iterations of the project recently.</p>



<p>But I know that the browsers themselves have become better at doing an awful lot of things. And so I think what we&#8217;re going to talk about today will probably involve conversations around what the browsers can handle, and things like that.</p>



<p>But it&#8217;s very rare, Pascal, that I watch something online to do with WordPress, or technology, and I am actually having to lift my jaw away from the floor. But a little video that Pascal posted onto Twitter, not that long ago, maybe 10 days ago or something like that, really did make my jaw hit the floor. Because you were showing things that you&#8217;ve been working on that I had never seen before.</p>



<p>Not just that, I had no intuition that it was even possible. It&#8217;s going to make your WordPress life much better in the future, let&#8217;s hope.</p>



<p>Do you want to tell us a little bit about the project that you&#8217;ve been working on? And then we&#8217;ll get into the weeds of all of the different things that it can do, and yeah, just tell us how long you&#8217;ve been working on it, and what it really does.</p>



<p>[00:05:42] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> Sure. Absolutely. First of all, that&#8217;s exactly the reaction that I hoped to get from people, as I&#8217;ve been working on this project, or these media experiments, how I would like to call them, for maybe half a year or so. Like I occasionally started working on it and didn&#8217;t stop, and start again.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s basically a collection of things that enhance the media capabilities of WordPress, or specifically the block editor. Most of the things are around like client side image optimisation, image compression. But also anything related to videos or speech to text, like subtitle generation.</p>



<p>[00:06:18] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So you just swept it to one side, really, how impressive it is. But the key component there, that was so amazing to me, was the fact that it&#8217;s all done client side. So perhaps, dear listener, the best thing to do would be to pause this episode, go and search for it over on WP Tavern, and watch from the links, the two little Twitter videos that Pascal put together, and you&#8217;ll be in a much better position.</p>



<p>But what you&#8217;re going to see is truly remarkable. So it&#8217;s block editor based, so you&#8217;re in the Gutenberg editor. I don&#8217;t know if it&#8217;ll work in any other scenario of WordPress, with page builders or what have you. But that&#8217;s the paradigm that we&#8217;re talking about.</p>



<p>And Pascal is sitting there, and he decides that he wants to have an image which is currently a jpeg, and he doesn&#8217;t want it to be a jpeg. He wants to reduce the size of it, so that it consumes less resources on the server, but also can be served up to the end user. He wants to pass Core Web Vitals, because he&#8217;s a good Googler.</p>



<p>And so he throws it into Gutenberg, and Gutenberg seemingly converts it. Now I&#8217;m obviously doing it injustice. Please tell me what&#8217;s happening, because I haven&#8217;t the faintest idea how you&#8217;ve achieved this. So you put an image directly onto the Gutenberg canvas, and it&#8217;s no longer a jpeg. It&#8217;s been converted in some way, in the background, disconnected from the internet. This could be on a computer, completely disconnected from the internet. So it&#8217;s happening in the browser. How is it happening?</p>



<p>[00:07:40] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> So first of all, browsers are extremely capable of doing image compression, or even image conversion. But they&#8217;re also a little bit limited in like to what extent they can do that. So to overcome those limits, I&#8217;m using a technology called WebAssembly. Which allows basically like regular software that you would otherwise install on a computer, and bring that to the browser.</p>



<p>And in this case, this is an image processing library that I&#8217;m using. For example, I&#8217;m using the VIPS, or libvips image library. And using WebAssembly I can do all sorts of image rotation, thumbnail generation, directly in the browser. And then from there I will upload it to WordPress.</p>



<p>[00:08:19] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So is this, therefore a plugin, that you have pre-installed into the version of WordPress that you were using for the demo there. So this is a plugin that you&#8217;ve built, you&#8217;ve installed it, and I don&#8217;t if there are any settings in there. But even if you just activate it, as soon as you begin throwing images, there is the option to convert them to different formats, right out of the box. You don&#8217;t have to do anything else.</p>



<p>[00:08:42] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> Correct. It&#8217;s a plugin that I started. It works without any additional configuration, but of course, if you prefer not changing the image format, but just want to compress images. Or if you prefer, let&#8217;s say WebP or AVIF over jpeg, you can say so as well. And there are a few more settings that I added, but mostly for like testing and like, trying different things out.</p>



<p>[00:09:04] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. I mean, it&#8217;s a first run at this project, so maybe we&#8217;ll see some things in the future. We&#8217;re recording this at the end of 2023, so it&#8217;s still really hot off the press.</p>



<p>But just to digress a little bit, and move away from the technology. Why have you done this? What is the purpose of it? Now I&#8217;m guessing that there&#8217;s maybe some sort of environmental impact here. There&#8217;s the cost of storage, and all of those kind of things. What&#8217;s the point? Why would you even want to convert images from one format to another? After all, it looks the same, broadly, once you&#8217;re viewing it. What&#8217;s the purpose?</p>



<p>[00:09:36] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> Doing this has many advantages. So one is that if you want to do this, but you&#8217;re limited in server resources, now this allows anyone to use this technology and compress their images. And compressing images, or using a different file format, as you say, has like good impact on file size. Which means less bandwidth used, has a nice side effect of like images loading faster on your website, which is great for passing all these Core Web Vitals.</p>



<p>But it&#8217;s also a user experience benefit. Your visitors will see the images faster. And I think that&#8217;s the nice thing about this project, is that it has some performance aspects, but in the end it&#8217;s a lot about user experience.</p>



<p>[00:10:18] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So the modern versions of image formats, it may be that some of the listeners aren&#8217;t really familiar with those. I&#8217;m pretty sure that if you&#8217;ve been on the internet for any length of time, you&#8217;re familiar with jpegs, and pngs, and GIFs, or GIFs, however you wish to pronounce it. But you&#8217;re trying, well, in the video at least, you are converting them into an image format, which maybe people haven&#8217;t heard of before.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s called AVIF, but also I think you mentioned WebP as well. I know it&#8217;s maybe not in your wheelhouse directly, but can you just give us an idea of what&#8217;s going on there? What kind of reduction could we have? Let&#8217;s say if we took a, I don&#8217;t know, a two megabyte jpeg and pushed it through to be an AVIF. Roughly speaking, and I know it&#8217;s dependent upon what is in the image, but broadly speaking, what kind of benefits can you get in terms of percentages that are cut away?</p>



<p>[00:11:04] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> Oh, that&#8217;s a great question. I think in my test video, I saw a reduction of like maybe 40% or so in file size.</p>



<p>[00:11:11] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Good grief. Right.</p>



<p>[00:11:12] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> And there was like no noticeable differences to the eye. But there are like quality settings that you can change. Depending on the level of quality that you like for your use case, you can get it even further down.</p>



<p>[00:11:24] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So really significant amounts of data. You know, if your website is image heavy, then doing this, and there&#8217;s no noticeable loss to the viewer. Perhaps there is some sort of degradation, if you were to expand it, and you were a professional photographer, who knows? But something in the region of a 40% decrease.</p>



<p>Do you know if, at this point, so again we&#8217;re in December 2023. Is it possible for all browsers to be able to show these images back to us? So it&#8217;d be fabulous to be able to use AVIFs, but then obviously if a significant proportion of the internet out there can&#8217;t actually see them, because their browsers don&#8217;t support that, that would be troublesome. So do you have any inclination as to what the compatibility is with browsers, displaying WebPs and AVIFs?</p>



<p>[00:12:08] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> I think last I checked, WebP is supported by all browsers. So that includes Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and so on. And AVIF is not currently supported by default in Edge. All the other browsers support it. And in Edge, it needs to be enabled with a flag.</p>



<p>[00:12:25] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Oh, so there is support, it just merely isn&#8217;t enabled. So if you&#8217;re an Edge user, you can make it available.</p>



<p>So really there&#8217;s no reason not to do this if pretty much every browser is able to support this, why wouldn&#8217;t you do this? And I guess the beauty of your system that you&#8217;ve built, is that there&#8217;s no, there&#8217;s literally no thing to do. You just put the image onto the page, or the post, or whatever it may be, in the same way that you would always do, and it just happens on the fly.</p>



<p>Is there a little bit of a wait there? So let&#8217;s say, again, my image of two megabytes, something like that, jpeg uploaded. Is this happening more or less instantly in a typical modern computer, or do I have to sit there and twiddle my thumbs for a little while, as I might have done in the past if I was using a server side technology to do this?</p>



<p>[00:13:13] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> It&#8217;s pretty much instantly, but only because you don&#8217;t see what&#8217;s going on in the background. So when you drop the image in the editor, you can already see it, you can already, you know, add some gradients in the block editor, or continue writing your post. And in the background, the image is compressed, and all the thumbnails are being generated, and finally uploaded to WordPress. But you can already continue editing.</p>



<p>[00:13:37] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Okay. So really you can just carry on with your day, keep editing as normal, and in the background this will happen.</p>



<p>So what&#8217;s the flow in terms of where this is getting saved? So, again, we&#8217;ll use my example, I&#8217;m using a jpeg. Will the jpeg be saved in the media library, ultimately, as well? Or will just the converted image get kept? Because I know that a lot of the other server side solutions, some commercial solutions and what have you, which compress images, they have loads of options and many of them are, for example, keep the original. We&#8217;ll convert it for you, we&#8217;ll compress it for you, but we&#8217;ll also keep the original. And it may not be that that&#8217;s what your plugin does. So how does it handle the original? Where does it put that?</p>



<p>[00:14:15] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> Right now it keeps uploading the original to WordPress, in case you want to restore that or use that for, I don&#8217;t know, downloads or something. But this can be made optional, because everyone has different needs. For example, photographers prefer to have the full size images available, just in case, maybe for their clients. But this can be turned off if you prefer to save resources.</p>



<p>[00:14:37] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Okay. So that, I guess, brings me to the next question. What are the settings that you have at the moment? So, you&#8217;ve mentioned that you know, you can keep the original, or delete the original, or what have you. Are you able to specify, okay, every time I upload a jpeg, turn it into an AVIF, every time I upload a WebP, turn it into an AVIF? Are there different settings in the backend there that I can configure, so that it just meets my exact requirements?</p>



<p>[00:14:58] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> You pretty much nailed it. Right now the setting is limited, like you can choose your preferred format, and it uses that. But the next step is to provide a setting per file type, so that you can really specify what you want to be for every type of file that you upload.</p>



<p>The settings are really fine grained in that regard. I hope them to be fine grained. There are also more settings, for example, for thumbnail generation. You can choose whether the thumbnail should be generated on the server, or in the browser as well, which is the default.</p>



<p>And the third option is to have the client side thumbnail generation, but make it smarter. So for example, if you have a photo of a person somewhere, right now WordPress just crops like these 150 by 150 thumbnails from the center of the image. But with the smart option, it will focus on the person&#8217;s face to be in the center, just so much more useful.</p>



<p>[00:15:50] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Wait, it makes a decision about what to crop, based upon the content of the picture. So it&#8217;s intelligent enough to know that there&#8217;s an object over here which is of significance, crop around that. That&#8217;s great.</p>



<p>How would that work for other things? This is going to go off in a strange direction. Let&#8217;s say I had a, I don&#8217;t know, a cat or something like that in the picture, but there was nothing else. There was just this singular cat, and it was top right. Is it able to intuit that there&#8217;s an object in this picture which needs focus?</p>



<p>[00:16:16] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> Yeah, so the image library that I&#8217;m using tries to detect the most prominent object in a photo. So there could be an animal, or something else. Of course it&#8217;s not perfect when it&#8217;s, I don&#8217;t know, a photo of like a group of people or something, but it&#8217;s better than nothing.</p>



<p>[00:16:30] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, it has to make a decision about which person is more important in that picture. But again, just to emphasise, if you&#8217;re listening to this, we&#8217;re not talking about this data leaving your computer, getting crunched on somebody else&#8217;s machine, and then being sent back. This is all happening inside the browser, right before your eyes, or not before your eyes. It&#8217;s really just happening, and the result comes out before your eyes.</p>



<p>You may not know the answer to this, I hope that you do. But, why do browsers have all of this technology baked into them? What&#8217;s the reason for that? I mean, I could guess what some of the reasons would be, but I&#8217;m interested to know if you&#8217;ve got more concrete data on that. Why would a browser ship with all of these image conversion, formatting options, all the other things you&#8217;ve described?</p>



<p>[00:17:14] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> Well, as I said, the browser does have some image formatting or conversion options, but they&#8217;re limited. That&#8217;s why I&#8217;m able to use external libraries, through Web Assembly. And the reason that Web Assembly is a thing is it just, it makes the web so much more powerful. It allows things like Photoshop to run on the web, which previously wasn&#8217;t possible. I think for the web to still matter in years to come, browsers and websites and web technologies need to evolve, support use cases like that.</p>



<p>[00:17:41] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, I have this intuition, I could be wrong. But I have this intuition that in a decade from now, more and more of the things that I&#8217;m still holding out on my computer at home, will have gone over to the browser. And it feels like video and images are still in the domain of the desktop computer often, just because of, well, the amount of data that has to fly around for a start.</p>



<p>But also, if you&#8217;ve got an hour long video and you&#8217;re trying to edit little bits, it does seem that online solutions don&#8217;t quite make the grade yet boy, it&#8217;s changing quickly. And if we stare into our crystal ball, a year into the future, two years, five years, I feel that a lot of this will have been taken over by online tools.</p>



<p>So we talked about the fact that you can upload an image, but it goes a lot further than that, because you can take a bunch of images. Now I don&#8217;t know how much you&#8217;ve battle tested this, whether or not you&#8217;ve put in 500, 1,000, 10,000 images. But in the example you used, I think you put three images in, and it did the same thing.</p>



<p>So if you were a photographer, or you had a post that was heavy with images, this can all be done. You don&#8217;t have to do one at a time, wait for it to happen. It&#8217;ll just put them all into a queue, I&#8217;m guessing, and tackle them one at a time.</p>



<p>[00:18:43] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> That&#8217;s exactly right. Yeah, I have this sort of queuing system that I built. It can do multiple images at a time, or only one. That depends on a lot of factors. For example, like how many CPU cores that you have on your machine.</p>



<p>The good thing is that everything happens in the background in so-called Web Workers. And these are separate threads from the main website, which means even if you throw more than one image at it, it will be separate from the main thread, so you&#8217;re not blocked from writing any more content. I don&#8217;t have 10,000 images on my computer to test it with, but maybe I should.</p>



<p>[00:19:15] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> But it will cue them, and so we&#8217;re expecting it to work in the normal way. But certainly for a normal amount of images, it&#8217;s going to handle it correctly. Let&#8217;s say though, that I did throw 100 images at it, which is going to consume a little bit of time. I&#8217;m imagining, you know, there would be some human noticeable amount of time for that to happen.</p>



<p>And then I was to stray away from that post. Close it down, for example, or go to a different screen inside a WordPress. Does the browser continue that operation? What is the connection? How is it bound? Does the post need to be open for all of this to happen? And also, what about just failure? If something fails to happen, do we get a notification to say, whoops, it didn&#8217;t do what it was anticipating to do?</p>



<p>[00:19:55] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> So yes, you definitely need to stay in the editor while the upload is in progress. There will be a warning if you try to navigate away. Of course, if this were like a single page application, where you&#8217;re not actually like changing origins, going to another website that could continue to upload. But for the upload to finish, you need to stay in the editor.</p>



<p>If an upload errors, there will be notifications of course. Thanks to this queuing system, it&#8217;s even possible to change your mind and cancel uploads, if you prefer. For example, if you notice, oh dang, I uploaded wrong image. You don&#8217;t have to wait for the upload to finish to fix that mistake, so you can just cancel it.</p>



<p>[00:20:29] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, that&#8217;s great. Now, it&#8217;s not just images though, it will handle a whole load of other things. And there&#8217;s a couple that you demonstrate. The first one is something which is, obviously something that irritates you a little bit. Animated GIFs or GIFs, however you wish to pronounce them. You&#8217;d rather that they were made into videos, and so it will do that as well.</p>



<p>If you were to throw an animated GIF into it, it will recycle that as an actual image, with a play and stop button, so that you&#8217;ve got some agency about what&#8217;s actually happening on the screen there. Again, so that&#8217;s presumably just for GIFs. I can&#8217;t think of any other image format off the top of my head, which has that animation possibility. But that will create a video of the same dimensions or, what&#8217;s it doing there?</p>



<p>[00:21:11] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> So yeah, animated GIFs or GIFs are painful. WebP also supports animation, but it&#8217;s not that common. But for animated GIFs, they&#8217;re really bad for, not just performance, but also user experience, because you can&#8217;t stop them. They just autoplay, they&#8217;re super heavy in file size usually. And if you, for example, prefer reduced motion, which is like a setting in most operating systems and browsers. A GIF won&#8217;t stop. But a video can be stopped, but it can also be preloaded, can have a poster image. So it&#8217;s just way better from a user experience.</p>



<p>And the plugin converts GIF or GIF to a video with the same size. Creates a poster image as well. So if the video is stopped, or still being loaded, you will see a preview image as well. You can have either the controls to play, pause, or it just loops and autoplays, like a GIF. You don&#8217;t see the difference.</p>



<p>[00:21:59] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> It&#8217;s what we need. Agency over animated GIFs, that&#8217;s for sure. And it just all happens seamlessly. But again, another jaw off the floor moment was when I saw that you were creating video content inside the post editor. So, you know, imagine, dear listener, that you are in a post, you&#8217;ve clicked add new post, and there you are.</p>



<p>Shoot video from the webcam, or I&#8217;m guessing any camera that might be attached to the machine. Shoot it, save it into the media library inside the post. As if that wasn&#8217;t enough, also transcribe it in real time. Now, I don&#8217;t know if that transcription gets burned onto the video, or if it&#8217;s just something that&#8217;s happening as you are watching it.</p>



<p>But that&#8217;s truly remarkable as well. And it leads me to all sorts of thoughts about being able to, I don&#8217;t know, communicate with other people, with synchronous video, a bit like we have with Zoom, or something like that, inside of a post. I&#8217;m not entirely sure why you would wish to do that, but those kind of possibilities becoming available. How did you do that? How does that work?</p>



<p>[00:23:05] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> You bring something interesting up, because there&#8217;s like this collaboration feature being worked on in the block editor. So just imagine having a video call, and maybe saving that video afterwards, who knows?</p>



<p>So for this particular feature I&#8217;m again, using the powers of Web Assembly to use the FFmpeg video library in the browser. So FFmpeg is a really powerful tool set. It can do video conversion, all sort of things. And I use that in a browser to basically record the video, or take the recorded video and convert it to like a MP4, whatever is a good format for you.</p>



<p>And for the subtitles, I&#8217;m using a different solution, which is based on an open source machine learning models, that do transcription, like speech to text. And that generates a vtt captions file. Similar to srt, it&#8217;s a separate file, it&#8217;s not burned into the video. And you can use other tools to then edit the captions, or you could even build a caption editor directly in WordPress.</p>



<p>[00:24:04] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Most video solutions allow you to upload and combine the two, don&#8217;t they? So it&#8217;s got timestamping in, so it knows when a particular word is about to appear on the screen. And so it can handle all of that. But it creates that file on the fly. So it not only creates the video file, stores that into the media library, but if you have the option set for the vtt file, it will also save that. And presumably, because of the time that they were saved, there&#8217;s a very high probability they&#8217;ll end up right next to each other in the media library. So you could associate the two.</p>



<p>That is truly impressive. I can only imagine what could be possible with that. Because all you are doing is showing that it can be done, and it can be saved right there. But yeah, I kind of feel that once that gets out into the wild, other developers will have intuitions as to what to do with that, aside from you, and may well wish to do something.</p>



<p>But you&#8217;re right, you know, can you imagine a scenario where, I don&#8217;t know, a graphic designer wants to talk to another graphic designer about a particular post, or a particular page that they&#8217;re working on and, well, let&#8217;s just hop in, and actually work on it together whilst we&#8217;re in the page. We don&#8217;t need another third party solution. I don&#8217;t know, maybe that&#8217;s a bit extreme. But absolutely fascinating how you&#8217;ve managed to pull all of this off.</p>



<p>You mentioned the libraries that you were using there to do the video transcoding. Again, is all of that bundled in with the plugin, or is any of this going out of our computer, out of our browser somewhere, and getting converted, and then being sent back? Or is it all happening on our machine?</p>



<p>[00:25:27] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> It&#8217;s all happening on your machine. I know it&#8217;s sometimes crazy to believe, but yeah.</p>



<p>[00:25:32] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I mean, really, truly crazy. One thing that you own that I don&#8217;t own is you have an iPhone, which it turns out also has an unusual, well not unusual because there&#8217;s a lot of iPhones out there. But it&#8217;s not a web friendly image format. I didn&#8217;t even know what it was called until you showed it on the screen, it&#8217;s HEIC or HEIF. And it&#8217;s simply for Apple devices.</p>



<p>So I&#8217;m guessing if you&#8217;ve got a Mac or an iPhone, it will show it just fine. But if you&#8217;re trying to upload that to the media library, you&#8217;re going to have a problem. So conversion has to happen there. And you&#8217;ve got a nice, another nice little option there. If you throw that in, that will also get converted, again to your preferred one. So it could be, I don&#8217;t know, AVIF or WebP, whatever you&#8217;d like.</p>



<p>[00:26:13] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> Yeah. So it&#8217;s a super annoying format to use on the web. Right now, it will convert to WebP or AVIF, whatever you have set. The file format itself also supports like multiple frames, because on iPhone, you have this feature called live photos, where the photo is sort of like a video. So you could technically even convert this image to a video when you upload it. So you have this live photo effect also on the web.</p>



<p>[00:26:36] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> But it&#8217;ll do all of that out of the box. So all of that is absolutely fascinating, and we&#8217;ll get to something else that you showed in a slightly different video in a moment. The purpose of this, obviously, you&#8217;re scratching your own itch, you&#8217;ve done something which will definitely be helpful in the future. It does strike me that a lot of this is definitely within the scope of being put into core.</p>



<p>Now, I know that an awful lot of stuff comes through the news outlets each and every week about amazing WordPress products, and some of it clearly is really out of the scope of core. But do you have an intuition that some of this really could be baked into core, would be useful in core? Is that something you are going to be trying to push for in 2024?</p>



<p>[00:27:19] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> Well based on the reactions of people to the demos I&#8217;ve shared, there&#8217;s definitely interest. Seems to be useful for many people. Be that the HEIC conversion or the thumbnail generation. So I definitely see potential for this to be in core, and it&#8217;s something that I want to strive for in the next year. But it will be definitely limited in scope. Like, you won&#8217;t see fancy video recording or something in core, I would say. So I would want to start small, focus on like an M.V.P. solution, and bring that into core and then we can go from there.</p>



<p>[00:27:51] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. That&#8217;ll be an interesting thing to see. One last thing, just before we move on to your upload an image with your friend idea. Another thing which you do is, and this is curious because we had a chat about this before we clicked record. If you upload an image and that image is going to take a few moments, an opaque, hazy version of the image is shown. And it almost looks like you&#8217;re squinting your eye or something, you know, it&#8217;s gone a little bit blurred.</p>



<p>But the technical side of how you&#8217;ve done that is really interesting, because I was anticipating it was just another image, but it&#8217;s not, there&#8217;s some really interesting work going in the background there, and gradients and CSS. Just explain what&#8217;s going on whilst we have the image load. You show us something, which kind of looks like a faded out version of the image. What&#8217;s happening?</p>



<p>[00:28:33] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> So the itch that I wanted to scratch there, is that the experience when you have to wait for images to load is really not great. Let&#8217;s say if you&#8217;re on a 3G connection on a train, or something. So what I wanted to do is have like a blurred version of the image showing. So as soon as you open the page you immediately see something. You know, oh, there&#8217;s an image that might be loaded here, and it looks interesting.</p>



<p>And what I&#8217;m using for that is a technology, or an algorithm called BlurHash, which generates these blurry placeholders. And usually to display that placeholder on the website, you would need JavaScript. But I&#8217;m converting this blurriness to simple CSS gradients instead. So that when you load the page, you&#8217;re not seeing another image while the main image is loaded, it&#8217;s just all CSS gradients.</p>



<p>[00:29:18] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So no JavaScript in sight, it&#8217;s just CSS, which obviously has its benefits. So upon successful completion of that image, what are you doing with the CSS that you&#8217;ve created there? Where is that data going when it&#8217;s no longer needed? Do you just expunge it and get rid of it?</p>



<p>[00:29:33] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> Well, you will still need it for like the next page load, right? So it&#8217;s always there, it&#8217;s always in the database. And it&#8217;s super small, like even for a larger image. The amount of gradients is not that big, so it doesn&#8217;t really impact performance.</p>



<p>[00:29:47] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah it&#8217;s a really nice experience, because it just gives you, well, you&#8217;ve all been there where an image hasn&#8217;t even begun to load, and you get all this cumulative layout shift where things are being pushed around, and buttons go further down and everything moves. It kind of gets rid of that, because right away you get this block, which is going to be the same size and shape as the image, which will eventually load.</p>



<p>I think in most cases these days, certainly in the part of the world where I live, we&#8217;re really not faced with those problems too much these days. But as you said, if you&#8217;re in a place where there&#8217;s a slower network or a, let&#8217;s say a 3G network or something like that, then having that as an option is great. So yeah, fascinating solution to that problem, I really like that.</p>



<p>Now, I think you probably got a little bit of interest, and I don&#8217;t know if the second Twitter video came along after the first one that I saw. So we&#8217;ve just discussed what I believe is probably the first one, and we&#8217;ll discuss the second one. And I&#8217;m hoping, Pascal, in the days and weeks to come, we&#8217;ve got Christmas in the way, I realise that. But in the days and weeks to come we&#8217;re going to see many more such videos.</p>



<p>You&#8217;ve got this really interesting idea of being able to upload images into a post, with a link, or a QR code, which I guess is a link of a different kind. But you could send it to a friend, who could then upload an image into a post, without being logged into the WordPress website. Where did that need arise? What was the scenario that you were thinking, okay, I need people to upload images into my posts, which they don&#8217;t have access to edit, and so on? What&#8217;s going on there? It&#8217;s fascinating.</p>



<p>[00:31:13] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> I have to admit, I did not come up with this idea actually. So after I published the first demo on Twitter, John Blackburn, I actually opened an issue on GitHub and he was like, hey, you know, on apps like eBay or online banking apps, for example. There&#8217;s the option to upload your receipts or something from your phone. So why not make that possible in WordPress? And I was like, oh, that&#8217;s interesting. So I built it.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s really cool because, I think the scenario is, you&#8217;re editing a blog post, you want to add this nice picture and you realise, oh, it&#8217;s on the phone. Maybe it&#8217;s on your friend&#8217;s phone, or like colleague&#8217;s phone. So you can scan the QR code, or send the link for that code to someone else. And then they&#8217;re able to upload the image to WordPress. And after that is done, and you&#8217;re still in the editor, so once they&#8217;re done uploading the image, you&#8217;ll immediately see the image in your editor, you can continue editing.</p>



<p>[00:32:04] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So you wouldn&#8217;t need to refresh that post and come back to it, it would just appear. So let&#8217;s say, for example, that I send you that link, and I&#8217;ve got my post, it&#8217;s half completed, but I just know that I need that image to finish it off. And I know that you, Pascal, have got your hands on it. I could send you the link. You click on the link, select the image in question, and there it is, right inside my post, immediately without a need for a refresh or anything.</p>



<p>That&#8217;s so great. That&#8217;s just such a curious thing. But now I get the point, and I guess the idea of being able to send it to somebody else is quite interesting. But the idea, certainly for me, you are right, there&#8217;s a lot which is held on my phone, there&#8217;s a lot which is held on other computers. I have a detachable hard disc over there, and quite often the computer that it&#8217;s attached to is, you know, in no way connected to this one. So being able to send myself another link over there, that&#8217;s really curious.</p>



<p>It feels to me, Pascal, as if you are just getting your feet wet here. You&#8217;ve just got yourself all excited about images and what you can do with them inside of WordPress. So that&#8217;s the next question. Do you have any intuition as to what&#8217;s coming next? What fun projects you might work on.</p>



<p>[00:33:09] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> Well, you know, just talking about this with you, gives me a lot of ideas. And sharing these demos with people also sparks ideas in them. And you mentioned that holidays are coming up, so maybe, I don&#8217;t know, over the holidays I&#8217;ll build something new. We&#8217;ll see.</p>



<p>[00:33:22] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Well, I would very much like to see the outcome of your endeavors. Yeah, I&#8217;ve definitely got a few ideas of what I would like. For example, being able to record a podcast directly inside the editor. I know that, obviously, video and audio are very similar, it may well already be possible with everything that you&#8217;ve done.</p>



<p>But the ability to do things like that inside the post editor, and not have to save it elsewhere, would be kind of interesting. You know, what we&#8217;re doing right now, we&#8217;re using a third party SaaS app to record this. I can&#8217;t see any reason why all of this couldn&#8217;t potentially happen inside the block editor as well.</p>



<p>Anyway, exciting times. And Pascal, I do thank you for piquing my curiosity. It really was quite a moment when I saw that video.</p>



<p>If anybody wants to contact you, if anybody has been intrigued by what you&#8217;ve said, and they want to reach out, where are the best places? We know that you&#8217;re on Twitter, but tell us what your handle is, and where else we can find you.</p>



<p>[00:34:10] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> So my Twitter handle, or WordPress.org, everywhere else is swissspidy with three S&#8217;s in the middle. That&#8217;s the best place to reach me.</p>



<p>[00:34:19] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Alright. Well, thank you so much. And Pascal, I really appreciate you coming on the podcast and chatting to us today. Thank you so much.</p>



<p>[00:34:25] <strong>Pascal Birchler:</strong> Thanks for having me.</p>
</div>



<p>On the podcast today we have <a href="https://twitter.com/swissspidy/">Pascal Birchler</a>.</p>



<p>Pascal is a long-standing WordPress community member and Core committer, with a focus on internationalisation, WP-CLI, and performance.</p>



<p>He’s been working on a project for the past six months to enhance the media capabilities of the WordPress block editor. His work includes client-side image optimisation, image compression, video enhancements, and speech-to-text features, such as subtitle generation. It’s unlike anything that I’ve ever seen. You upload media into the block editor, and it’s manipulated right there, inside the editor, by the browser, not by some remote server.</p>



<p>This is all achieved by harnessing the power of WebAssembly, and we discover what Pascal has managed to achieve thus far, and how he thinks that there’s going to be so much more to come.</p>



<p>We talk about how you can change images from legacy formats like jpg and gif, into other, more modern formats such as WebP and Avif. Pascal explains how this is actually achieved, and why the new formats are desirable. It’s all about reducing file sizes, server resource consumption, and the speed boost your site will gain as a result.</p>



<p>We also get into the conversion of animated Gifs into videos, and creating videos with transcripts on-the-fly, and remember, this is all done in the block editor with the browser itself as the workhorse.</p>



<p>Pascal seems to be onto something here, and it’s really compelling listening to him argue that something like his plugin might be worthy of inclusion into WordPress Core at some point.</p>



<p>He explains some other projects which he’s been working on, inspired by the high volume of feedback he received after releasing his plugin.</p>



<p>If you’re interested in pushing the boundaries of user experience, performance optimisation, and compliance with evolving web standards, this episode is for you.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Useful links</h2>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/swissspidy/status/1733138082591912154">Pascal&#8217;s Twitter video #1</a></p>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/swissspidy/status/1735019049686368342">Pascal&#8217;s Twitter video #2</a></p>



<p><a href="https://webassembly.org/">WebAssembly website</a></p>



<p><a href="https://github.com/libvips/libvips">libvips on GitHub</a></p>



<p><a href="https://ffmpeg.org/">FFmpeg website</a></p>



<p><a href="https://blurha.sh/">BlurHash website</a></p>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/swissspidy/">Pascal&#8217;s Twitter</a></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 10 Jan 2024 15:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Nathan Wrigley";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:2;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Matt: Sonos Tip";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:23:"https://ma.tt/?p=110280";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"https://ma.tt/2024/01/sonos-tip/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1204:"<p>If you&#8217;re obsessed with <a href="https://www.sonos.com/">Sonos</a> like I am, a nice MacOS utility is the <a href="https://mbc-for-sonos.app/">Menu Bar Controller</a>. <cite>Hat tip to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/miketatum/">Mike Tatum</a></cite>, who happened to be the gentleman who convinced my parents it was okay for me to drop out of college and move to San Francisco to take a job at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNET">CNET</a>. Mike&#8217;s now at Sonos and in October arranged for some top execs at <a href="https://automattic.com/">Automattic</a> to go to Santa Barbara to meet with their peers at Sonos, and <a href="https://twitter.com/Patrick_Spence">Patrick Spence</a> and I did a joint CEO town hall that was broadcast to both of our companies. It was I think fascinating for both sides because of a shared passion for craft, design, culture, and execution, but our companies are in no way competitive, so it allowed for a lot of transparency. I learned a ton, and I think that kind of sharing is what increases the mimetic evolutionary speed of companies. </p>



<p><a href="https://atoms.com/">Atoms</a> are hard! I think I&#8217;ll stick mostly to bits.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 10 Jan 2024 01:50:34 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:3;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:86:"Do The Woo Community: Do the Woo is a Sponsor and Media Partner for WordCamp Asia 2024";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78784";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:65:"https://dothewoo.io/sponsor-and-media-partner-wordcamp-asia-2024/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:402:"<p>We are returning to WordCamp Asia again, and proud to be a Media Partner again as well as a sponsor for the event.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/sponsor-and-media-partner-wordcamp-asia-2024/">Do the Woo is a Sponsor and Media Partner for WordCamp Asia 2024</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 09 Jan 2024 08:09:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:4;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:78:"WordPress.org blog: WP Briefing: Episode 70: A Look Ahead at WordPress in 2024";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"https://wordpress.org/news/?post_type=podcast&p=16677";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:80:"https://wordpress.org/news/2024/01/episode-70-a-look-ahead-at-wordpress-in-2024/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:8348:"<p>Curious about WordPress&#8217;s big-picture items for 2024? Phase 3, Data Liberation, new meetups, and more, get the spotlight in this episode. Join Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy for all this, plus a small list of big things coming up in the next two weeks.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Credits</h2>



<p>Host:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/">Josepha Haden Chomphosy</a><br />Editor:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dustinhartzler/">Dustin Hartzler</a><br />Logo:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/javiarce/">Javier Arce</a><br />Production:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bjmcsherry/">Brett McSherry</a><br />Song: Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Show Notes</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/07/03/real-time-collaboration/">Real-Time Collaboration</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/">Make WordPress Core</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/data-liberation/">Data Liberation</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/">Make WordPress Plugins</a></li>



<li><a href="https://events.wordpress.org/">WordCamp Events</a></li>



<li><strong>Small List of Big Things</strong>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project/2023/12/12/overflow-questions-from-state-of-the-word-2023/">Overflow Questions from State of the Word 2023 in Madrid, Spain</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2023/11/17/announcing-the-2023-annual-meetup-survey/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annual Meetup Survey</a>&nbsp;&#8211; This is the final chance to share your feedback on WordPress meetups for 2024 and how we can improve the program in the future.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Transcripts</h2>



<span id="more-16677"></span>



<p>[00:00:00] <strong>Josepha:</strong> Hello, everyone, and welcome to the WordPress Briefing, the podcast where you can catch quick explanations of the ideas behind the WordPress open source project, some insight into the community that supports it, and get a small list of big things coming up in the next two weeks. I&#8217;m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Here we go.&nbsp;</p>



<p>[00:00:28] (Intro music)&nbsp;</p>



<p>[00:00:40] <strong>Josepha:</strong> Hello, my dears, and welcome to 2024. I hope you&#8217;ve had a lovely break. At the top of the year, I like to look around and gather the projects that the community is interested in. We can&#8217;t always commit to everything, and sometimes even the things we plan to do can&#8217;t make it across the finish line. In the next few weeks, I&#8217;ll be publishing kind of the big picture goals for the year, but I wanted to share a little bit about what I&#8217;ve collected so far.</p>



<p>[00:01:05] <strong>Josepha:</strong> Firstly, we&#8217;ve got Phase 3. This has been called a few things over the years: collaborative editing, multiplayer, co-editing. But whatever it&#8217;s been called, the biggest changes to writing and design workflows are likely to happen in this phase. A redesigned workflow can be a bit of a shock. But fortunately, we already have a prototype out there.</p>



<p>I&#8217;ll include a link to some resources in the show notes, or of course, you can always stop by make.WordPress.org/core for some insights. But I would encourage you to, at the very least, get your hands on that prototype to see what it looks like is coming in Phase 3 so that you can be aware and provide your feedback.</p>



<p>The next thing on our list is Data Liberation. This is a new-to-us project that was introduced at State of the Word. Fortunately, though, it&#8217;s not a new concept overall. Data Liberation is actually one of the earliest ideas that sold me on WordPress. The idea that you could set up a site for a client, or yourself, and that hard work wasn&#8217;t lost if something went wrong, was really important to me. It&#8217;s been a long time since we put any effort into our importers and exporters, and I think this will be a good focus for the year.</p>



<p>[00:02:14] <strong>Josepha:</strong> The next thing that I&#8217;ve picked up, kind of a list of three things, but there are three mid-sized areas that I want us to pay attention to this year: plugins, old tickets, and new meetups.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Plugins, because they really have turned a corner on where they ended 2023. A lot of work has been done to make sure that they&#8217;ve streamlined some efforts, gotten some better onboarding for folks as they&#8217;re going in, and we could really use a hand to keep that momentum going.</p>



<p>Old tickets, because it&#8217;s something that we hope for year after year when we&#8217;re talking to people about what they want in new releases. So often, part of what they say is some way to work through all of these old things that have been around forever, some with patches. And why not, after all?</p>



<p>And then new meetups, because I really still think that meetups are the best intro to WordPress. No matter whether you&#8217;re wanting to become a developer eventually or, like, the community-building aspect is the thing that hooks you forever. Meetups are the place to encourage those and discover those.&nbsp;</p>



<p>[00:03:20] <strong>Josepha:</strong> The next thing on my list is also two things. It&#8217;s two things, but kind of a guess at the moment. There are two summit items that I want us to try to consider this year.</p>



<p>So the first one is contributor recognition. Acknowledgment and recognition, I think, are two different things, and there was an entire series of sessions at the summit where we talked about it. And so I think that it&#8217;s worth us digging in on that.</p>



<p>The other thing from the summit that I would really like us to all kind of dig in on is accessibility, how we do it, how we confirm it, what we think we should do versus what we actually do, and see what we can move on the needle there.</p>



<p>And the last thing is sort of a personal wish. I think it&#8217;s about time that we take a look at the way that we kind of manage ourselves as a project, the way that we do our meetings and report on our successes, things like that. And I realize that this is a big thing, and it might be a little bit scary. But, I mean, we&#8217;ve been doing this for a really long time, and it&#8217;s probably as good a time as any, frankly, to look at what we&#8217;re doing by habit or tradition and see if it still suits us.</p>



<p>So, that&#8217;s my back of the napkin set of notes so far. Keep an eye out in the next couple of weeks for the annual Big Picture post so you can get some context, notes, and discussion opportunities. And, of course, anything that has shown up that&#8217;s a bit bigger, a bit more final will be in there as well.&nbsp;</p>



<p>But first, our small list of big things. </p>



<p>[00:04:52] (Music interlude)&nbsp;</p>



<p>[00:05:00] <strong>Josepha:</strong> Firstly, State of the Word had nearly 200 questions submitted, and Matt has been answering the overflow on make.WordPress.org/project. So, I&#8217;ll include a link, but head on over there to that post if you would like to catch up on those.</p>



<p>And then the second item, and last item, is that you&#8217;ve got a few more days left to give us feedback on WordPress meetups in 2023, and give us an idea of what we can do to improve those. I believe those close on January 14th. I really love my local meetup, and I hope that we can get some of that same sort of feeling going in all of yours, too.</p>



<p>[00:05:33] <strong>Josepha:</strong> And that, my friends, is your small list of big things. Don&#8217;t forget to follow us on your favorite podcast app or subscribe directly on WordPress.org/news. You&#8217;ll get a friendly reminder whenever there&#8217;s a new episode. If you liked what you heard today, share it with a fellow WordPresser, or if you had questions about what you heard, you can share those with me at wpbriefing@WordPress.org.</p>



<p>I&#8217;m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Thanks again for tuning in for the WordPress Briefing, and I&#8217;ll see you again in a couple of weeks.&nbsp;</p>



<p>[00:06:02] (Music outro)&nbsp;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 08 Jan 2024 13:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Brett McSherry";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:5;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:153:"Gutenberg Times: Gutenberg Changelog #94 – State of the Word, Gutenberg 17.2, 17.3 and 17.4, WordPress 6.5, Migrating from Classic Theme to Block Theme";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?post_type=podcast&p=26968";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:163:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-94-state-of-the-word-gutenberg-17-2-17-3-and-17-4-wordpress-6-5-migrating-from-classic-theme-to-block-theme/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4880:"<p>In this episode, Sarah Norris and Birgit discuss State of the Word, Gutenberg 17.2, 17.3 and 17.4. They take a sneak peek at the WordPress 6.5 roadmap, and they discuss steps on migrating from a classic theme to a block theme.</p>



<p><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-94-state-of-the-word-gutenberg-17-2-17-3-and-17-4-wordpress-6-5-migrating-from-classic-theme-to-block-theme/#shownotes">Show Notes</a> / <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-69-gutenberg-releases-wordpress-6-0-1-the-create-block-theme/#transcript">Transcript</a></p>



<ul>
<li>Music:&nbsp;<a href="https://soundcloud.com/xirclebox">Homer Gaines</a></li>



<li>Editor:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-reed/">Sandy Reed</a></li>



<li>Logo:&nbsp;<a href="https://markuraine.com/">Mark Uraine</a></li>



<li>Production:&nbsp;<a href="https://icodeforapurpose.com">Birgit Pauli-Haack</a></li>
</ul>



<p class="has-larger-font-size" id="shownotes"><strong>Show Notes</strong></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Special Guest:&nbsp;<strong>Sarah Norris</strong></h2>



<p>JavaScript Developer 6.4 editor tech co-lead</p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mikachan/">WordPress Profile @mikachan</a></li>



<li><a href="https://sekai.co.uk/">Personal website: sekai.co.uk</a></li>



<li><a href="https://twitter.com/mikachan_">Twitter: @mikachan_</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">State of the Word</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/state-of-the-word-redesign-developer-resources-block-theme-updates-weekend-edition-278/">State of the Word, (and more) — Weekend Edition 278</a></li>



<li><strong><a href="https://wordpress.org/data-liberation/">Data Liberation</a> </strong>&#8211; <a href="https://github.com/wordpress/data-liberation">GitHub repository</a>&nbsp;| Slack channel: <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C069AKUBPHB" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">#data-liberation</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://events.wordpress.org/">New WordPress events page</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WordPress 6.5 </h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/07/roadmap-to-6-5/">Roadmap to 6.5</a></li>



<li>Tracking issues of features already in Gutenberg plugin and ready for testing
<ul>
<li><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/55277">Font Library</a></li>



<li><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/53705">Syncing specific blocks and attributes of patterns</a></li>



<li>&nbsp;<a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/55083">New data views for templates, template parts, and patterns in the Site Editor</a></li>



<li><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/55776">Robust revisions</a></li>



<li><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/54336">background image support for the Group block</a>,</li>



<li><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/52632#top">aligning page edit features in Site Editor and Post Editor</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Gutenberg plugin releases</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/06/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-2-6-december/">What’s new in Gutenberg 17.2? (6 December)</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/20/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-3-20-december/">What’s new in Gutenberg 17.3? (20 December)</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2024/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-4-03-january/">What’s new in Gutenberg 17.4? (03 January)</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Migrate classic to block theme</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/health-check/">Health Check &amp; Troubleshooting</a>&nbsp;</li>



<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/create-block-theme/">Create a Block Theme</a></li>
</ul>



<p class="has-large-font-size">Stay in Touch</p>



<div class="wp-block-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">
<ul>
<li>Did you like this episode? <a href="https://lovethepodcast.com/gutenbergchangelog"><strong>Please write us a review </strong></a></li>



<li>Ping us on Twitter or send DMs with questions. <a href="https://twitter.com/gutenbergtimes">@gutenbergtimes </a>and <a href="https://twitter.com/bph">@bph</a>.</li>



<li><em>If you have questions or suggestions, or news you want us to include, send them to <a href="mailto:changelog@gutenbergtimes.com">changelog@gutenbergtimes.com</a>. </em></li>



<li><em>Please write us a review on iTunes! <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/itunes/">(Click here to learn how)</a></em></li>
</ul>
</div></div>



<p class="has-large-font-size" id="transcript"><strong>Transcript</strong></p>



<p>The transcript is in the works. </p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 08 Jan 2024 11:48:16 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:18:"Birgit Pauli-Haack";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:6;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:119:"Gutenberg Times: Happy New Year, WordPress Enterprise, Developer Hours and an Interactive Game –  Weekend Edition 279";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?p=26820";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:83:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/happy-new-year-wordpress-enterprise-weekend-edition-279/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:21801:"<p>Howdy, </p>



<p>Wishing you and yours a prosperous, happy and healthy 2024, with a lot of success, lots of laughter and a lot of love. &nbsp;🤗 </p>



<p>After two weeks of vacation, it&#8217;s been inspiring to catch up. Many developers, freelancers, and site builders use the downtime around the holidays to work on their side projects or sit down to write about their learnings. What was your side or writing project? I want to know! </p>



<p>For me, it meant moving the Gutenberg Times to a new hosting space.  I feared it to be difficult going from a very opinionated hosting environment to <a href="https://pressable.com/">Pressable</a>. I was pleasantly surprised how, with the help of customer service, we got it done in a matter of minutes. What took the longest was the propagation of the DNS server changes over the Internet, that took roughly an hour. The main reasons for the switch was that using <a href="https://wordpress.github.io/wordpress-playground/">WordPress Playground</a> with <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/need-a-zip-from-master/">Gutenberg Nightly</a> didn&#8217;t work at the old host. After testing various configuration also on other hosting spaces, I am excited that it worked out of the box on Pressable.  </p>



<p>Now, let&#8217;s see what others published in the WordPress editor space in the past three weeks. </p>



<p>Yours, 💕<br /><em>Birgit</em></p>



<p>PS: The sixth anniversary of the start of Gutenberg Times is coming up this week, and I just wanted to say, it has been a great pleasure curating all the things around Gutenberg for you. So glad you are here with me. </p>




<div class="wp-block-group has-light-background-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">
<p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p>



<div class="wp-block-sortabrilliant-guidepost"><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-word-press-release-information">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</a><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#1-gutenberg-plugin-releases">Gutenberg plugin releases </a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-p">Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </a></li></ul></div>
</div></div>




<p><strong>Updates on Gutenberg Times</strong></p>



<p>🆕  As mentioned above, you can now use the <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/need-a-zip-from-master/"><strong>Gutenberg Nightly</strong></a> plugin built with WordPress Playground and land right in the site editor screen. If you are interested in the blueprint, <a href="https://150387569.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/playnightly.json" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">it&#8217;s available here</a></p>



<div class="wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex">
<div class="wp-block-button"><a class="wp-block-button__link has-text-align-center wp-element-button" href="https://playground.wordpress.net/?blueprint-url=https://gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/playnightly.json" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Click to launch WordPress Playground</a></div>
</div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="0-word-press-release-information">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</h2>



<p>Anne McCarthy invites you to <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/leap-into-2024-with-these-site-editor-tools/"><strong>Leap into 2024 with these&nbsp;Site Editor&nbsp;Tools</strong></a> and gives you a list of features and tools, that might have slipped your mind, or you haven&#8217;t had a chance to explore. This is an excellent run-down of use cases and update on the current state of the site editor.  Learn more about the Command Palette, the Style Book, styling short-cuts, Distraction-free mode, Patterns,  and the List view. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>Once you are ready to dive deeper into any of the topics, the WordPress Developer Blog covered quite a few topics this year. <strong>Justin Tadlock</strong> published <strong><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2024/01/05/2023-year-in-review/">2023 Year in Review</a>,</strong> citing some numbers and listing all the articles in a sorted way. It&#8217;s the best way to catch-up on things you might have missed. And if you don&#8217;t want to miss any more articles on the Developer blog, it&#8217;s time to subscribe  to it. Scroll down on any post of page and enter your email address 🙂 Or <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/feed/">subscribe to the RSS feed</a> with your favorite reader.  </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="1-gutenberg-plugin-releases">Gutenberg plugin releases </h3>



<p>In his post <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/20/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-3-20-december/"><strong>What’s new in Gutenberg 17.3? (20 December</strong></a>),release lead <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/madhudollu">Madhu Dollu</a></strong>, highlighted: </p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/20/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-3-20-december/#global-style-revision-change-summary">Summary of changes in global styles revision history</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/20/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-3-20-december/#updated-preferences-panel">Updated preferences panel</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/20/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-3-20-december/#integration-of-gravatar-service-for-social-icons">Integration of Gravatar Service for Social Icons</a></li>
</ul>



<p>In total, the release included 184 merged PRs by 56 contributors, 6 of them contributed for the first time. Congratulations to the team. </p>



<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/20/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-3-20-december/"><img width="652" height="315" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Preferences.jpg?resize=652%2C315&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-26829" /></a>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>On January 3rd, 2024, Gutenberg 17.4 was released. <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2024/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-4-03-january/"><strong>What’s new in Gutenberg 17.4? (03 January)</strong></a>. As release lead, I highlighted the following features: </p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2024/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-4-03-january/#data-views-list-of-templates-stable">Data Views: List of Templates stable</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2024/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-4-03-january/#style-revisions-stylebook-integration-and-pagination">Style revisions: Stylebook integration and pagination</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2024/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-4-03-january/#background-images-size-and-repeat-controls">Background Images: size and repeat controls.</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2024/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-4-03-january/#list-view-right-click-access-to-block-setting">List View: Right click access to Block Setting</a></li>
</ul>



<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/mikachan_">Sarah Norris</a></strong> joined me on the recording for the Gutenberg Changelog episode 94, and it was a lovely chat about the past three Gutenberg plugin releases and the upcoming roadmap for WordPress 6.5.</p>



<img width="652" height="186" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Screenshot-2024-01-06-at-11.34.15.png?resize=652%2C186&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-26916" />



<p>We also covered the process of how to migrate a site from a classic theme to a block theme, something, that&#8217;s on my to-do list for the Gutenberg Times in the upcoming weeks. Spoiler:  The plugin <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/health-check/">Health Check &amp; Troubleshooting</a> and<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/create-block-theme/"> Create a Block Theme</a>  will play big roles. Did you move a site from a classic theme to a block theme? How did you go about it, and what were the greatest challenges? Please let us know in the comments or email me, <a href="mailto:pauli@gutenbergtimes.com">pauli@gutenbergtimes.com</a>. </p>



<p>The podcast episode will drop in your favorite podcast app over the weekend. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p class="has-accent-color has-light-background-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-b21294d93d10468b5f9c6136fdd74073">🎙️ Latest episode:  <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-94-state-of-the-word-gutenberg-17-2-17-3-and-17-4-wordpress-6-5-migrating-from-classic-theme-to-block-theme/">Gutenberg Changelog #94 – State of the Word, Gutenberg 17.2, 17.3 and 17.4, WordPress 6.5, Migrating from Classic Theme to Block Theme</a> with Sarah Norris</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="0-p">Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners</h2>



<p><strong>HumanMade</strong> and <strong>BigBite</strong> invite you to a <em>WordPress for Enterprise</em> event on <strong>January 18th, 2024</strong> to <a href="https://hello.humanmade.com/wordpress-for-enterprise"><strong>Hear from the global brands doing incredible things with WordPress</strong></a>. It&#8217;ll start at 16:00 UTC and will take until about 21:00 UTC &#8220;Over the course of 6 sessions, we’ll be sharing the stories behind these amazing projects. Expect case studies, deep dives, and behind-the-scenes access on topics such as security, performance, editorial optimization, AI, and how open source is making a difference in the enterprise setting.&#8221; with speaker such as Adam Silverstein, Google, Brian Alvey, WordPress VIP, or Luke Sikkema, The Times, and a few more. </p>



<a href="https://hello.humanmade.com/wordpress-for-enterprise"><img width="652" height="341" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/WordPress-Enterprise-1024x535.jpeg?resize=652%2C341&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-26940" /></a>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>In her post <a href="https://nomad.blog/2023/12/21/joyful-flow-state/"><strong>joyful flow state</strong></a>, <strong>Anne McCarthy</strong> shares her creative process and musing about creating block patterns for the <em>Museum of Block Art.</em> &#8220;Using the same software I spend my days toiling over in a creative, unserious way expands my relationship to the work, both energy and perspective wise.&#8221; she wrote. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Munir Kamal</strong> did some research and shares with the world in this post: <a href="https://gutenberghub.com/discover-the-best-block-slider-plugins-for-wordpress/"><strong>Discover the Best Block Slider Plugins for WordPress</strong></a>. A block that has been missing from the core blocks, several plugins offer their variation of the slider. It&#8217;s not always the best user experience and there is a school of web developer who like to dissuade site owners from using sliders and <a href="https://shouldiuseacarousel.com/">even built a slider site</a> with some good reasons why you shouldn&#8217;t use a carousel, which is just another word for slider. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>Lifter LMS updated their documentation and showcase their <a href="https://lifterlms.com/docs/lifterlms-blocks/"><strong>Lifter LMS Blocks</strong></a> with videos and instructions on how to use them. Now one of the leading Learning Management systems, built on top of WordPress, enters the next product phase and allows for faster content creation with the already known Block interface built into WordPress. </p>



<img width="652" height="324" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/LifterLMS-Courses-Block-Settings.png?resize=652%2C324&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-26931" />



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="2-word-press-6-0-1-and-6-1-scheduled"></h2>




<p><strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;Keeping up with Gutenberg &#8211; Index 2022&#8221;</a>&nbsp;</strong><br />A chronological list of the WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS, Test, and Meta team from Jan. 2021 on. Updated by yours truly.  <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index-2020/"><em>The index 2020 is here</em></a></p>




<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </h2>



<p>For the Developer Hours in December, <strong>Nick Diego</strong> and <strong>Ryan Welcher</strong> selected the topic: <a href="https://youtu.be/cakxgM2UgbE?si=sGIfKU7kLtpVEifM"><strong>Modern WordPress development with the wp-scripts package</strong></a>. The recording is available on YouTube, and they shared the mentioned resources as <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GMKxjxdFqwCg3ESC337eNvA6FmaokW9Zlkjm-mhSroU/edit#heading=h.d22cu7925a4z">a Google Doc. </a> They wrote: &#8220;We explored how the wp-scripts package has become an essential tool for modern WordPress development, such as when building blocks and block themes. If you are looking to streamline your development process, harness the power of build tools, and simplify tasks such as checking for compliance with WordPress coding standards, this session recording is for you.&#8221;</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>You are invited to the January <strong>Developers Hours for January 16th, 2024 at 15:00 UTC (10 am EDT)</strong> to <strong><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/298191982/">Build your first WordPress block</a></strong>. In this online event, you&#8217;ll be on a walk-through <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/getting-started/tutorial/">the new tutorial in the Block editor handbook</a>, and you will also learn more about the<a href="https://github.com/WordPress/block-development-examples"> block development examples</a> on GitHub. </p>



<a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/298191982/"><img width="600" height="338" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/build-your-first-block.webp?resize=600%2C338&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-26925" /></a>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Jonathan Desrosiers</strong> informed developers about <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/20/updating-wordpress-to-use-more-modern-versions-of-node-js-npm-2/">Updating WordPress to use more modern versions of Node.js/npm: Part 2</a>. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>In his tutorial, <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/12/22/extending-plugins-using-custom-slotfills/"><strong>Extending plugins using custom SlotFills</strong></a>, <strong>Ryan Welcher</strong> explains how you can use custom SlotFills to extend both an internal and external codebase.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Jonathan Bossenger</strong> experimented with the Interactivity API and used  <a href="https://jonathanbossenger.com/2023/12/wordpress-as-a-game-development-platform/"><strong>WordPress as a game development platform.</strong></a> It&#8217;s a fun game, where the logos of other web development platform chase after the WordPress logo. I lasted 25 seconds. How long did you last? &#8220;There is still a lot of work to be done to turn this into a working game, but I’m excited about the possibilities. Stay tuned because I can see this turning into a bit of a series of posts&#8221;. Bossenger wrote. If you would rather not wait so long, you can take a sneak peek at the code via the GitHub repository: <a href="https://github.com/jonathanbossenger/wp-interactive-game">WP-Interactive Game</a>.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/danielpost">Daniel Post</a></strong> created a two-part tutorial on <strong><a href="https://danielpost.com/part-1-creating-a-wordpress-options-page-using-react-and-gutenberg/">Creating a WordPress options page using React and Gutenberg</a></strong>. &#8220;This guide is primarily aimed at people who have some WordPress experience but have never tried “the React way”, but it should be useful for anyone trying to get into into modern WordPress development.” It&#8217;s a very thorough tutorial. Post explains all the basic pieces other tutorials might assume prior knowledge of, and steps through almost every line of the code, in PHP as well as in JavaScript, he uses to build this example. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>On YouTube, <strong>Ryan Welcher</strong> posted his latest stream in the Block Developer Cookbook series, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnpy6vGObx4"><strong>Block Developer Cookbook Recipe: Command Palette</strong></a>. &#8220;In this flavorful cooking demonstration, initially aired on November 16, we whip up a special culinary command for the all-new Command Palette. Our goal? To deftly toggle the custom fields meta box in the post editor, just like a chef skillfully adjusting the seasoning levels in a signature dish. Let&#8217;s embark on this culinary coding adventure together!&#8221; he wrote. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/Ny_The_Creator"><strong>Nyasha Green</strong></a> just published her <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/learning/wordpress-introduction-to-custom-block-building/learning-custom-block-building-in-wordpress"><strong>WordPress: Introduction to Custom Block Building</strong></a> on the LinkedIn Learning Network. The course starts with a brief introduction to the Block editor and how to add blocks to a post&#8217;s canvas and explain block attributes. In the second module you&#8217;ll learn to set up your local environment with LocalWP, 2021 default theme and Node.js. In the chapter Custom Blocks without code, Green explains how to create patterns and synched patterns, and you&#8217;ll learn about the Pattern Directory. The fourth chapter, Green, covers Custom Block Building with code, and introduces the learner to the <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/reference-guides/packages/packages-create-block/">create-block scaffolding tool</a>. The topic covers creating a card with three blocks and some InnerBlocks rules and how to modify the styles for the custom block. It&#8217;s a great starting point. The LinkedIn Learning space is a subscription-based learning environment, but you can use a free trial for the first month. </p>




<p><strong><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/need-a-zip-from-master/">Need a plugin .zip from Gutenberg&#8217;s master branch?</a></strong><br />Gutenberg Times provides daily build for testing and review. <br />Have you been using it? Hit reply and let me know.</p>



<p><img alt="GitHub all releases" src="https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/bph/gutenberg/total?style=for-the-badge" /></p>




<p class="has-text-align-right has-small-font-size"><em>Questions? Suggestions? Ideas? Don&#8217;t hesitate to send <a href="mailto:pauli@gutenbergtimes.com">them via email</a> or send me a message on WordPress Slack or Twitter @bph</em>. </p>



<p class="has-text-align-right has-small-font-size">For questions to be answered on the <a href="http://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast">Gutenberg Changelog</a>, send them to <a href="mailto:changelog@gutenbergtimes.com">changelog@gutenbergtimes.com</a></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />




<p>Featured Image:</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p class="has-text-align-left"><strong>Don&#8217;t want to miss the next Weekend Edition? </strong></p>



<form class="wp-block-newsletterglue-form ngl-form ngl-portrait" action="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/" method="post"><div class="ngl-form-container"><div class="ngl-form-field"><label class="ngl-form-label" for="ngl_email"><br />Type in your Email address to subscribe.</label><div class="ngl-form-input"><input type="email" class="ngl-form-input-text" name="ngl_email" id="ngl_email" /></div></div><button type="submit" class="ngl-form-button">Subscribe</button><p class="ngl-form-text">We hate spam, too, and won&#8217;t give your email address to anyone except Mailchimp to send out our Weekend Edition</p></div><div class="ngl-message-overlay"><div class="ngl-message-svg-wrap"></div><div class="ngl-message-overlay-text">Thanks for subscribing.</div></div><input type="hidden" name="ngl_list_id" id="ngl_list_id" value="26f81bd8ae" /><input type="hidden" name="ngl_double_optin" id="ngl_double_optin" value="yes" /></form>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide" />";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 06 Jan 2024 15:15:31 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:18:"Birgit Pauli-Haack";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:7;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:11:"
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:63:"HeroPress: Is Open Source Good For WordPress? See Who Says Yes!";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://heropress.com/?p=6354";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:167:"https://heropress.com/is-open-source-good-for-wordpress-see-who-says-yes/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=is-open-source-good-for-wordpress-see-who-says-yes";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11290:"<img width="1024" height="768" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/165659692de83cc02.32224370-1024x768.jpeg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="A white cat sits on a wooden balcony porch." /><div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6354_6f1157-a8 alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6354_f14888-a7 inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6354_a667d9-c2 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://heropress.com/">HeroPress.com</a> &#8211; <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/the-good-and-the-bad-of-open-source-wordpress/">The good and the bad of open source WordPress</a></h2>





<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default">
<a href="https://heropress.com/essays/the-good-and-the-bad-of-open-source-wordpress/"><img width="300" height="300" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/lesley_sim-300x300.jpg" alt="Lesley Sim" class="wp-image-4881" /></a></div>



<p>Lesley Sim is a WordPress product owner, and has navigated the waters of whether to offer a free version and has struggled with the idea of whether Open Source is even a good idea.</p>



<p><em>[WordPress] helps so many people grow their businesses, communicate, and simply share their thoughts with everyone on the internet. There is no such thing as only good without the bad. And I’m glad WordPress exists.</em></p>



<p>Lesley&#8217;s essay is <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/the-good-and-the-bad-of-open-source-wordpress/">available</a> on <a href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress.com</a>.</p>
</div></div>

</div></div>


<div class="wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-6354_2bc5ad-a5"><div class="kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center"><hr class="kt-divider" /></div></div>


<div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6354_e8d5d7-78 alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6354_fac933-6c inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6354_848a6f-1d wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://hallwaychats.com">WPPhotos.Info</a></h2>





<div class="wp-block-image">
<a href="https://wpphotos.info/ganjala-range/"><img width="300" height="169" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3665812bf57207d5.16252734-scaled-1-300x169.jpg" alt="Langtang Trek, standing above the clouds looking at the mountains with a snowy summit" class="wp-image-6356" /></a></div>



<p>This week&#8217;s <a href="https://wpphotos.info">WPPhotos Info</a> is called &#8220;<a href="https://wpphotos.info/ganjala-range/">The snowy peaks</a>&#8220;. </p>



<p>Amazing view captured by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/trinisha/">Trinisha</a>. This is Ganjala Range seen from Kyanjin Ri Peak (4773m/15655 ft).</p>



<p><a href="https://wpphotos.info/ganjala-range/">Read more of the story at WPPhotos.info!</a></p>
</div></div>

</div></div>


<div class="wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-6354_250a5b-91"><div class="kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center"><hr class="kt-divider" /></div></div>


<div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6354_665474-78 alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6354_ac2882-92 inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6354_3db9b3-5f wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://wppodcasts.com">WP Podcasts</a></h2>






<a href="https://wppodcasts.com"><img src="https://heropressnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pocket_casts_single_315.png" alt="Pocket Casts image" class="wp-image-4316" /></a>




<p>There were <em>fourteen</em> WordPress podcast episodes released this week!</p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://potencia.pro/273-wordpress-no-esta-pensando-actualmente-para-webs-grandes/#new_tab">Potencia Pro 273: ¿WordPress no está pensando actualmente para webs grandes?</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/potencia-pro-wordpress-y-cozas/">Potencia Pro, WordPress y cozas</a></li>



<li><a href="https://remkusdevries.com/podcast/understanding-tech-changes-and-agency-evolution-with-steve-zehngut/#new_tab">Understanding Tech Changes and Agency Evolution with Steve Zehngut</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/within-wordpress/">Within WordPress</a></li>



<li><a href="https://rethink.fm/podcast/episode-37-stakeholder-relationships-and-ux-research-operations-with-jessica-ivins/#new_tab">Episode 37: Stakeholder Relationships and UX Research Operations with Jessica Ivins</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/rethink-fm/">rethink.fm</a></li>



<li><a href="https://unbilleteachattanooga.com/episodio-243/#new_tab">Episodio 243: Más de 100 proyectos en un año</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/un-billete-a-chattanooga/">Un billete a Chattanooga</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.wppodcast.cat/podcast/obrint-pas-al-2024/#new_tab">9. Obrint pas al 2024</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/wordpress-podcast-catala/">WordPress Pòdcast (català)</a></li>
</ul>



<p>There are new episodes every single day, so be sure to stop by <a href="https://wppodcasts.com">WPPodcasts.com</a> and search for things that interest you!</p>
</div></div>

</div></div>


<div class="wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-6354_a8a32f-bf"><div class="kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center"><hr class="kt-divider" /></div></div>


<div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6354_b38388-00 alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6354_c96c47-b7 inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 id="wpphotos" class="kt-adv-heading6354_5fa872-f7 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos">WP Photos</a></h2>



<p>Here are some of the great photos submitted to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos">WPPhotos</a> project this week!</p>




<a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/2056596f50/"><img width="570" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2056596f5029bef23.62087568-570x1024.jpg" alt="Toy truck for kids." class="wp-image-6358" /></a><a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/2056596f50/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/balub/">Balu B</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.



<a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/4186596d78/"><img width="1024" height="473" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/4186596d78833c5c9.61199387-1024x473.jpg" alt="Jatayu rock sculpture - the world’s largest bird sculpture in Jatayu Earth Center at Chadayamangalam in Kollam district of Kerala, India." class="wp-image-6359" /></a><a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/4186596d78/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/balub/">Balu B</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.



<a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/4516597a4a/"><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/4516597a4a668dc30.03720898-1024x768.jpeg" alt="A lady enjoying the park, basking in beautiful sunlight, surrounded by vibrant stones!" class="wp-image-6357" /></a><a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/4516597a4a/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/bhuwanroka/">Bhuwan Bdr. Rokaha</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.



<a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/5236596f3e/"><img width="567" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/5236596f3ee9b6317.37447566-567x1024.jpg" alt="Thirteen Kannara Bridge - The Pathimoonnu Kannara Bridge, also called the " /></a><a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/5236596f3e/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/balub/">Balu B</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.



<a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/27765965bc/"><img width="1024" height="683" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/27765965bc4a79d04.54687103-1024x683.jpg" alt="Frost covered fence post with clearly visible ice crystals, sky as a backdrop tinged with sunrise tones" class="wp-image-6360" /></a><a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/27765965bc/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/smhsmh/">Sadie-Michaela Harris</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.



<a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/62465965c3/"><img width="1024" height="683" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/62465965c314f7ed4.60537373-1024x683.jpg" alt="Female Blackbird standing on the edge of a frozen water filled wooden half barrel" class="wp-image-6361" /></a><a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/62465965c3/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/smhsmh/">Sadie-Michaela Harris</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.




<p>Be sure to check out the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">hundreds of other great photos</a>!</p>
</div></div>

</div></div>


<p></p>



<p>The header photo for this post is a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/165659692d/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/mahfuznafi/">mahfuznafi</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.</p>






<p>That&#8217;s it for this week! If you&#8217;d like to get this post in your email every week, <a href="https://heropressnetwork.com/newsletter">make sure you sign up</a>!</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://heropress.com/is-open-source-good-for-wordpress-see-who-says-yes/">Is Open Source Good For WordPress? See Who Says Yes!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 05 Jan 2024 18:25:37 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:8;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:60:"WordPress.org blog: The Month in WordPress – December 2023";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=16680";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:72:"https://wordpress.org/news/2024/01/the-month-in-wordpress-december-2023/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9933:"<p>As 2023 came to a close, WordPress bid farewell with the much-anticipated annual State of the Word and the 6.5 roadmap, among other exciting updates.</p>



<p>Read on to learn more about the community’s end-of-year celebrations and catch a sneak peek of what’s in store for the year ahead.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Highlights from State of the Word</h2>



<p>On December 11, WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg delivered his annual <strong><a href="https://wordpress.org/state-of-the-word/">State of the Word</a> keynote in Madrid, Spain</strong>, marking the first international edition of the event. Nearly 200 WordPress enthusiasts and tech industry leaders gathered in person to hear what’s next for WordPress—with a large audience joining online or from one of the 47 watch parties held across 18 countries.</p>



<p>The keynote <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/state-of-the-word-2023-recap/">highlighted</a> last year’s milestones and showcased compelling demos, providing a glimpse into the upcoming developments for the Site Editor, Collaboration phase, and Admin redesign. Matt also introduced 2024’s focus on <a href="https://wordpress.org/data-liberation/">Data Liberation</a>, aiming to unlock digital barriers and frictionless migrations into WordPress for a more open web.</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">

</div>



<p>The event concluded with a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S01uBD2pyQY">Q&amp;A session</a> and <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project/2023/12/12/overflow-questions-from-state-of-the-word-2023/">this follow-up post</a>.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Roadmap to WordPress 6.5</h2>



<p>WordPress 6.5 is <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/6-5/">scheduled</a> for release on <strong>March 26, 2024</strong>. This major release is set to introduce a new Font Library for easy global font management, support for Appearance Tools in Classic Themes, Data Views for templates and patterns, and more robust revisions across the editing experience, among other highlights.</p>



<p>6.5 will also include new APIs like Interactivity, Custom Fields, and Block Binding that expand block capabilities and underpin features like Synced Pattern Overrides.</p>



<p>Learn more about the features planned for WordPress 6.5 in <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/07/roadmap-to-6-5/">this roadmap post</a>.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote has-extra-large-font-size">
<p>Don’t wait for the next release to optimize your creative workflows with <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/leap-into-2024-with-these-site-editor-tools/">these powerful Site Editor tools</a>.</p>
</blockquote>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">New in the Gutenberg plugin</h2>



<p>Two new versions of Gutenberg shipped in December:</p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/06/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-2-6-december/"><strong>Gutenberg 17.2</strong></a> introduced improvements to the site editing experience, including the ability to drag and drop blocks to the top and bottom of documents and sticky table headers. The update also enhanced the Interactivity API docs and addressed numerous bug fixes.</li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/20/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-3-20-december/"><strong>Gutenberg 17.3</strong></a> featured a summary of changes in the global styles revision history, an updated preferences panel, and a new social icon for the Gravatar service, along with the ongoing development of Phase 3 features.</li>
</ul>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<a class="wp-block-jetpack-podcast-player jetpack-podcast-player__direct-link" href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/">https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/</a>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Team updates</h2>



<ul>
<li>Openverse <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/openverse/2023/12/11/introducing-enhanced-content-safety-features-on-openverse/">introduced new features to filter sensitive content</a>, aiming for a more accessible and safer browsing experience. This update marks the beginning of a significant initiative to enhance content safety tools.</li>



<li>Matrix contributors <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project/2023/12/12/update-on-matrix-migration-pausing-the-transition/">announced</a> the decision to pause the Making WordPress Slack migration to Matrix and the factors contributing to it.</li>



<li>The <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2023/12/15/developer-resources-gets-a-refresh/">redesign of the Developer Resources section</a> went live last month.</li>



<li>Are you searching for events in your local community? Explore the recently launched <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2023/12/13/announcing-the-new-wordpress-events-page/">WordPress.org Events page</a>—your new central hub for discovering upcoming events or applying to organize one.</li>



<li>In 2023, WordPress significantly <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/19/wordpress-performance-impact-on-core-web-vitals-in-2023/">improved Core Web Vitals (CWV) across sites</a>. The overall passing rates went up from 28.31% to 36.44% on mobile and from 32.55% to 40.80% on desktop, making both WordPress and the whole web perform better.</li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/22/call-to-action-2024-major-releases-call-for-volunteers/">Volunteers are needed</a> for 2024’s WordPress major releases. If you’re interested, now’s the time to get involved!</li>



<li>Check out all the community <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project/2023/12/22/wordpress-end-of-year-celebrations/">achievements and contributions</a> that moved the WordPress project closer to its goals in 2023.</li>
</ul>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<a class="wp-block-jetpack-podcast-player jetpack-podcast-player__direct-link" href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/">https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/</a>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Requests for feedback &amp; testing</h2>



<ul>
<li>Complete the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2023/11/17/announcing-the-2023-annual-meetup-survey/">2023 Annual Meetup Survey</a> before January 14, 2024, and help strengthen WordPress meetups in the future.</li>
</ul>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WordPress events</h2>



<ul>
<li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f1f9-1f1fc.png" alt="🇹🇼" class="wp-smiley" /> WordCamp Asia has opened <a href="https://asia.wordcamp.org/2024/contributor-day-registration/">registrations for its Contributor Day</a>. The conference will be held in Taipei, Taiwan, on March 7-9, 2024.</li>



<li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f1ea-1f1fa.png" alt="🇪🇺" class="wp-smiley" /> WordCamp Europe’s <a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2024/speakers/call-for-speakers/">call for speakers</a> is open until January 15, 2024. Don’t miss the chance to be part of this event by either submitting your speaking proposals or <a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2024/sponsors/call-for-sponsors/">supporting it as a sponsor</a>.</li>



<li>Mark your calendars! <a href="https://us.wordcamp.org/2024/">WordCamp US 2024</a> is headed to Portland, Oregon, from September 17 to 20, as revealed during the State of the Word.</li>



<li>Check out these WordPress events happening soon:
<ul>
<li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f1ee-1f1f3.png" alt="🇮🇳" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://events.wordpress.org/kolkata/2024/careercamp/">Kolkata CareerCamp</a>, India on January 6, 2024</li>



<li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f1f3-1f1f5.png" alt="🇳🇵" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://nepal.wordcamp.org/2024/">WordCamp Nepal</a> on January 12-13, 2024</li>



<li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f1ea-1f1f8.png" alt="🇪🇸" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://zaragoza.wordcamp.org/2024/">WordCamp Zaragoza</a>, Spain on January 19-20, 2024</li>



<li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f1ee-1f1e9.png" alt="🇮🇩" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://events.wordpress.org/jakarta/2024/web-challenge/">WordPress Web Challenge</a>, Indonesia on January 27, 2024</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />



<p><em><strong>Have a story we should include in the next issue of The Month in WordPress? Fill out </strong></em><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/month-in-wordpress-submissions/"><strong><em>this quick form</em></strong></a><em><strong> to let us know.</strong></em></p>



<p><em>Thank you to <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bernard0omnisend/">Bernard Meyer</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/eidolonnight/">Nicholas Garofalo</a>, and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/laurlittle/">Lauren Stein</a></em> <em>for contributing to this edition of The Month in WordPress.</em></p>



<div class="wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained">
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Subscribe to WordPress News</h3>



<p>Join other subscribers and receive WordPress news directly in your inbox.</p>


<div class="wp-block-jetpack-subscriptions__supports-newline is-style-split wp-block-jetpack-subscriptions">
		<div>
			<div>
				<div>
					<p>
						<a href="https://wordpress.org/news/?post_type=post&p=16680">Subscribe</a>
					</p>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div>
	</div></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 05 Jan 2024 10:10:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Reyes Martínez";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:9;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:45:"Do The Woo Community: Make. WordPress. Happy.";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78771";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:41:"https://dothewoo.io/make-wordpress-happy/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:353:"<p>Starting 2024 on an optimistic note as I noticed more of my fellow WordPressers feeling more optimistic and happy about WordPress.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/make-wordpress-happy/">Make. WordPress. Happy.</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 05 Jan 2024 09:31:55 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:10;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:26:"Matt: Fred Again Tiny Desk";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:23:"https://ma.tt/?p=110139";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:43:"https://ma.tt/2024/01/fred-again-tiny-desk/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:140:"<p>You think you&#8217;ve seen Tiny Desk performances, but you haven&#8217;t seen this.</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">

</div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 05 Jan 2024 06:50:44 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:11;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:17:"Matt: On Mastodon";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:23:"https://ma.tt/?p=110133";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://ma.tt/2024/01/on-mastodon/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:177:"<p><a href="https://mastodon.social/@photomatt" rel="me">This is me on Mastodon</a>, it&#8217;s really me, also <a href="https://gravatar.com/matt">added to my Gravatar</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 05 Jan 2024 02:31:01 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:12;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:65:"Akismet: What is a Honeypot in Spam Protection and Cybersecurity?";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://akismet.com/?p=283657";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:44:"https://akismet.com/blog/what-is-a-honeypot/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:21927:"<p>If your enterprise handles large volumes of sensitive content, cybersecurity should be a top priority. You likely already have measures in place to block hacking attempts. But did you know that you can also create honeypots to further protect your&nbsp;business?</p>


<p>What is a honeypot? In a nutshell, this is a web app or system that mimics your company’s network. It’s designed to lure in hackers so that the security team can study their tactics and identify weak areas in your organization.&nbsp;</p>


<p>In this post, we’ll take a closer look at how honeypots work and the different ways you can implement them. We’ll also discuss the benefits of honeypots in cybersecurity and spam protection. So, let’s dive right&nbsp;in!</p>


<span id="more-283657"></span>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What are&nbsp;honeypots?</h2>

<p>Let’s start by answering the most important question: what is a&nbsp;honeypot?</p>


<p>Essentially, a honeypot is a network that’s designed to serve as a decoy for hackers. It’s made to appear as part of an organization’s IT infrastructure, but in fact, it’s completely isolated from it.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The primary purpose of honeypots is to attract cyber threats. This way, security experts can get a close look at the attackers’ tactics and behavior in a safe and controlled environment. Using this information, they can then enhance the overall security of the actual infrastructure.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>


<p>This technique is usually deployed by enterprises that handle large amounts of data. By being proactive, your organization can identify vulnerabilities in its network before they’re discovered by hackers. This ultimately helps prevent serious hacking events that can negatively impact your revenue or damage your&nbsp;reputation.</p>

<p>Plus, creating a honeypot can help you test the effectiveness of pre&#8209;existing security measures against cyber threats. Your enterprise can then use these findings to fortify its&nbsp;system.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The different types of&nbsp;honeypots</h2>

<p>Now that we’ve answered the basic question on what a honeypot is, let’s look at the different types of decoys you can&nbsp;use:</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. Form honeypot&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Bots will often fill out forms on your site to send spam or attempt to inject malicious code into your site. No, that fishy-sounding company didn’t really find “30 SEO errors on your site!” They used a bot to send spam to thousands of site owners hoping to catch someone off guard.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Since bots typically fill out any available field, you can trick them into identifying themselves by essentially creating an invisible field that the bot can read in the code, but that won’t appear to users. If one fills it out, you know it’s a fake submission.&nbsp;</p>


<p>While this is a decent way to catch spam, it’s not without its faults as bots can increasingly decipher these traps and work around them.&nbsp;</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. Email or spam&nbsp;trap</h3>

<p>As you might have guessed, email or spam trap honeypots are designed to catch malicious emails that are sent to your organization. The way they work is quite&nbsp;simple.</p>

<p>A spam trap honeypot would consist of “fake” email addresses linked to your organization. You might place these contact details on your website or any other online platform to lure in&nbsp;spammers.</p>

<p>Your security team can then review and examine any unsolicited emails that come into the honeypot. This will help them design effective filters and spam protection measures for the “real” email addresses, thus protecting employees against phishing attacks and other malicious&nbsp;activities.</p>


<p>To avoid any confusion, we’d like to mention that you may have also heard about these in the context of email marketing or email deliverability. That’s because email <a href="https://www.mailgun.com/blog/deliverability/spam-traps/#subchapter-1">spam trap honeypots</a> are also used by blocklists and inbox service providers to catch mass email senders who acquire email lists via unauthorized methods. However, this isn’t something the cybersecurity division of your organization typically needs to worry about.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Spider&nbsp;honeypot</h3>


<p>You already know about web crawlers or “spiders” —&nbsp;the bots that scan the contents of a website. Google uses these web crawlers to index the pages of your website and display them in relevant search results.&nbsp;</p>


<p>But web crawlers are also used by hackers to discover vulnerabilities in websites. Spider honeypots are therefore designed to attract these bots to identify weaknesses in a web application or&nbsp;website.</p>


<p>By simulating your web application and inviting these crawlers to do their work, you can study their behavior as they try to find a way in. This will help your team identify any specific attack patterns or common exploits, and take the necessary measures to protect your enterprise against web-based attacks.&nbsp;</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. Malware&nbsp;honeypot</h3>


<p>If your organization has a malware problem, this type of honeypot can help you get to the bottom of it.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Malware honeypots are designed to emulate systems or services that are usually affected by malicious software. Your security team can use this system to study the origins and workings of the malware in a controlled environment.&nbsp;</p>


<p>This will enable them to implement effective measures against this threat. For example, they might develop a sturdier and more intelligent antivirus program for your&nbsp;enterprise.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">5. Decoy&nbsp;database</h3>

<p>One of the most common threats for enterprises is a data breach. If your company stores sensitive information, like customer details and financial records, it could be an attractive target among&nbsp;hackers.</p>


<p>A decoy database is a type of honeypot that entices attackers who are looking to steal your data. It mimics your organization’s database but, of course, the information it contains would be fake.&nbsp;</p>


<p>This type of honeypot can help you spot vulnerabilities in your database and study the techniques hackers use to access your data. This way, you’ll be able to implement stricter access controls in your database and develop more effective protection&nbsp;solutions.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">6. Client&nbsp;honeypot</h3>

<p>Client honeypots are another popular decoy. These mimic client&#8209;side applications and personal&nbsp;devices.</p>

<p>For example, you might set up a client honeypot to find security flaws in your company’s applications and software. This can be particularly useful if you have a large number of employees or customers using an online app. For instance, you might create a client honeypot for a learning management system (LMS) or an ecommerce app for loyal&nbsp;shoppers.</p>


<p>A client honeypot serves as a trap for hackers that target enterprise software or web applications. Plus, it enables you to find better ways to protect your users from potential exploits.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">7. Honeynet</h3>



<p>This is possibly the most advanced decoy you could opt for. Basically, a honeynet is a large network of interconnected honeypots. It’s meant to emulate a complete enterprise network.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Honeynets can be very useful in studying sophisticated cyberattacks and testing your company’s overall security. By implementing this strategy, your security team can gain a deeper understanding of the evolving techniques used by cyber criminals.&nbsp;</p>


<p>These insights will then help them develop a comprehensive security strategy for your&nbsp;enterprise.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The different tiers of honeypot&nbsp;deployment</h2>

<p>Each type of honeypot that we outlined above can be implemented on different levels. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the main tiers of honeypot&nbsp;deployment.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. Pure&nbsp;honeypots</h3>

<p>Pure honeypots are designed to appear as real as possible, so they can attract highly skilled attackers. They are a form of high&#8209;interaction honeypots (which we’ll be looking at more closely in a minute) and are deployed with minimal interaction&nbsp;capabilities.</p>

<p>Security professionals use pure honeypots to gather in&#8209;depth information about the strategies employed by sophisticated attackers. In particular, they&#8217;re concerned with tactics that can affect an organization’s entire system. For example, they can gain valuable insights into previously unknown vulnerabilities in your&nbsp;network.</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. Low-interaction</h3>



<p>Low-interaction honeypots have limited interaction capabilities and only emulate specific parts of a real system. This makes them easier to deploy and manage compared to high-interaction honeypots. As such, they’re mostly ideal for analyzing common attacks.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Low-interaction honeypots simulate services and applications at a basic level. This enables your security team to capture basic data without exposing your real (and potentially vulnerable) systems.&nbsp;</p>



<p>While these honeypots do not provide the same level of depth as more advanced systems, they can be quite effective in detecting known threats and preventing attacks.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Mid-interaction</h3>



<p>Mid-interaction honeypots offer a moderate level of realism and interaction. They’re built to emulate different services and applications, providing more “exploit opportunities” for attackers.&nbsp;</p>


<p>With these honeypots, your security team can observe malicious activities in a relatively realistic setting. This enables them to collect more detailed data and fine&#8209;tune your company’s existing security&nbsp;measures.</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. High-interaction</h3>



<p>High-interaction honeypots provide the most authentic simulation of real-world systems and applications. Unlike low or mid-interaction honeypots, they allow attackers to interact with a full-fledged, genuine environment.&nbsp;</p>



<p>These honeypots are set up with real operating systems and applications. This makes them highly attractive to attackers seeking valuable targets.&nbsp;</p>


<p>As you can probably tell, these high&#8209;interaction honeypots carry a higher risk as they use a legitimate environment, but they offer unparalleled insights into advanced attacks. Plus, they enable your team to study zero&#8209;day vulnerabilities (more on this in a minute) and develop effective strategies to counter these sophisticated&nbsp;threats.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The benefits of honeypots in&nbsp;cybersecurity</h2>


<p>We’ve already touched upon the benefits of honeypots for your company’s cybersecurity. But let’s take a closer look at how they can help protect your organization.&nbsp;</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. Identifying zero&#8209;day exploits and&nbsp;vulnerabilities</h3>


<p>A zero-day vulnerability is a flaw in software that is discovered by hackers before developers become aware of it. Therefore, attackers that target zero-day exploits do not give organizations or developers time to patch these vulnerabilities.&nbsp;</p>


<p>As we have seen, honeypots (particularly high&#8209;interaction ones) create a controlled environment where attackers engage with authentic applications. By analyzing the tactics used in these attacks, you can uncover unknown vulnerabilities in your company’s software. This will enable you to develop patches proactively or reach out to the software’s developers for an immediate&nbsp;fix.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. Early threat detection and&nbsp;identification</h3>


<p>As we mentioned earlier, honeypots are completely isolated from the real system. This means that any attack on the simulated environment will not affect your company’s operations.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Additionally, since they have no legitimate purpose, any activity in these environments will immediately spark suspicion. This means that your security team can detect threats at an early stage and respond to them swiftly.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Early threat detection can prevent attacks from spreading to other parts of the&nbsp;network.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Real&#8209;time attack monitoring and&nbsp;visualization</h3>


<p>Honeypots also provide real-time attack monitoring. This means security professionals can observe the hackers&#8217; movements and activities as they happen.&nbsp;</p>



<p>You might use real-time visualization tools like graphs and heatmaps so that it’s easier to identify attack patterns and targets. Plus, these visualization tools can enable you to comprehend the scope and impact of the threats. This way, you can ensure that you implement a solution that encompasses all possible vulnerabilities.&nbsp;</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. Intruder profiling and&nbsp;attribution</h3>

<p>When implemented effectively, honeypots can tell you a lot about the individuals behind the attack. This includes information about the attackers&#8217; methods, preferred targets, and geographic&nbsp;locations.</p>

<p>Your security team can then use this data to create intruder profiles. Such information is essential for understanding the motives behind the&nbsp;attacks.</p>

<p>If you have accurate intruder profiles, you can collaborate with law enforcement agencies or other security organizations to track down cyber&nbsp;criminals.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The benefits of honeypots in spam&nbsp;detection</h2>

<p>Honeypots can also be an effective measure in identifying and blocking spam. Here are a few different ways to use them for spam&nbsp;detection:</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. Combating contact form&nbsp;spam</h3>


<p>Contact form spam affects many businesses and can be very annoying. When it occurs, emails from genuine customers can be easily lost in a sea of spammy ones.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Your organization can integrate honeypot fields within <a href="https://akismet.com/blog/how-to-add-wordpress-contact-form/">contact forms</a> to trap automated bots. This way, you can automatically filter out spammy submissions and make it easier for your company’s administrators to manage their&nbsp;inboxes.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. Preventing comment&nbsp;spam</h3>


<p>Likewise, honeypots can be used to prevent comment spam. This can be particularly useful if you have a blog on your company website.&nbsp;</p>



<p>When bots attempt to fill out the honeypot fields, their submissions will instantly be recognized as spam. <a href="https://akismet.com/blog/how-to-stop-comment-spam-in-wordpress/">Stopping comment spam</a> can help you maintain a professional community.&nbsp;</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Blocking malicious user&nbsp;registrations</h3>


<p>Bots can also take over your user registration process. If you have an online store or membership site, these fake and malicious entries can make it nearly impossible to effectively manage your users.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>


<p>Honeypots can be integrated into <a href="https://akismet.com/blog/how-to-create-a-custom-wordpress-user-registration-form/">user registration forms</a> to thwart malicious registrations. By taking a proactive approach, you can find an effective way to <a href="https://akismet.com/blog/how-to-stop-user-spam-registrations-in-wordpress/">prevent fake accounts</a> and hackers from infiltrating your user&nbsp;database.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. Preventing link spam and SEO&nbsp;manipulation</h3>


<p>Spammers might also try to insert links into your content. Typically, they do this to <a href="https://akismet.com/blog/what-is-seo-spam-how-to-protect-your-wordpress-site/">manipulate their search engine rankings</a> or drive users to harmful websites.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Honeypots can be instrumental in preventing link spam. You can use honeypots strategically to attract spammers, study their behavior, and design more effective security solutions that guard access to edit permissions for your&nbsp;content.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">5. Strengthening CAPTCHA and challenge&#8209;response&nbsp;mechanisms</h3>


<p>You might already be <a href="https://akismet.com/blog/wordpress-captcha/">using CAPTCHA</a> and challenge-response mechanisms on your website. These make it more difficult for automated bots to submit spammy content, but they’re not always effective.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Honeypots act as an additional layer of defense. They make it nearly impossible for malicious actors to interact with your forms undetected.&nbsp;</p>


<p>But, you don’t need to implement CAPTCHAs to prevent spam on your website, and these kinds of tests are distracting for users and are likely negatively impacting your&nbsp;conversions.</p>

<p>A comprehensive <a href="https://akismet.com/features/">anti&#8209;spam solution like Akismet</a> can provide a better way to defend your site against&nbsp;spam.</p>


<img width="1314" height="630" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-19.png" alt="Akismet homepage with the text " />



<p>This tool can identify spammy behavior without the need for a challenge-response mechanism. It does this with an AI-powered system that detects spam signals utilizing things like blocklists, IP addresses, names, and emails associated with suspicious activities.&nbsp;</p>



<p>And it works with nearly 100% accuracy.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Additionally, Akismet offers a better user experience for visitors, as it doesn&#8217;t require them to solve any puzzles. Instead, it analyzes their behavior and blocks any suspicious&nbsp;entries.</p>

<p>By combining honeypots with powerful tools like Akismet, you can ensure that only genuine human users can engage with your&nbsp;website.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Akismet: Taking spam protection to a new&nbsp;level</h2>


<p>Akismet is a spam prevention plugin for WordPress websites. To date, it has blocked more than 525,000,000,000 spam comments. This is thanks to its powerful and advanced AI technology.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Akismet is free for personal use and affordable for every level of commercial organization. The improved user experience and resulting boost in conversion rates will more than justify the investment in this valuable tool. If you’re ready to try it out, you can <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">download it from the WordPress plugin directory</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="945" height="423" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-20.png" alt="Akismet plugin on WordPress.org " class="wp-image-283660" />


<p>Alternatively, if you’re dealing with a larger volume of sensitive user data, you might want to request <a href="https://akismet.com/enterprise/">a custom enterprise plan</a>. This will be tailored to your company’s needs and will give you access to personalized&nbsp;support.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What are the benefits of using&nbsp;Akismet?</h3>

<p>Akismet offers an automated spam protection solution. It checks all submissions on your site and filters out spammy entries. This enables your admin team to handle queries more&nbsp;efficiently.</p>

<p>Additionally, Akismet is a cloud‑based solution. This means that it doesn’t store any data on your website. As a result, it won’t have any impact on your website’s speed and&nbsp;performance.</p>


<p>But perhaps the best thing about Akismet is that it integrates with a wide variety of tools. These include popular plugins like <a href="https://jetpack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jetpack</a>, Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, and Formidable Forms.&nbsp;</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Why choose Akismet over other spam protection&nbsp;solutions?</h3>


<p>You might be wondering what makes Akismet a good alternative to other spam protection solutions.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Unlike most anti&#8209;spam tools, Akismet does not use CAPTCHA to block bots. This is typically a puzzle or challenge that users must complete to submit their entries. Its purpose is to make it more difficult for automated bots to submit spammy&nbsp;content.</p>

<p>But CAPTCHA can be off&#8209;putting for human users. It adds friction to the form submission process, and users with certain physical or cognitive disabilities might struggle to complete certain CAPTCHA prompts. This can cause people to abandon the entire process, and lead to fewer queries and conversions for your&nbsp;business.</p>


<p>With Akismet, you won’t need to worry about CAPTCHAs creating a poor user experience for legitimate visitors. This plugin is powered by machine learning, which enables it to automatically spot spam through suspicious behavior. It does all of this in the background, without interfering with the experience of real users.&nbsp;</p>



<p>That means you’ll be able to provide a smoother user registration process. Plus, site visitors won’t need to complete a challenge just to send a quick message through your contact form or subscribe to your newsletter.&nbsp;</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Try Akismet today. You’ll be in good&nbsp;company</h3>

<p>Akismet is a leading spam protection tool, used across 100 million sites. These include popular companies like WordPress.com, Bluehost, and&nbsp;ConvertKit.</p>


<p>Are you ready to block spam with Akismet? <a href="https://akismet.com/talk-to-sales/">Get in touch today</a> for a tailored enterprise solution.&nbsp;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 03 Jan 2024 14:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"Jen Swisher";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:13;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:19:"Matt: Back With Tim";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:23:"https://ma.tt/?p=110059";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:36:"https://ma.tt/2024/01/back-with-tim/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1592:"<p>I <a href="https://tim.blog/2023/12/29/matt-mullenweg-2/">returned on the podcast with my good friend Tim Ferriss</a>, by my count the sixth time we&#8217;ve recorded together, but the very first time we did it in video! Tim asked me to bring five things I&#8217;m excited about, five things I&#8217;ve changed my mind on in the past few years, and five things that are absurd or ridiculous but I still do, and that ended up being a pretty fun anchor for a two-and-a-half hour conversation, which you can watch here:</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">

</div>



<p>Or listen to on <a href="https://pocketcasts.com/">Pocket Casts</a> or any podcast player, thanks to open standards:</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div>    <div></div>    </div>
</div>



<p>I ended up having more than five things for each list, especially the excited one, but tried to edit it down. This was a very vulnerable and personal conversation for me, which I think was possible because we&#8217;ve known each other so long at this point and Tim made it really easy and fun to open up. We discuss everything from open source to kids to my upcoming sabbatical.</p>



<p>Coincidentally, this was episode 713, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_codes_713,_281,_832,_and_346">which is the original area code for Houston</a>! We didn&#8217;t plan that but I think that&#8217;s so cool. I&#8217;m also going to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYXa5RCGLiM">watch his episode with Kevin Rose</a> who he&#8217;s also very close with, I always learn new stuff from those two.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 03 Jan 2024 08:36:07 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:14;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:19:"Matt: Birthday Gift";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:23:"https://ma.tt/?p=110005";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:36:"https://ma.tt/2024/01/birthday-gift/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1624:"<p>It&#8217;s true, it&#8217;s true, I turn forty years old in ten days.</p>



<p>What do you get the guy who has everything?</p>



<p>I admit I&#8217;m not the easiest to shop for, I can be quite particular in my preferences of <a href="https://ma.tt/2023/12/the-bag-post/">this cable versus that one</a>, but the good news is the gift I most want for my 40<sup>th</sup> is something everyone can do.</p>



<p><strong>I want you to blog.</strong></p>



<p>Publish a post. About anything! It can be long or short, a photo or a video, maybe a quote or a link to something you found interesting. Don&#8217;t sweat it. Just blog. Share something you created, or amplify something you enjoyed. It doesn&#8217;t take much. The act of publishing will be a gift for you and me. </p>



<p>That&#8217;s what I want for my birthday. If you link to this post and use <a href="https://wordpress.org/">WordPress</a> the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pingback">Pingback</a> system will notify me about your post and it will show up in the comment stream, but I&#8217;m okay even if you don&#8217;t use WordPress, just post something and send me a link. You can start <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/">a free site on Tumblr</a> or <a href="https://wordpress.com/">get a domain that can be your home on the internet with WP.com</a>.</p>



<p>You&#8217;ve got ten days! After the 11th I&#8217;ll close the comments and pingbacks on this post. But I&#8217;m so curious to read what people write.</p>



<p>That&#8217;s it! No wrapping paper or bows. Just blogs and blogs and blogs, each unique and beautiful in its own way.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 02 Jan 2024 01:49:34 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:15;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:23:"Matt: Books 2020–2023";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:23:"https://ma.tt/?p=109958";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:38:"https://ma.tt/2023/12/books-2020-2023/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6451:"<p>I&#8217;m a few years behind in posting my book lists, and past few years a good amount of my book reading time shifted to other mediums. I have been rediscovering the joy of books so here&#8217;s what I read the past few years as a motivation to myself to pick it up more in 2024.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2020</h2>



<ol>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002DMZ9WW/"><strong>The Gift by Hafiz</strong></a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078GTFGJN/">I hope this reaches her in time by r.h. Sin</a> </li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G1J1D28/">Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GD46PQZ/">Exhalation by Ted Chiang</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FZ683NB/">Deceiving the Sky: Inside Communist China&#8217;s Drive for Global Supremacy</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QUEHLM/">Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JHYRAO/">Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DRPGGQ7/"><strong>High Growth Handbook by Elad Gil</strong></a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JHYRDQ/">The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NVN4QCM/">What You Do Is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GL6KYHM/">Gideon Falls 1: The Black Barn by Jeff Lemire</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NDKTJJ2/">Gideon Falls 2: Original Sins by Jeff Lemire</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W6KB77N/">Gideon Falls 3: Stations of the Cross by Jeff Lemire</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NYCE44O/">What if I Say the Wrong Thing? 25 Habits for Culturally Effective People by Vernā Myers</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004U5Q1O0/"><strong>The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor by Howard Marks</strong></a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0071XO8RA/"><strong>Wool by Hugh Howey</strong></a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076ZHG3H3/">Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077Y4WVPT/">Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility by Patty McCord</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385249373/">Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality by Anthony de Mello</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0029XFF6U/">How to Know Higher Worlds by Rudolf Steiner</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081Y3R657/"><strong>No Rules Rules by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer</strong></a></li>
</ol>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2021</h2>



<ol>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C75GLGK/">Broken Stars by Ken Liu</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G3L1C2K/"><strong>The Body Keeps Score by Bessel van der Kolk</strong></a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W7XN3C/">Broadbandits by Om Malik</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D2364N5/">How to be Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BVJG3CS/"><strong>The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida</strong></a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YQCNN4N/">Billionaire Wilderness by Justin Farrell</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NYT9F8L/">Antarctica: What Everyone Needs to Know by David Day</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SMFSL5M/">San Fransicko by Michael Shellenberger</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006R8PHW0/">Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of a Mysterious Continent by Gabrielle Walker</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002WN354G/">At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1885254008">Delirious New York by Rem Koolhaas</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MNG496J/"><strong>This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone</strong></a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IWTWLQC/"><strong>Fallen Leaves: Last Words on Life, Love, War, and God by Will Durant</strong></a></li>
</ol>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2022</h2>



<p>This year I ended up mostly reading AI and machine learning academic papers, attempting to &#8220;learn AI deeply&#8221; as I asked people at <a href="https://ma.tt/2023/01/state-of-the-word-2/">the State of the Word that year</a>. Started a bunch of other books but these were the only two I finished.</p>



<ol>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FGV64B1/">4000 weeks by Oliver Burkeman</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008T9L6AM/">A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Guin</a></li>
</ol>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2023</h2>



<ol>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JBCGQB8/"><strong>Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin</strong></a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075G4W7MV/">Belong by Radha Agrawal</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BCF78T14/"><strong>Excellent Advice for Living by Kevin Kelly</strong></a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YDBJV2Q/">On That Note by Michael Wolff</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B13W5GPT/"><strong>Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara</strong></a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077J7F78Z/"><strong>Surely You’re Joking, Mr Feynman by Richard Feynman</strong></a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FDWCPV2/">Permutation City by Greg Egan</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Z8VTMYG/"><strong>Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli</strong></a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSSH8MQ9/"><strong>Damn Good Advice by George Lois</strong></a></li>
</ol>



<p>All book years: <a href="https://ma.tt/2017/12/books-in-2017/">2017</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2019/01/39-books-in-2018/">2018</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2020/01/29-books-in-2019/">2019</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/?p=109958">2020–2023</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 01 Jan 2024 05:58:24 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:16;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:11:"
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:67:"HeroPress: Surfing In France, Podcasts, Photos, and Press Releases!";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://heropress.com/?p=6332";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:101:"https://heropress.com/surfing-in-france/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=surfing-in-france";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11511:"<img width="683" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/99265232ded267133.95673942-683x1024.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Rock cairns in focus against a backdrop of the rocky, Oregon coast with giant logs." /><p>It was a quiet week this week, between Christmas and New Year, so this newsletter will be a little different.</p>



<p>We had 23 essays this year, from a very pleasantly diverse group of people. We began the work of merging the larger HeroPress Network back into this site, HeroPress.com. Life was chaotic, but moved ever onward.</p>



<p>This year more than ever we had people other than Topher working on HeroPress. Mostly little things, but more and more every month.  This is great for the long term viability of the project.</p>



<p>I greatly appreciate the support of every single one of you over the last nine (9!) years of HeroPress.  I hope we&#8217;ll have a great time together in the years to come.</p>


<div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6332_7129cc-0f alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6332_ca547f-e6 inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6332_ab6de5-f2 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://heropress.com/">HeroPress.com</a> &#8211; <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/being-useful-to-people-with-wordpress/">Being useful to people, with WordPress – Être utile aux autres, avec WordPress</a></h2>







<p>Quentin Le Duff is from Saint-Malo, France. He taught himself web development and got a job, but soon questioned what he was doing with his life and why.</p>



<p><em>Over time, I felt less connected to the agency’s decisions and the kind of clients they had. I wondered about the meaning and impact of my work. Was I making things better for people? Was what I did ethical? In the end, did it really matter?</em></p>



<p>Quentin&#8217;s essay is <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/being-useful-to-people-with-wordpress/">available</a> on <a href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress.com</a>.</p>
</div></div>

</div></div>


<div class="wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-6332_6a9d40-be"><div class="kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center"><hr class="kt-divider" /></div></div>


<div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6332_f63ef3-eb alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6332_37e0ac-dd inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6332_e666af-94 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://heropress.com/">Press Releases!</a></h2>


<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default">
<img src="https://heropressnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/pressitwp_logo-300x130.jpg" alt="Press It WP" class="wp-image-4736" /></div>


<p><a href="https://pressitwp.com">PressItWP.com</a> has been a part of the <a href="https://heropressnetwork.com">HeroPress Network</a> for almost a year now, if you ever release Press Releases, please consider <a href="https://pressitwp.com">PressItWP</a>!</p>



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-advice-by-renowned-founders-of-100-wordpress-businesses"><a href="https://wpfounders.com/news-updates/advice-by-100-wordpress-business-founders/#new_tab"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f389.png" alt="🎉" class="wp-smiley" /> Advice by Renowned Founders of 100 WordPress Businesses</a></h2>



<p>We at WPfounders recently hit a major milestone, securing 100 stories from various WordPress business founders. To celebrate, we’ve compiled key advice from each story to inspire young entrepreneurs venturing into the WordPress ecosystem. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f447.png" alt="👇" class="wp-smiley" /> Advice by Renowned Founders of 100 WordPress Businesses</p>
</div></div>

</div></div>


<p> </p>


<div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6332_ad80f5-78 alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6332_a41078-e2 inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6332_511208-ef wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://wppodcasts.com">WP Podcasts</a></h2>



<a href="https://wppodcasts.com"><img src="https://heropressnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pocket_casts_single_315.png" alt="Pocket Casts image" class="wp-image-4316" /></a>



<p>There were <em>sixteen</em> WordPress podcast episodes released this week! </p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://potencia.pro/272-the-wp-awards-2023-top-winners-votes/#new_tab">Potencia Pro 272: The WP Awards 2023 – Top Winners &amp; Votes</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/potencia-pro-wordpress-y-cozas/">Potencia Pro, WordPress y cozas</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.wppodcast.cat/podcast/tancant-el-2023/#new_tab">8. Tancant el 2023</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/wordpress-podcast-catala/">WordPress Pòdcast (català)</a></li>



<li><a href="https://underrepresented-in-tech.castos.com/episodes/setting-boundaries-allies-last-episode#new_tab">Setting Boundaries &amp; Allie’s Last Episode!</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/underrepresented-in-tech/">Underrepresented in Tech</a></li>



<li><a href="https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-sdm-show/episodes/Episode-380-Bertha-Ai-and-All-Things-AI-With-Andrew-Palmer-e2dp464#new_tab">Episode 380: Bertha.Ai and All Things AI With Andrew Palmer</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/the-sdm-show/">The SDM Show</a></li>



<li><a href="https://remkusdevries.com/podcast/crafting-twenty-twenty-four-coordinating-wordcamp-germany-jessica-lyschiks-story/#new_tab">Crafting Twenty Twenty Four &amp; Coordinating WordCamp Germany: Jessica Lyschik’s Story</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/within-wordpress/">Within WordPress</a></li>
</ul>



<p>There are new episodes every single day, so be sure to stop by <a href="https://wppodcasts.com">WPPodcasts.com</a> and search for things that interest you!</p>
</div></div>

</div></div>


<p> </p>


<div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6332_3ce321-05 alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6332_b1d555-9d inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 id="wpphotos" class="kt-adv-heading6332_d41738-0e wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos">WP Photos</a></h2>



<p>Here are some of the great photos submitted to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos">WPPhotos</a> project this week!</p>




<a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/346658e493/"><img width="768" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/346658e493d42efa0.56373730-768x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-6346" /></a><a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/346658e493/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/anish29/">Anis</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.



<a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/564658c439/"><img width="1024" height="876" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/564658c43966acf26.31591060-1024x876.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-6343" /></a><a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/564658c439/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/bhuwanroka/">Bhuwan Bdr. Rokaha</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/762658b1e7788d772.40098223-scaled.jpeg"><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/762658b1e7788d772.40098223-1024x768.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-6345" /></a><a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/762658b1e7/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/mbigul/">Bigul Malayi</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.



<a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/12465893c2/"><img width="1024" height="680" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/12465893c2cb2ef57.61824776-1024x680.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6342" /></a><a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/12465893c2/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/nilovelez/">Nilo Velez</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/174659009f2150ed0.93395118-scaled.jpg"><img width="1024" height="680" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/174659009f2150ed0.93395118-1024x680.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6344" /></a><a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/174659009f/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/nilovelez/">Nilo Velez</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.



<a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/727658895e/"><img width="768" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/727658895ef476730.56539372-rotated-1-768x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6341" /></a><a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/727658895e/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/alexandroar/">alexandroar</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.




<p>Be sure to check out the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">hundreds of other great photos</a>!</p>
</div></div>

</div></div>


<p></p>



<p>The header photo for this post is a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/99265232de/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/annezazu/">annezazu</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.</p>






<p>That&#8217;s it for this week! If you&#8217;d like to get this post in your email every week, <a href="https://heropressnetwork.com/newsletter">make sure you sign up</a>!</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://heropress.com/surfing-in-france/">Surfing In France, Podcasts, Photos, and Press Releases!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 30 Dec 2023 20:53:08 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:17;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:65:"WordPress.org blog: Leap into 2024 with these Site Editor Tools";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=16658";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:79:"https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/leap-into-2024-with-these-site-editor-tools/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:8226:"<p>The Site Editor gives you a powerful way to visually create every part of your site and tell your story. It lets you handle everything from big stylistic changes to simple copy updates all in a single place. To help you make the most of this new way to WordPress, here are a few standout tools and features you’ll want to try.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Command Palette</h3>



<p>Think of the Command Palette as the ultimate shortcut tool, letting you do more with less clicks and without needing to remember where each option might be. It’s available across the editing experience, whether you’re switching between templates in the Site Editor or toggling open settings in the Post Editor, with specific contextual options depending on where you are.<strong> </strong>You can use the keyboard shortcut Cmd+K on Mac or Ctrl+K on Windows to activate it and get started.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If you think of a command that doesn’t exist yet that would help with your workflow, open a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/new/choose">feature request issue</a> so we can consider adding it.</p>







<p class="is-style-default"><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/09/12/core-editor-improvement-commanding-the-command-palette/"><em>Read more</em></a><em> about everything you can do with the Command Palette, including a </em><a href="https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/site-editor-command-palette/#list-of-available-commands"><em>list of available commands</em></a><em>.&nbsp;</em></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Style Book</h3>



<p>The Style Book helps you see all the blocks on your site as you style them. It’s built into the Styles section and can be toggled on/off as you’d like. This is especially useful when you’re aiming for design consistency for a client, trying to see how a change might impact a block that might not be visible, or wanting to get a different look at how a style variation will switch things up.</p>



<p>Work is also underway for the next WordPress release to <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/56800">integrate the Style Book into Style revisions</a> to allow for an at-a-glance view of changes made. </p>







<p><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/tutorial/how-to-use-the-wordpress-stylebook-with-your-block-theme/"><em>Learn more</em></a><em> about how best to use the Style Book.</em></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Styling shortcuts</h3>



<p>Sometimes you get a design just right—the color contrast, the perfect padding, the exact font size. Instead of needing to manually recreate the design or copy/paste the block to fill in with new content, you have two powerful options built into the editing experience: copy/paste styles and apply styles globally for all instances of the desired block.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Copying and pasting styles is perfect for more nuanced and smaller changes, like headings on a landing page that you intentionally want to be distinct. Applying changes globally is best for blocks like buttons and for changes that are likely to work well across layouts, like setting a specific border radius and color. This helps keep the creativity flowing and makes achieving design consistency across your site much easier.</p>







<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/02/01/core-editor-improvement-strengthening-style-options/"><em>Read more</em></a><em> about the various styling options available.&nbsp;</em></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Distraction free mode</h3>



<p>Just like an artist might need to take a few steps back to view their in-progress artwork, sometimes we need to get a different view of our site before diving back in. Distraction free offers you that alternate perspective with a pared-down experience that lets you focus purely on creating, like:</p>



<ul>
<li>Hiding the top toolbar until one intentionally hovers over where it typically sits.</li>



<li>Removing many of the top toolbar buttons.</li>



<li>Automatically closing any open sidebars, like block settings and list view.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Hiding the insertion point indicator, reducing visual clutter.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Hiding the block toolbar for individual blocks.</li>
</ul>



<p>It’s worth noting that this mode can be used when writing posts and pages too! For an added bonus and more views of your site, you can use the preview options to see how your site might look across different devices.</p>







<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/distraction-free-mode/"><em>Learn more</em></a><em> about making the most out of Distraction free mode.&nbsp;</em></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Patterns</h3>



<p>Patterns are a collection of blocks that make it simple to add complex layouts and designs to any WordPress site without starting from scratch. They save time by reducing duplication and ensuring consistency. You can create your own, use theme-provided patterns, or <a href="https://wordpress.org/patterns/">lean on the Pattern Directory</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>You can also specify whether to sync your patterns so that one change applies to all parts of your site, or to keep them unsynced so you can customize each instance. For any patterns you create, you can assign categories to make them easy to find and organize. Use the Inserter with easy filtering options to add patterns to your content, and head to the dedicated Patterns section in the Site Editor to create or edit patterns to your liking.&nbsp;</p>







<p><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/tutorial/creating-your-own-custom-synced-or-non-synced-patterns/"><em>Learn more</em></a><em> about creating patterns.&nbsp;</em></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">List View</h3>



<p>List View is the go-to tool for navigating between layers of your content, selecting exactly what you need, and getting a sense of how everything fits together. Similar to the Style Book and Distraction free mode, you can toggle it on/off as you’d like. It’s currently visible in the Top Toolbar and will remain open as you navigate through your site. Beyond providing a simple view of the layers of your site, there are more recent additions to List View that makes the tool even more powerful:</p>



<ul>
<li>See previews of your images for Image and Gallery blocks reflected in List View to make it easier to find what you need.</li>



<li>The Escape key deselects blocks to make it easier to purely preview your content without any blocks selected.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Lean on a keyboard shortcut for duplicating blocks quickly: CMD+Shift+D for Mac or Control + Shift + D for Windows.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Drag and drop blocks at any level directly within List View.</li>



<li>Rename Group blocks and have the custom name reflected in List View for improved organization.</li>
</ul>



<p>Here’s how a few of these improvements come together:</p>







<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/list-view/"><em>Learn more</em></a><em> about using List View. </em></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />



<p>As you explore these tools, remember that, except for the Style Book, you can use these features when writing posts and pages too. Expect the Site Editor and other tools to evolve with each release. To get a sneak peek at what’s planned for the next major WordPress release in March, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/07/roadmap-to-6-5/">check out the roadmap</a> and stay tuned. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Subscribe to WordPress News</h3>



<p>Join other subscribers and receive WordPress news directly in your inbox. </p>


<div class="wp-block-jetpack-subscriptions__supports-newline wp-block-jetpack-subscriptions">
		<div>
			<div>
				<div>
					<p>
						<a href="https://wordpress.org/news/?post_type=post&p=16658">Subscribe</a>
					</p>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div>
	</div>


<p><em>Thank you to the contributors who collaborated on this post: <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/eidolonnight/">Nicholas Garofalo</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/laurlittle/">Lauren Stein</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joen/">Joen Asmussen</a></em>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 28 Dec 2023 18:35:53 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:8:"annezazu";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:18;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:71:"Akismet: 20 Lead Generation Tips &amp; Best Practices That Work in 2024";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://akismet.com/?p=283573";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:65:"https://akismet.com/blog/lead-generation-tips-and-best-practices/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:40655:"<p>Does your team spend hours (or even days) creating content, optimizing your website, and investing in marketing campaigns only to fall short of your quarterly&nbsp;goals?</p>

<p>You&#8217;re not alone. Lead generation is a constant challenge for businesses of all sizes and industries, but there&#8217;s a solution. A focused lead generation strategy attracts high&#8209;quality leads, converts them into customers, and ultimately grows your&nbsp;business.</p>

<p>Here are 20 tried&#8209;and&#8209;proven lead generation tips and best practices that can up your game in 2024 and&nbsp;beyond.</p>


<span id="more-283573"></span>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">1. Define your ideal customer profile&nbsp;(ICP)</h2>


<p>An ideal customer profile (ICP) is an informative blueprint that outlines the specific characteristics and needs of the customers who stand to benefit the most from your product or service.&nbsp;</p>



<p>ICPs cover aspects like demographics, and psychographics that offer a 360-degree view of your ideal customer&#8217;s persona. Insights into your target customer’s age, location, values, and desires help you create tailored strategies that resonate deeply with your audience.&nbsp;</p>


<p>The result? Reduced marketing waste, satisfied customers, and greater return on investment&nbsp;(ROI).</p>

<p>Here are some <a href="https://offers.hubspot.com/customer-profile-templates" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">templates from HubSpot</a> to get&nbsp;started.</p>


<img width="814" height="626" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image.png" alt="customer profile template with information like demographics and behaviors" class="wp-image-283577" />


<p>Targeted lead generation strategies that keep an ideal customer in mind are like precision tools that allow you to reach the right audience and speak directly to their unique&nbsp;worldview.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2. Use market research to know your audience inside and&nbsp;out</h2>


<p>Market research involves gathering, analyzing, and interpreting data and insights about your target audience, competitors, and industry trends to guide your lead generation strategy.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Think surveys, focus groups, in&#8209;depth interviews, social media listening, and competitive analysis. These are just a few market research methods that provide nuggets into consumer behavior and&nbsp;preferences.</p>

<p>Comprehensive market research pinpoints your target audience, the marketing channels they use, and what they’re interested&nbsp;in.</p>

<p>Some tips on conducting market&nbsp;research:</p>


<ul><li><strong>Define clear objectives</strong>. Set specific research objectives. Determine what you want to learn about your audience, competitors, and industry trends to get focused and actionable&nbsp;results.</li>

<li><strong>Use multiple methods</strong>. Combine multiple methods to get a more holistic view of your&nbsp;audience.</li>


<li><strong>Segment your audience</strong>. Divide your target audience into segments based on demographics, psychographics, or other relevant criteria.&nbsp;</li>


<li><strong>Engage your audience</strong>. Encourage customer feedback and reviews. Engaging with your audience through surveys or feedback shows you value their&nbsp;opinions.</li>

<li><strong>Evaluate competitors</strong>. Study your competitors to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Identify gaps in the market that your product or service fills, and use this knowledge to differentiate&nbsp;yourself.</li></ul>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">3. Solve problems and attract leads with valuable blog&nbsp;content</h2>

<p>Create blog content that answers your target audience&#8217;s questions and builds trust and authority. This content positions your brand as a reliable source of valuable information, driving leads to your&nbsp;website.</p>

<p>Blogging is powerful — most respondents in a <a href="https://www.orbitmedia.com/blog/blogging-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">survey</a> reported that it drives results like website traffic, brand awareness, and, of course, lead&nbsp;generation.</p>


<img width="1200" height="600" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-1.png" alt="pie chart that shows 80% of bloggers are driving results in 2023" class="wp-image-283578" />


<p>Not sure where to start? Create valuable blog content with these&nbsp;tips:</p>


<ul><li><strong>Use research to back it up</strong>. Support your content with data and research from credible sources. You gain authority and credibility this&nbsp;way.</li>

<li><strong>Make it product&#8209;led, but not sales&#8209;y</strong>. Address your audience&#8217;s pain points and questions while subtly showcasing how your product or service can fit into a solution. The focus should be on providing the solutions, not a hard sell of your&nbsp;offer.</li>

<li><strong>Keep the call to action (CTA) subtle</strong>. Guide readers to take action in a friendly and non&#8209;intrusive way. Use CTAs that spark engagement, like inviting them to read more content on your&nbsp;blog.</li>

<li><strong>Use stories and examples</strong>. Incorporate real&#8209;life stories and examples that illustrate the points you&#8217;re making. Your content will be more relatable and easier to&nbsp;understand.</li>

<li><strong>Solve specific problems</strong>. Focus on solving one or two specific problems in each blog post rather than trying to cover too much ground. Reading becomes more enjoyable and in&#8209;depth as a&nbsp;result.</li></ul>


<p>Content marketing is one of the most proven lead generation best practices. It consistently delivers strong results and can be used in a variety of ways. If this isn’t yet a priority, consider making it one in the near&nbsp;future.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">4. Use lead magnets and gated content to capture&nbsp;leads</h2>

<p>Have you ever seen one of those pop&#8209;up offers promising you a valuable resource like an eBook, report, webinar, or template in exchange for your email address? Those are lead&nbsp;magnets.</p>


<img width="1600" height="833" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-2.png" alt="WordPress VIP lead capture with a form and CTA to read a report" class="wp-image-283579" />



<p>Lead magnets and gated content act as friendly invitations for your audience to exchange their contact information for something of value.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Offering relevant and informative resources captures quality leads and shows your willingness to provide solutions. You can then use the data to send targeted offers and build a relationship with your&nbsp;audience.</p>


<p>Make sure your lead magnet is high-quality, is relevant to your audience, and aligns with your overall content strategy.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Design the lead magnet and pitch your gated content in a way that provides value to the reader, not as a pushy sales&nbsp;tactic.</p>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">5. Reduce friction on your lead capture forms&nbsp;</h2>


<p>Simplify the information you request from potential leads. It reduces the time and effort required for users to submit their information. The result is a better experience that results in higher conversion&nbsp;rates.</p>

<p>Here’s what a lead gen form looks like from&nbsp;Litmus:</p>


<img width="1067" height="879" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-3.png" alt="lead capture from Litmus with a form that includes email, name, job title, and a few other fields" class="wp-image-283580" />


<p>Include this information in your lead capture&nbsp;form:</p>


<ul><li><strong>Name</strong>. Ask for the visitor&#8217;s first name to personalize your&nbsp;communication.</li>


<li><strong>Email address</strong>. This is the most crucial information for contact and follow-up.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>



<p>You could end your form right here and likely get the maximum conversion rate possible. However, the effectiveness of your campaigns that follow this lead capture may hinge upon knowing a bit more about the visitor to segment communications.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If this is the case, you may consider asking a few more questions, like:&nbsp;</p>



<ul><li><strong>Company name (if applicable)</strong>. The user&#8217;s company helps sales reps understand how to approach a lead and can provide you with better data about who’s responding to your&nbsp;offers.</li>

<li><strong>Job title (if applicable)</strong>. The user&#8217;s role within their company is valuable for segmenting and tailoring your&nbsp;messaging.</li>


<li><strong>Location (optional)</strong>. The location is useful for regional targeting or understanding your audience better.&nbsp;</li>


<li><strong>Industry or interest (if applicable)</strong>. If your lead generation efforts are specific to certain industries or interests (or even product lines), include a dropdown menu or checkboxes for users to select from to tailor your&nbsp;communication.</li>

<li><strong>How they heard about you (optional)</strong>. Understand how users discovered your brand to get insights into your marketing channels&#8217;&nbsp;performance.</li></ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">6. Replace CAPTCHA with an AI anti-spam solution&nbsp;</h2>



<p>CAPTCHAs are those annoying puzzles or tests you often come across online that require you to prove you&#8217;re not a robot by solving them.&nbsp;</p>



<p>These <em>do </em>serve an important purpose, however. Anti-spam solutions stop unwanted or malicious content or actions, like spam comments and emails, from infiltrating websites.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Unfortunately, CAPTCHAs lead to a poor user experience and potential drop&#8209;offs from your most important visitors. A study shows that <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/17/why-annoying-captcha-is-still-big-for-google-e-commerce-in-bot-battle.html">19% of adults</a> in the United States abandoned online transactions in 2021 when CAPTCHAs&nbsp;appeared.</p>


<p><a href="https://akismet.com/">Akismet is a powerful anti-spam service</a> that detects and blocks spam comments, form submissions, and other unwanted interactions <strong>without requiring users to complete a puzzle, check a box, or jump through a hoop</strong>. Its <a href="https://akismet.com/features/">key features</a> include real-time spam detection, comment moderation, protection against harmful links, and the ability to learn and adapt to new spam patterns.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="1600" height="824" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-4.png" alt="Akismet website with information about the zero-friction tool" class="wp-image-283581" />


<p>Visitors find a trustworthy and safe environment on your website thanks to these features. It creates a positive user experience, increases engagement, and improves the chances of converting visitors into&nbsp;leads.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">7. Let prospects test your product with free trials or&nbsp;demos</h2>


<p>Free trials or demos give prospects a taste of your tool by allowing them to experience its features and benefits firsthand before making a commitment. Types of free trials include:&nbsp;</p>



<ul><li><strong>Limited&#8209;time trial</strong>. Users access the full product for a limited period, after which they subscribe or&nbsp;purchase.</li>

<li><strong>Feature&#8209;limited trial</strong>. Users can access the product&#8217;s basic features for free but upgrade to access advanced&nbsp;functionalities.</li>

<li><strong>Demo or guided tour</strong>. Prospects get a walkthrough of the product&#8217;s capabilities, often with a sales representative explaining its&nbsp;value.</li></ul>



<p>Jetpack’s AI Assistant, <a href="https://jetpack.com/ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an AI writing tool</a> built directly into the WordPress editor, offers a variation of the limited-time trial using credits.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="1600" height="740" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-5.png" alt="plan options for Jetpack AI" class="wp-image-283582" />



<p>This is a strong offer because it explains the benefit right in the first sentence, “Try our AI Assistant for free to <strong>boost your content creation.</strong>”&nbsp;</p>



<p>They’re also transparent about long-term pricing with the paid information directly next to the free trial breakdown.&nbsp;</p>


<p>The goal is to make prospects feel comfortable, informed, and excited about your product during this phase. Think about ways you can adjust your trials or language to feel safer for&nbsp;prospects.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">8. Showcase your value proposition with compelling case&nbsp;studies</h2>


<p>A value proposition is a clear statement that explains how your product or service solves a specific problem or fulfills a need for your target audience.&nbsp;</p>



<p>SaaS marketers often use case studies to boost sales. Why? Because they provide real-world examples of how your solution addresses similar challenges for other customers. They work as social proof.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Here’s a case study from&nbsp;Mailchimp:</p>


<img width="851" height="688" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-6.png" alt="case study page from Mailchimp with a video" class="wp-image-283583" />



<p>The video immediately makes the case study personal.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The case study also highlights stats and customer quotes, which further increase its perceived authority.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="1081" height="465" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-7.png" alt="Mailchimp landing page with stats and testimonials" class="wp-image-283584" />


<p>It’s also skimmable. Mailchimp breaks down the case study with headers like “The challenge” and “The tools”. The word length also falls just under 1,000&nbsp;words.</p>

<p>Balancing emotions and hard data in case studies connects with the audience while providing compelling evidence to back up your value&nbsp;proposition.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">9. Turn satisfied customers into brand&nbsp;advocates</h2>


<p>Convert happy customers into brand advocates by using their positive experiences to spread the word about your brand through recommendations, reviews, and social sharing.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Your existing customers are a powerful source of credibility and influence. This approach works for lead generation because it taps into the trustworthiness of online reviews — <a href="https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">46% of consumers</a> consider them as reliable as personal recommendations from friends or family.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Want to encourage&nbsp;reviews?</p>

<p>Try sending a reminder email to encourage people to leave reviews. Make the process as simple as possible. For example, you might include a button that navigates directly to the review&nbsp;form.</p>

<p>You could also incentivize customers by allowing them to enter a drawing to win a $100&nbsp;voucher.</p>


<p>Once customers leave reviews, repurpose them as posts on social media platforms.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">10. Create a referral program&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Referral programs are systems where brands reward existing customers for recommending a product or service to others.&nbsp;</p>


<p>People trust recommendations from friends and family members, so word&#8209;of&#8209;mouth marketing can lead to higher conversion rates and improved brand&nbsp;loyalty.</p>


<p>PayPal, for example, has a popular referral program.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="1223" height="817" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-8.png" alt="landing page about PayPal's referral program" class="wp-image-283585" />


<p>If you refer it to someone, you and they earn $10. It’s a win&#8209;win situation — you get up to $100, and PayPal gets more&nbsp;customers.</p>


<p>But a referral program only works well if you offer the right incentives.&nbsp;</p>


<p><a href="https://info.saasquatch.com/rs/162-BJJ-156/images/StateOfReferralMarketing-SaaSquatch-V1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Research</a> shows that dollar credit is the most common referral program reward type, used in over 50% of programs for promoters and referred friends. Other incentives include percent discounts, gift cards, subscription time, cash, and&nbsp;points.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">11. Invest in user&#8209;generated content to build&nbsp;credibility</h2>

<p>User&#8209;generated content (UGC) is any content created by unpaid contributors — typically customers or users — rather than the brand&nbsp;itself.</p>


<p>UGC works well — <a href="https://715411.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/715411/TINT%20-%20Downloads/State_of_Social_and_UGC_2023_TINT.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a> shows that prospective customers consider it the most trustworthy content.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Why? UGC highlights genuine insights and experiences to create a sense of credibility and&nbsp;reliability.</p>


<p>Chipotle’s entire social feed, for example, is full of UGC.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="739" height="1600" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-9.png" alt="Chipotle Instagram account featuring lots of user-generated content" class="wp-image-283586" />


<p>Three ways to generate&nbsp;UGC:</p>


<ul><li><strong>Run a giveaway or contest</strong>. A contest encourages customers to share their experiences with your product or service in exchange for a chance to win a prize. It builds engagement and highlights real user satisfaction and&nbsp;enthusiasm.</li>

<li><strong>Use a branded hashtag</strong>. Branded hashtags invite customers to share their content. These hashtags make UGC easily discoverable, increasing its reach and&nbsp;impact.</li>

<li><strong>Collaborate with creators and influencers</strong>. Content creators and influencers help your UGC reach a broader audience. These individuals often have dedicated and engaged followers who trust their recommendations and&nbsp;experiences.</li></ul>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">12. Use social listening to engage with potential&nbsp;leads</h2>


<p>Social listening involves monitoring social media channels and online platforms to track and analyze conversations, mentions, and trends related to your brand or industry in real-time.&nbsp;</p>



<p>People now spend an average of <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/433871/daily-social-media-usage-worldwide/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two and a half hours</a> on social media every day.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="730" height="466" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-10.png" alt="graph showing minutes per day spent on social media over an 11-year span" class="wp-image-283587" />


<p>Social listening allows you to tune in to conversations, identify leads, and engage with potential customers you might have otherwise&nbsp;missed.</p>


<p>Set up alerts to receive notifications about specific keywords or mentions. Social listening also gives you more visibility into brand sentiment.&nbsp;</p>


<p>The result is a more proactive approach in your lead generation process — you can respond quicker, initiate conversations, and nurture potential leads through proactive&nbsp;engagement.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">13. Expand your reach with cross&#8209;promotion&nbsp;partnerships</h2>

<p>Cross&#8209;promotion partnerships, also known as brand collaborations, are two brands joining forces to promote each other. These partnerships are powerful because they introduce your brand to a new audience that&#8217;s likely to already be interested in what you&nbsp;offer.</p>


<p>Let&#8217;s say you sell fitness gear, and you team up with a healthy snack brand.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Both kinds of products are used by people interested in improving their health.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Your fitness-loving customers might discover those tasty snacks, and their snack fans might want your awesome gear. These collaborations boost both brands’ visibility and trustworthiness.&nbsp;</p>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">14. Use influencer marketing to reach new&nbsp;audiences</h2>

<p>Collaborate with individuals who have a significant and engaged following in your niche or industry to tap into their established audience and&nbsp;credibility.</p>

<p><a href="https://influencermarketinghub.com/ebooks/Influencer_Marketing_Benchmark_Report_2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">90% of respondents</a> in a survey consider influencer marketing to be&nbsp;effective.</p>


<p>Skincare brand, La Roche Posay, for example, collaborates with Dr. Mamina Turegano, MD, a TikTok influencer and certified dermatologist.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="739" height="1600" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-11.png" alt="TikTok video of a collaboration between a doctor and skincare brand" class="wp-image-283588" />



<p><a href="https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJwVy6yb/">Source</a></p>


<p>Dr. Marina&#8217;s expertise adds a lot of authority to the content, making it a powerful tool in reaching and engaging a specific&nbsp;audience.</p>


<p>Her content is not just promotional —&nbsp;she delivers real value to her followers and backs up her advice with knowledge and experience.</p>


<p>Collaborate with influencers who fit your brand and resonate with your audience for better&nbsp;results.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">15. Host a virtual summit to build thought&nbsp;leadership</h2>


<p>Virtual summits are online events where experts share insights on a specific topic over multiple sessions or days.&nbsp;</p>


<p>These events establish credibility, build trust, and increase industry authority, positioning you as a go&#8209;to source for information and&nbsp;solutions.</p>

<p>Adobe Summit, for example, is a hybrid virtual summit for customers who use Adobe&#8217;s digital experience&nbsp;tools.</p>


<img width="1134" height="940" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-12.png" alt="Adobe Summit landing page with information about the event" class="wp-image-283589" />



<p>When hosting a virtual summit, follow Adobe&#8217;s lead by inviting authoritative speakers who are experts in your field.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="1600" height="1393" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-13.png" alt="Adobe Summit page with information keynotes" class="wp-image-283590" />



<p>Promote the event well in advance. Adobe, for example, promotes the summit at least six months ahead of time. This builds anticipation and attracts a larger audience.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Also, they provide sneak peeks of the sessions, allowing their audience to gauge whether the summit is worth&nbsp;attending.</p>


<img width="800" height="625" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-14.png" alt="list of sessions from Adobe Summit" class="wp-image-283591" />



<p>To make sure virtual summits help you get new leads, use smart tactics like sign-up forms, materials people can download, and chances for attendees to connect with each other.&nbsp;</p>



<p>These tricks help you collect info and generate leads from attendees and keep these prospects engaged even after the summit.&nbsp;</p>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">16. Create a podcast series to showcase your&nbsp;expertise</h2>

<p>Podcasts are the new frontier for brand visibility and engagement. Currently, <a href="https://www.edisonresearch.com/the-infinite-dial-2021-2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">38% of Americans</a> over age 12 —109 million people — listen to podcasts monthly. They provide a unique platform to share insights, connect with audiences, and establish authority in a format that&#8217;s both convenient and increasingly&nbsp;popular.</p>

<p>Bloomberg, for example, has a podcast that focuses on financial and economic insights. It positions the brand as a trusted source for expert analysis and helps it stay connected with its&nbsp;audience.</p>


<img width="1798" height="878" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image12.png" alt="Bloomburg Masters in Business podcast" class="wp-image-283592" />


<p>Here are some tips for creating an engaging podcast&nbsp;series:</p>


<ul><li>Focus on a specific topic or niche that aligns with your brand&#8217;s expertise and target audience&#8217;s&nbsp;interests.</li>

<li>Outline episodes, create a content calendar, and build a consistent posting&nbsp;schedule.</li>

<li>Share your podcast episodes on social media, your website, and through email marketing to reach a wider&nbsp;audience.</li>

<li>Invite industry experts or guests relevant to your niche to provide diverse&nbsp;perspectives.</li>

<li>Optimize your podcast titles, descriptions, and keywords to improve discoverability on podcast&nbsp;platforms.</li>

<li>Maintain a regular publishing schedule, so your audience knows when to expect content and what each episode will&nbsp;include.</li></ul>


<p>A podcast is a great way to establish your brand&#8217;s authority, connect with your audience, and tap into the growing&nbsp;trend.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">17. Use webinars to educate and engage potential&nbsp;leads</h2>


<p>Webinars are online seminars or workshops that allow you to present information, interact with your audience in real time, and provide valuable education on a specific topic or subject.&nbsp;</p>


<p>A study by the Content Marketing Institute showed that <a href="https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/b2b-2023-research-final.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">47% of B2B marketers</a> said webinars produced the best results in 2021. It’s easy to see why: they offer an interactive learning experience and encourage engagement which builds your authority and relationship with potential&nbsp;leads.</p>

<p>AI&#8209;powered content tool, Clearscope, for example, hosts regular webinars with industry&nbsp;experts.</p>


<img width="895" height="853" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-15.png" alt="Clearscope webinars list on their website" class="wp-image-283593" />


<p>Here are some tips on getting webinars&nbsp;right:</p>


<ul><li><strong>Choose relevant topics</strong>: Focus on topics that address your audience&#8217;s challenges and interests to ensure engagement and&nbsp;relevance.</li>

<li><strong>Create an interactive Q&amp;A session</strong>. Include interactive Q&amp;A sessions to encourage audience participation and address their specific&nbsp;queries.</li>

<li><strong>Invite experts</strong>. Collaborate with industry experts or influencers to lend credibility and attract a wider&nbsp;audience.</li>


<li><strong>Promote it</strong>. Promote your webinar on social and through email.&nbsp;</li>


<li><strong>Follow up</strong>. Follow up with attendees and provide additional resources or offers to guide leads further down the sales&nbsp;funnel.</li></ul>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">18. Engage and qualify leads with live chat operators and&nbsp;bots</h2>


<p>Live chat operators and bots qualify leads by having conversations with website visitors.&nbsp;</p>



<p>They ask questions to figure out if a visitor is a good fit for your product or service. If they are, the bots send those leads to the right place for follow-up.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Lead qualification ensures you focus your sales and marketing efforts on individuals who are genuinely interested and likely to convert into paying customers. A strong focus increases efficiency and increases conversion&nbsp;rates.</p>

<p>Tailor bots with specific filters and ask relevant questions. Qualifying questions&nbsp;include:</p>


<ul><li>What brings you to our website&nbsp;today?</li>

<li>Are you looking for a specific product or&nbsp;service?</li>

<li>What is your marketing budget or price&nbsp;range?</li>

<li>When do you plan to make a decision or&nbsp;purchase?</li>

<li>Have you used similar products/services&nbsp;before?</li>

<li>Do you have any specific requirements or&nbsp;preferences?</li></ul>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">19. Use retargeting to bring back lost&nbsp;leads</h2>


<p>Retargeting involves displaying tailored advertisements to individuals who’ve previously visited your website or engaged with your brand but didn&#8217;t take the desired action.&nbsp;</p>


<p>It reminds potential customers of their initial interest and gives them a second chance to convert, ultimately improving conversion rates and&nbsp;ROI.</p>


<p>Suppose you visit Old Navy&#8217;s website, browse through some clothing items, but leave without making a purchase. Later, you start seeing Old Navy ads showing the exact items you looked at.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="585" height="602" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-16.png" alt="retargeting ad from Old Navy" class="wp-image-283594" />


<p>That&#8217;s retargeting in action — it gives you a nudge to come back and complete your purchase. It&#8217;s a smart lead gen strategy to re&#8209;engage lost prospects and turn potential customers into actual&nbsp;ones.</p>

<p>Retargeting only works when you don’t overdo it. Strike a balance and provide relevant, personalized content that genuinely reconnects with the audience&#8217;s interests and&nbsp;needs.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">20. Target key decision makers with account&#8209;based&nbsp;advertising</h2>

<p>An account&#8209;based marketing strategy creates customized lead generation campaigns just for important leads to win their&nbsp;business.</p>


<p>A targeted focus leads to optimal use of resources, a direct link to key decision makers, and increased chances of landing big deals.&nbsp;</p>


<p><a href="https://www.gartner.ca/en/sales/insights/b2b-buying-journey" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gartner’s research</a> shows that the typical buying group for a complex B2B solution involves six to ten decision makers. Account&#8209;based advertising targets these decision makers with specific ads and messages to address their unique needs and&nbsp;concerns.</p>

<p>Here’s an example of an Indeed ad that targets decision makers at&nbsp;Pepsi:</p>


<img width="1202" height="624" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-17.png" alt="ad from Indeed targeting Pepsi employees" class="wp-image-283595" />


<p>So, how do you create ads that speak to these&nbsp;individuals?</p>

<p>Start with their challenges. Understand what keeps them up at night and tailor your messaging to provide solutions to these issues. Focus on the benefits of your product or service that directly address their&nbsp;concerns.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What about lead conversion? What are proven best&nbsp;practices?</h2>


<p>You&#8217;ve attracted leads to your business —&nbsp;what now? Focus on converting these leads into loyal customers. Here are some best practices to maximize your lead conversion rate:</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. Follow up with leads to maintain their&nbsp;interest</h3>


<p>Following up with leads reminds them about your business and shows you care about their needs. Persistence matters — studies suggest it can take <a href="https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2021/03/18/how-to-follow-up-with-sales-leads">seven to ten interactions</a> for a lead to become a customer.&nbsp;</p>


<p>When sending follow&#8209;up emails, keep them brief, upbeat, and focused on offering something valuable to the lead. Short and positive messages ensure your communication stays engaging and increase the chances of turning leads into loyal&nbsp;customers.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. Develop a lead scoring system to prioritize&nbsp;leads</h3>


<p>A lead scoring system is a method of evaluating and ranking leads based on their level of interest and likelihood to convert into customers. You identify the best prospects by assigning numerical values to different attributes and behaviors.&nbsp;</p>



<p>You focus your efforts and resources on leads with the highest conversion potential with this system.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Scoring leads allows you to optimize your time and resources and maximize your return on investment. Consider these lead scoring&nbsp;tips:</p>


<ul><li><strong>Set thresholds</strong>. Define specific criteria a lead must meet to be considered &#8220;sales ready,&#8221; like a minimum score indicating high interest or&nbsp;engagement.</li>

<li><strong>Establish rules</strong>. Create rules for how leads are scored based on actions, like opening emails, visiting pricing pages, or downloading&nbsp;resources.</li>

<li><strong>Assign points</strong>. Assign numerical values to different lead behaviors, with higher scores for actions that show stronger interest or intent to&nbsp;purchase.</li>

<li><strong>Review and adjust</strong>. Monitor and refine your lead scoring system as you gather more data and insights to ensure&nbsp;accuracy.</li>

<li><strong>Collaborate with sales</strong>. Establish what constitutes a qualified lead and adjust scoring criteria accordingly to improve lead handoffs and&nbsp;conversions.</li></ul>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Use a CRM to manage and track your&nbsp;leads</h3>


<p>A customer relationship management (CRM) tool, like <a href="https://jetpackcrm.com/">Jetpack CRM</a>, is your go-to for staying organized with leads. It keeps all lead info in one place, simplifies communication, and automates tasks.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="1600" height="784" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/12/image-18.png" alt="Jetpack CRM homepage with the text " />



<p>With Jetpack CRM, sort and track leads, follow their interactions, and watch their journey closely. This makes it easier to give them personalized attention, prioritize who to reach out to, and nurture leads. Plus, it provides smart data to make decisions that boost your chances of converting prospects into loyal customers.&nbsp;</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. Implement email marketing to nurture&nbsp;leads</h3>


<p>Stay in touch with potential customers through email marketing and provide them with valuable content, updates, and offers that keep your brand top of mind.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Delivering tailored messages at the right time guides leads through the buying journey and builds trust.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Divide your leads into groups based on interests, behaviors, or demographics to send relevant content to each segment. Use personalization techniques to address leads by name and tailor content to their needs and&nbsp;preferences.</p>

<p>Develop informative and engaging content that addresses your leads&#8217; pain points and interests. You can offer blog posts, eBooks, webinars, or exclusive offers. Set up automated email sequences that deliver a series of messages over time. Gradually introduce leads to your brand, products, and&nbsp;services.</p>

<p>Focus on solving problems and providing value in your emails. Show leads how your offerings benefit them with success stories, testimonials, and case&nbsp;studies.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">5. Use customer feedback to improve your sales&nbsp;process</h3>

<p>Gather feedback from customers through surveys, reviews, and direct communication. Encourage honest opinions about their experience with your sales team and product. Here&#8217;s how to make the most of the feedback you&nbsp;get:</p>


<ul><li><strong>Analyze responses</strong>. Review the feedback to identify recurring themes, issues, or areas for improvement. Look for patterns in what customers appreciate and where they face&nbsp;challenges.</li>

<li><strong>Prioritize feedback</strong>. Categorize feedback into critical issues that need immediate attention and areas for long&#8209;term improvement. This ensures you tackle the most pressing concerns&nbsp;first.</li>

<li><strong>Adjust your sales approach</strong>. Based on feedback, refine your approach. Train your sales team to address common concerns and&nbsp;objections.</li></ul>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">6. Follow up with customers to encourage repeat business and&nbsp;referrals</h3>


<p>Stay in touch with your customers to build an ongoing relationship. A thank-you message after their purchase and asking how their experience was is always a great place to start.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Also, keep them in the loop by letting them know about any new deals or products. If they have questions or issues, provide excellent support. Encourage them to refer friends by offering rewards and making it simple. Staying connected and showing appreciation keeps your customers loyal and earns new ones through their&nbsp;recommendations.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently asked&nbsp;questions</h2>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What are some common lead generation mistakes to&nbsp;avoid?</h3>


<p>Common lead generation mistakes include not defining your target audience, neglecting data quality, and relying on a single lead generation channel. Failing to nurture leads, ignoring customer feedback, and neglecting mobile optimization can also hinder success.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Make sure you measure and analyze your lead generation efforts so you can optimize them. Don&#8217;t forget personalization and adapt to evolving trends. Lead generation is more effective when you avoid these&nbsp;mistakes.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">How can I improve my lead capture forms to maximize&nbsp;conversions?</h3>

<p>Streamline the form by keeping it concise and requesting only essential information. Use a clear and compelling call&#8209;to&#8209;action (CTA) that conveys value and implement autofill and smart form features to reduce user effort. It’s also a good idea to A/B test different form layouts and CTA text to identify what resonates best with your audience.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Lastly, reassure users about data security and provide social proof, like trust badges or testimonial snippets, to boost confidence. Regularly analyze form performance and iterate based on insights to optimize for higher&nbsp;conversions.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Should I use CAPTCHA on lead capture&nbsp;forms?</h3>

<p>No, using traditional CAPTCHA can frustrate users and reduce conversion rates. Instead, use AI&#8209;driven anti&#8209;spam solutions like Akismet. This powerful tool filters out spam submissions while providing a seamless experience for genuine users. It also helps you maintain the security of your forms without subjecting users to the inconvenience and frustration of&nbsp;CAPTCHA.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What is Akismet, and how can it help with form conversion&nbsp;rates?</h3>

<p>Akismet is an AI&#8209;powered anti&#8209;spam solution. It improves form conversion rates by filtering out spam submissions, ensuring you capture only legitimate leads. Eliminating CAPTCHA challenges streamlines the lead capture process and creates a user&#8209;friendly and frictionless experience. With fewer barriers, visitors are more likely to fill out forms, resulting in higher conversion&nbsp;rates.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What types of companies generally use&nbsp;Akismet?</h3>

<p>Akismet is a trusted choice for a wide range of companies, from small businesses and bloggers to ecommerce sites and <a href="https://akismet.com/enterprise/">large enterprises</a>. Over 100 million sites use it to combat spam, making it a go&#8209;to solution. Microsoft, <a href="https://akismet.com/blog/convertkit-customerstory/">ConvertKit</a>, Bluehost, and many others rely on Akismet, attesting to its credibility and reliability in fighting&nbsp;spam.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Akismet: AI&#8209;powered anti&#8209;spam for lead generation&nbsp;forms</h2>


<p>Lead generation forms are the lifeblood of any business that wants to convert website visitors into potential customers. But spam submissions create a challenging user experience and lead to missed opportunities.&nbsp;</p>


<p>That&#8217;s where Akismet steps in as a reliable, AI&#8209;powered anti&#8209;spam solution. Integrating Akismet ensures a smoother, spam&#8209;free experience that ultimately improves conversion rates. Try it out today and focus on what matters most — nurturing high&#8209;quality&nbsp;leads.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 27 Dec 2023 14:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:8:"Rob Pugh";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:19;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:92:"HeroPress: Being useful to people, with WordPress – Être utile aux autres, avec WordPress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:56:"https://heropress.com/?post_type=heropress-essays&p=6298";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:148:"https://heropress.com/essays/being-useful-to-people-with-wordpress/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=being-useful-to-people-with-wordpress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:26756:"<img width="1024" height="512" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/122223-min.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pull Quote: I started by going back to my roots." /><div class="wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">
<p><a href="https://heropress.com/feed/#fr">Cet essai est également disponible en français.</a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hi-computer">Hi Computer</h2>



<p>I was born in 1996, straddling the X and Y generations. I had the good fortune to live a happy childhood where I was very much supported by my parents, each in their own way, in my passions. They both taught me to trust myself and to try things out, for which I&#8217;m very grateful. When I was a child, personal computers were already democratized, but many people didn&#8217;t have one. This was my case until I was 10, when my parents decided to buy one.</p>



<p>Upon gaining access to my first computer, I was intrigued by how it works and the possibilities it offered. It allowed me to explore new creative way (so much time on Pivot Animator) and introduced me to the realm of online games! Unfortunately for my parents, my experimentation led to the death of two computers.</p>



<p>I had a strong fondness for browser games like Travian, Shakes &amp; Fidget, Hordes… It was this passion that led me into the world of content creation for the web. Spending a substantial amount of time on these games&#8217; forums, a friend and I created our first forum for our gaming guild. Using an online forum creation tool, we could inject some code for customization—a kind of initiation into Content Management Systems (CMS) and coding for me! I remember thoroughly enjoying it, investing a lot of time in managing this small, private forum.</p>



<p>In 2011, as I entered high school, I finally obtained what felt like a treasure trove to me at that time &#8211; my very own personal computer! Enthused by graphic design, I began crafting visuals using a portable version of Photoshop, mainly for the gaming forums where I spent a significant amount of time. I dedicated myself to creating banners, avatars, and wallpapers centered around the game themes that united us, providing these creations for my friends and forum users.<br /></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-discover-a-new-world">Discover a new world</h2>



<p>I had a strong desire to pursue this creative path, so in 2014, I opted for a web design program in Laval. The curriculum covered a wide array of skills: programming, mathematics, graphics design, photography, video editing, among others. I&#8217;ve consistently found mathematical and logical areas challenging, making the foundational aspects of the course in these subjects quite laborious for me. Conversely, I derived immense enjoyment from everything connected to graphic design.</p>



<div class="wp-block-kadence-image kb-image6298_571a4b-06"><img width="1024" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/1-discover-1024x1024.jpg" alt="Man looking through the eye piece of a video camera." class="kb-img wp-image-6320" /></div>



<p>My first encounter with WordPress came during an internship related to my studies. The company I joined specialized in selling products online through a small e-commerce platform they had internally built using WordPress and WooCommerce. My tasks involved managing the website: integrating visuals, updating content, configuring plugins, improving the interface using a page builder, and handling product management. It evoked a similar feeling to when I first created my gaming blog—there was a multidisciplinary spirit and a creative vibe. I enjoyed this hybrid approach that blended both creativity and technical aspects.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-leveling">Leveling</h2>



<p>At the end of 2016, I made a move to settle in the south of France and initiated my first freelance endeavor alongside pursuing additional training in web design at Aix-Marseille University. My freelance work involved various graphic design projects and community management tasks. Despite realizing the challenges of generating sufficient income, I remained motivated by the sense of independence and freedom. I began experimenting with WordPress through personal projects. Over the course of two years, I self-educated extensively. I ventured into managing web hosting and a small server, acquainted myself with Linux and Ubuntu, learned to customize themes, and made simple PHP additions. I navigated through trial and error, learning from mistakes, and gradually honed my overall understanding of the tool, becoming better at adapting it to suit my needs.</p>



<div class="wp-block-kadence-image kb-image6298_5dc9a3-bf"><img width="1024" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2-leveling-1024x1024.jpg" alt="View down old European street from the third floor window," class="kb-img wp-image-6321" /></div>



<p>During a second company internship, I embarked on creating a website where I developed my first custom theme using PHP templates and a few custom fields. It was simple, but I felt quite proud to build a theme &#8220;from scratch&#8221; without relying on page builders or additional tools. Shortly after, a significant milestone occurred in my freelance journey: I sold my first website! It was an e-commerce platform built on WordPress and WooCommerce for a local publishing house. This venture introduced me to new challenges such as SEO, ensuring site security, and providing client training in WordPress usage and essential plugins for the site. I felt incredibly proud to apply my skills to a tangible project and gain professional recognition.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-team-up">Team Up</h2>



<p>After that project, I wanted a change. I liked working on my own, but I felt very lonely. Every day felt the same, and I struggled to stay motivated. After feeling excited about selling my first &#8216;real&#8217; web project, things started to feel like a series of failures, which stressed me out because my savings were running low. I sent out my resume hoping to find a job that suited me. I had a few interviews with digital service companies (named ESN in French), and it was disheartening. I felt like my wide range of skills didn&#8217;t matter, and whenever I talked about WordPress, they said it wasn&#8217;t &#8216;technical&#8217; enough.</p>



<p>After six months of searching, I finally found a job I was excited about at a web agency in Avignon. It felt like I&#8217;d been looking for a long time, but now I see I was lucky to find this opportunity quickly. I started as a front-end developer and mostly worked on WordPress projects, doing various tasks like crafting or customizing themes, configuring or developing plugins, keeping websites running smoothly, training clients and agency staff. Collaborating with complementary roles where everyone understood each other’s tasks was so nice. Finding a common way to handle different missions was so exciting! This team synergy, the great diversity of tasks, sharing our experiences and perspectives, greatly boosted my motivation and skill development.</p>



<div class="wp-block-kadence-image kb-image6298_8ff45f-a9"><a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/3-teamup.jpg" class="kb-advanced-image-link"><img width="1024" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/3-teamup-1024x1024.jpg" alt="Office space with tables covered with computer monitors." class="kb-img wp-image-6322" /></a></div>



<p>I worked for four years in this agency, whose strategy evolved significantly as its size exploded (from 20 to 100 employees in three years). Choices tended towards large, architectured projects with less hybrid solutions. Over time, I felt less connected to the agency&#8217;s decisions and the kind of clients they had. I wondered about the meaning and impact of my work. Was I making things better for people? Was what I did ethical? In the end, did it really matter? </p>



<p>For a while, I&#8217;ve been interested in eco-design, privacy, and web quality topics. I&#8217;ve been reading a lot of articles written by folks that resonated to me (like Framasoft, Designers Éthiques, Whodunit, Opquast&#8230;). There was a stark disparity between my professional experience and their meaningful discourse. The work atmosphere also changed; I didn&#8217;t feel the teamwork that I enjoyed when I first started, but more like a &#8216;fog&#8217; of disagreements and noises.</p>



<p>This was tough for me: I worried about going to work and had trouble sleeping. I truly felt like my time was slipping away. I left in March 2023, and what a good decision it was!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shifting-for-better">Shifting for better</h2>



<p>I started by going back to my roots; I need to slow down, reassess my desires to figure out where I stand, to do something different. I return to Brittany and settle in Saint-Malo near my family. My primary desire is to reclaim my time. Seven years in the South… what I missed the most was the sea. I know I had the Mediterranean nearby, but strangely it didn&#8217;t have the same effect on me. I&#8217;ve always wanted to surf, so I buy an old used board, a wetsuit, and I go into the water almost every day! It clears my mind and boosts my confidence. I&#8217;ve never been much of an athlete, but this really resonates with me.</p>



<p>I&#8217;m not particularly skilled with my hands, nor have I learned how to do things. I want to learn, with ecological and sustainable issues in mind. I sign up for participatory workshops and meet incredibly interesting people. We share our experiences, our knowledge, life moments… and it feels good.</p>



<p>I start reading a lot again &#8211; science fiction, fantasy, essays, classics, and discussions on forums, especially those on wordpress.org.</p>



<p>I come across a discussion about creating a WordPress site using a smartphone. &#8220;Wait, is something like this possible?&#8221; Through the conversation, I notice the name of a contributor: <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/alice-robert-and-wordpress/">Mark-Andrew</a>. I visit his site and I&#8217;m blown away; the guy creates sites for people who need them for free, &#8220;Free Websites for good Humans.&#8221; It&#8217;s simple, yet I find it incredibly inspiring. For me, Mark-Andrew has found a way to give meaning to his skills and align it with his lifestyle.</p>



<div class="wp-block-kadence-image kb-image6298_f15404-e9"><a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/4-shifting-1.jpg" class="kb-advanced-image-link"><img width="1024" height="512" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/4-shifting-1-1024x512.jpg" alt="Two pictures in one.  On the left, someone surfing in the distance.  On the right a man holding a wooden framework." class="kb-img wp-image-6324" /></a></div>



<p>That&#8217;s what I want to do. I&#8217;ve learned a lot about the WordPress ecosystem, and I continue to learn every day. Why not try to help those in need with this open, free, and community-oriented solution? That would make sense!</p>



<p>This is the path I want to travel &#8211; to make this accessible solution available to all who need it to express themselves and create. Furthermore, I want to contribute to the WordPress community. I&#8217;m considering starting with translations into French, but I hope to also contribute to the new site editor, which I find simply fantastic. We&#8217;ll see how it goes!</p>



<p>WordPress taught the jack-of-all-trades kid to trust himself and feel useful. For that, thank you. And thank you, Mark-Andrew; I hope we&#8217;ll meet for a surfing session (On the water or the asphalt as you wish).</p>



<p>Thank you for taking the time to read me <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f60a.png" alt="😊" class="wp-smiley" /></p>
</div></div>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />



<div class="wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">
<h1 class="wp-block-heading" id="fr">Être utile aux autres, avec WordPress</h1>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-salut-internet">Salut Internet</h2>



<p>Je suis né en 1996, à cheval entre la génération X et Y. J&#8217;ai eu la chance de vivre une enfance heureuse où j&#8217;ai été très soutenu par mes parents, chacun à sa manière, dans mes passions. Ils m&#8217;ont tous deux appris à me faire confiance et à essayer des choses, pour cela, je conçois beaucoup de gratitude à leur égard.  Quand j&#8217;étais enfant, l&#8217;informatique pour le grand publique était déjà démocratisé, mais beaucoup de gens n&#8217;avaient pas d&#8217;ordinateur personnel. Ce qui fut mon cas jusqu&#8217;à mes 10 ans où mes parents en on acquit un.</p>



<p>Lorsque j&#8217;ai eu accès à ce premier ordinateur, j&#8217;ai tout de suite été intéressé par son fonctionnement et ce que je pouvais faire avec. Cela m&#8217;a donné accès à de nouvelles activités créatives (que de temps passé sur Pivot Animator) et aussi à l&#8217;univers du jeu sur PC ! Malheureusement pour mes parents, mes expérimentations ont conduit à la mort de deux ordinateurs. J&#8217;aimais beaucoup les jeux sur navigateur (Travian, Shakes &amp; Fidget, Hordes…) et c&#8217;est cet engouement qui m&#8217;a mis le doigt dans l&#8217;engrenage de la création de contenu pour le web. Je passais pas mal de temps sur les forums de ces jeux, et j&#8217;ai créé avec un ami un premier forum pour notre guilde de joueurs. Nous utilisions un outil en ligne de création de forum dans lequel nous pouvions injecter un peu de code pour la personnalisation. Ma toute première expérience avec un CMS et du code en somme ! Je me souviens avoir adoré ça et passé un temps fou sur ce petit forum privé.</p>



<p>En 2011, arrivant au lycée, j&#8217;ai enfin eu accès au saint Graal, mon propre ordinateur personnel ! Je m&#8217;intéressais à la création graphique, et j&#8217;ai commencé à produire des visuels avec une version portable de Photoshop, toujours pour les forums de jeux sur lesquels je passais du temps. Je créais pour mes amis et des utilisateurs : des bannières, des avatars et fonds d&#8217;écrans sur les thèmes des jeux qui nous rassemblaient.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tellement-de-choses-a-apprendre">Tellement de choses à apprendre</h2>



<p>J&#8217;avais envie de continuer sur cette voie créative et je me suis orienté en 2014 vers une formation de création pour le web à Laval. La palette de compétence enseignée était assez vaste : programmation, mathématiques, infographie, photographie, vidéo… J&#8217;ai toujours eu du mal avec les domaines mathématiques et logiques, et le socle de la formation sur ces sujets étaient assez laborieux pour moi. En revanche, je prenais beaucoup de plaisir à tout ce qui rapportait à la création graphique.</p>



<div class="wp-block-kadence-image kb-image6298_2c4713-e3"><img width="1024" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/1-discover-1024x1024.jpg" alt="Man looking through the eye piece of a video camera." class="kb-img wp-image-6320" /></div>



<p>Ma première utilisation de WordPress s&#8217;est présentée lors d&#8217;un stage lié à ma formation. L&#8217;entreprise que j&#8217;avais rejoint vendais des produits en ligne sur un petit e-commerce qu&#8217;ils avaient créé en interne avec WordPress et WooCommerce. J&#8217;avais pour tâche de m&#8217;occuper du site : intégrer des visuels, mettre à jour les contenus, configurer des plugins, ajuster l&#8217;interface avec un constructeur de page, gérer les produits…  Je retrouvais le même sentiment que lorsque j&#8217;avais créé mon premier blog de jeu, un esprit multidisciplinaire et un sentiment très créatif. J&#8217;aimais beaucoup cette approche très hybride de la création et de la technique.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-premiers-essais">Premiers essais</h2>



<p>Fin 2016, je suis parti m&#8217;installer dans le sud de la France où j&#8217;ai commencé ma première activité de freelance en parallèle d&#8217;une formation supplémentaire sur la création pour le web de l&#8217;université d&#8217;Aix-Marseille. Je réalisais quelques missions de création graphique et de community management. Je me suis rendu compte qu&#8217;il était difficile de dégager des revenus suffisants, mais j&#8217;étais motivé par les sentiments d&#8217;indépendance et de liberté. J&#8217;ai commencé à tester et à expérimenter sur WordPress à travers des petits projets personnels. Pendant deux ans, j&#8217;ai appris en autodidacte. Je me suis essayé à la gestion d&#8217;un hébergement web puis d&#8217;un petit serveur, j&#8217;ai découvert Linux et Ubuntu, j&#8217;ai appris à personnaliser des thèmes, à faire quelques ajouts simples en PHP. Je tâtonnais, je faisais des erreurs, je corrigeais… Petit à petit, je forgeais ma culture générale sur l&#8217;outil et j&#8217;arrivais de mieux en mieux à l&#8217;adapter à mes besoins.</p>



<div class="wp-block-kadence-image kb-image6298_4071c3-b2"><img width="1024" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2-leveling-1024x1024.jpg" alt="View down old European street from the third floor window," class="kb-img wp-image-6321" /></div>



<p>Au cours d&#8217;un second stage en entreprise, je réalisais un site pour lequel je développais mon premier thème sur mesure avec des templates PHP et quelques champs personnalisés. Il était vraiment très simple, mais j&#8217;étais assez fier de bâtir un thème &#8220;from scratch&#8221; sans constructeur de page ni outils supplémentaires. Peu après, j&#8217;ai vécu une grande étape dans mon expérience de freelance : j&#8217;ai vendu un premier site internet ! Un e-commerce basé sur WordPress et WooCommerce pour une petite maison d&#8217;édition locale. Je me suis confronté à de nouvelles problématiques : Le SEO, la sécurité, la formation du client à l&#8217;usage de WordPress et des plugins supplémentaires sur lesquels reposait le site. J&#8217;étais super fier de mettre mes compétences au service d&#8217;un projet concret et de cette reconnaissance professionnelle.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-travailler-en-equipe">Travailler en équipe</h2>



<p>Après ce projet, j&#8217;ai eu besoin de changement. J&#8217;étais content d&#8217;être indépendant dans mon travail, mais je me sentais très seul. Les journées se ressemblaient beaucoup et je n&#8217;arrivais plus à trouver la motivation pour continuer. Après l&#8217;euphorie d&#8217;avoir vendu mon premier &#8220;vrai&#8221; projet web, j&#8217;avais l&#8217;impression d&#8217;être dans une spirale d&#8217;échecs et ça me stressait d&#8217;autant plus que mes économies commençaient sérieusement à s&#8217;amenuiser. J&#8217;ai diffusé mon CV en espérant trouver un poste qui puisse me correspondre. J&#8217;ai eu quelques entretiens avec des recruteurs d&#8217;entreprise de services numériques (ESN) et c&#8217;était franchement déprimant. J&#8217;avais le sentiment que mon profil touche-à-tout était sans valeur, et à chaque fois que je parlais un peu de WordPress, on me rétorquait que ce n&#8217;était pas assez &#8220;technique&#8221;. </p>



<p>Après six mois de recherche, j&#8217;ai finalement trouvé un poste qui me faisait super envie dans une agence web à Avignon. J&#8217;ai eu l&#8217;impression que cette période de recherche avait été très longue. Mais rétrospectivement, je me sens chanceux d&#8217;avoir eu cette opportunité aussi rapidement. </p>



<div class="wp-block-kadence-image kb-image6298_6c0ba1-95"><a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/3-teamup.jpg" class="kb-advanced-image-link"><img width="1024" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/3-teamup-1024x1024.jpg" alt="Office space with tables covered with computer monitors." class="kb-img wp-image-6322" /></a></div>



<p>J&#8217;ai démarré en tant que développeur front-end et j&#8217;ai travaillé en majorité sur les projets WordPress qui comportaient beaucoup de missions différentes : développement ou personnalisation de thèmes, développement ou configuration de plugins, maintenance régulière des sites, formation des clients, formations des collaborateurs de l&#8217;agence…  Je trouvais trop bien de bosser avec des métiers complémentaires où chaque personne avait une bonne compréhension du travail des autres. Je découvrais un référentiel commun pour effectuer des missions différentes, c&#8217;était tellement enthousiasmant ! Cette synergie d&#8217;équipe, la grande diversité des missions, le partage de nos expériences et de nos points de vue ont beaucoup boosté ma motivation et ma montée en compétence. </p>



<p>J&#8217;ai travaillé quatre ans dans cette agence dont la stratégie a beaucoup évolué tandis que sa taille explosait (de 20 à 100 collaborateurs en trois ans). Les choix se portaient plutôt sur des gros projets architecturés avec des solutions moins hybrides. Petit à petit, je me suis de moins en moins retrouvé dans les décisions et la typologie de clients de l&#8217;agence. Je me posais beaucoup de question sur le sens de mon travail et l&#8217;impact de celui-ci. Est-ce que j&#8217;apportais des solutions pour améliorer la vie des gens à mon échelle ? Est-ce que ce que je produisais était éthique ? À la fin, est-ce que c&#8217;était si important ?</p>



<p>Depuis un bon moment, je m&#8217;intéressais aux sujets de l&#8217;éco-conception, de la vie privée, de la qualité web. Je lisais beaucoup d&#8217;articles écris par des associations, des entreprises et des acteurs du numérique qui m&#8217;inspiraient (Framasoft, Designer Éthiques, Whodunit, Opquast…). Je ressentais un énorme décalage entre mon expérience professionnelle et leurs discours qui avaient tellement de sens pour moi. L&#8217;ambiance de travail, elle aussi, avait complètement changé, je ne ressentais plus la synergie qui m&#8217;avait tant plu à mon arrivée, mais une espèce de &#8220;brouillard&#8221; de frictions, de cacophonie. <br />Cette situation était très difficile à vivre pour moi : j&#8217;angoissais à l&#8217;idée d&#8217;aller travailler et je dormais très mal. J&#8217;avais vraiment cette sensation que mon temps m&#8217;échappait. Je suis parti en mars 2023, et quelle bonne décision !</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-retrouver-du-sens">Retrouver du sens</h2>



<p>Je commence par revenir aux sources, j&#8217;ai besoin de ralentir, de poser mes envies pour savoir où j&#8217;en suis, de faire autre chose. Je rentre en Bretagne et je m&#8217;installe à Saint-Malo près de ma famille. Mon premier désir, c&#8217;est de me réapproprier mon temps. Sept ans dans le sud… ce qui m&#8217;a manqué le plus c&#8217;est la mer. Je sais bien que j&#8217;avais la méditerranée à côté, mais étrangement ça ne me fait pas le même effet. J&#8217;ai toujours eu envie de faire du surf, alors j&#8217;achète une vieille planche d&#8217;occasion, une combinaison, et je vais à l&#8217;eau presque tous les jours ! Ça me vide l&#8217;esprit et me donne confiance en moi, je n&#8217;ai jamais été un grand sportif, mais là, j&#8217;accroche.</p>



<p>Je ne suis pas vraiment doué de mes mains, on ne peut pas dire que j&#8217;ai appris à le faire non plus. Je veux apprendre, avec les problématiques de l&#8217;écologie et du soutenable en tête. Je m&#8217;inscris à des chantiers participatifs et je rencontre des gens tellement intéressants. On partage notre expérience, nos savoirs, des moments de vie… et ça fait du bien.</p>



<p>Je recommence à lire beaucoup, des livres de science-fiction, de fantasy, des essais, des classiques, mais aussi des discussions sur des forums et notamment ceux de wordpress.org.</p>



<div class="wp-block-kadence-image kb-image6298_33c6f2-eb"><a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/4-shifting-1.jpg" class="kb-advanced-image-link"><img width="1024" height="512" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/4-shifting-1-1024x512.jpg" alt="Two pictures in one.  On the left, someone surfing in the distance.  On the right a man holding a wooden framework." class="kb-img wp-image-6324" /></a></div>



<p>Je tombe sur une discussion concernant la création de site WordPress avec un smartphone. &#8220;Tiens c&#8217;est possible un truc pareil ?&#8221; Au fil de la discussion, je vois passer le nom d&#8217;un contributeur : <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/alice-robert-and-wordpress/">Mark-Andrew</a>. Je visite son site et je prends une claque, le gars produit des sites gratuitement pour les personnes qui en ont besoin &#8220;Free Websites for good Humans&#8221;. C&#8217;est tout simple, mais je trouve ça super inspirant. Pour moi, Mark-Andrew a trouvé comment donner du sens à ses compétences et à accorder le tout avec son mode de vie.</p>



<p>C&#8217;est ça que je veux faire. J&#8217;ai énormément appris sur l&#8217;écosystème WordPress et je continue chaque jour, pourquoi ne pas essayer d&#8217;en faire bénéficier ceux qui en auraient besoin ? Cela aurait du sens !<br />Voilà le chemin sur lequel je veux voyager, rendre accessible cette solution ouverte, gratuite et communautaire à tous ceux qui en ont besoin pour s&#8217;exprimer et créer. Pour aller plus loin, j&#8217;ai aussi envie de contribuer à la communauté WordPress, je pense commencer par la traduction en français, mais j&#8217;espère avoir le plaisir de contribuer aussi au nouvel éditeur de site que je trouve juste génial. On verra bien !</p>



<p>WordPress à appris au gamin touche-à-tout à se faire confiance et se sentir utile. Alors pour ça, merci. Et merci Mark-Andrew, j&#8217;espère qu&#8217;on se rencontrera pour une session glisse.</p>



<p>Merci d&#8217;avoir pris le temps de me lire <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f60a.png" alt="😊" class="wp-smiley" /></p>
</div></div>
<p>The post <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/being-useful-to-people-with-wordpress/">Being useful to people, with WordPress &#8211; Être utile aux autres, avec WordPress</a> appeared first on <a href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 27 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Quentin Le Duff";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:20;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:77:"WordPress.org blog: WP Briefing: Episode 69: Reflections on State of the Word";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"https://wordpress.org/news/?post_type=podcast&p=16654";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:79:"https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/episode-69-reflections-on-state-of-the-word/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10692:"<p>In this episode, WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy reflects on the recent 2023 State of the Word, which took place in Madrid, Spain, and some of the highlights of the work across the WordPress open source project.</p>



<p><em><strong>Have a question you’d like answered? You can submit them to&nbsp;<a href="mailto:wpbriefing@wordpress.org">wpbriefing@WordPress.org</a>, either written or as a voice recording.</strong></em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Credits</h2>



<p>Host:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/">Josepha Haden Chomphosy</a><br />Editor:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dustinhartzler/">Dustin Hartzler</a><br />Logo:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/javiarce/">Javier Arce</a><br />Production:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bjmcsherry/">Brett McSherry</a><br />Song: Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Show Notes</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/state-of-the-word-2023-recap/">State of the Word Recap</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project/2023/05/17/wordpress-contributor-mentorship-program-pilot-program-proposal/">WordPress Contributor Mentorship Program: Pilot Program Proposal</a></li>



<li><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/">WordPress Developer Blog</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project/2023/12/22/wordpress-end-of-year-celebrations/">WordPress End of Year Celebrations!</a></li>



<li><strong>Small List of Big Things</strong>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/openverse/2023/12/11/introducing-enhanced-content-safety-features-on-openverse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Introducing Enhanced Content Safety Features on Openverse</a>&nbsp;&#8211; Introducing new features for enhanced content safety on Openverse. </li>



<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/alert-wordpress-security-team-impersonation-scams/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alert: WordPress Security Team Impersonation Scams</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2023/12/02/join-the-plugin-review-team/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Join the Plugin Review Team!</a> &#8211; The Plugin Review Team is looking for new members; the deadline to apply is on December 31, 2023.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Transcripts</h2>



<span id="more-16654"></span>



<p>[00:00:00] <strong>Josepha:</strong> Hello everyone, and welcome to the WordPress Briefing. The podcast where you can catch quick explanations of the ideas behind the WordPress open source project, some insight into the community that supports it, and get a small list of big things coming up in the next two weeks. I’m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Here we go.</p>



<p>[00:00:28] (Intro music)&nbsp;</p>



<p>[00:00:40]&nbsp;<strong>Josepha:</strong> We wrapped up State of the Word earlier this month, and while I was sitting there being the only person to clap for the love of cake, I realized just how much we have been able to accomplish this year. And on the one hand, I shouldn&#8217;t be surprised.</p>



<p>After all, progress is radical over time yet incremental in time. But all told, 2023 has been a big year for WordPress. There&#8217;s been some radical progress in a few places. There are the things you know because you&#8217;ve heard them all year. You heard them in State of the Word.</p>



<p>We turned 20, for instance. We shipped three on-time releases. We had three well-organized flagship events, and we prototyped essential parts of phase 3. But there&#8217;s a lot of work that happens outside of flagship events and software releases, and I&#8217;d like to highlight a few examples of operational excellence in our community and ecosystem.</p>



<p>[00:01:31] <strong>Josepha:</strong> First highlight goes to the contributors who are building community. Going back to 2021, we&#8217;ve been working to bring people back together in person.</p>



<p>And in that year, we had 19 events. In 2022, we had 24 events, so a modest increase of just over 30%. But then, in 2023, the WordPress community banded together on a campaign to reignite passion in our Meetup groups and encourage playfulness in our WordCamp planning. And not only did we see a 57% increase in active Meetup groups, But we also saw a 116% increase in WordCamps, 54 WordCamps in all. That&#8217;s about a third of the way to our all-time annual high of 142.</p>



<p>And to complement these in-person opportunities, Learn also shipped 104 pieces of new content and hosted 258 online workshops because location should never be a barrier to entry for joining WordPress.&nbsp;</p>



<p>[00:02:32] <strong>Josepha:</strong> Second highlight goes to the contributors who are managing our directories. We do have a lot of directories. We have Plugins, Themes, Photos, Block plugins. We got a lot.</p>



<p>And I&#8217;m sure that everyone saw the consistent and borderline pleading calls to join the Plugin team this year. And for folks who&#8217;ve been around a bit, you probably recall a similar set of consistent and pleading calls to join the Theme team a few years back. Concurrent with the work to refill that contribution pipeline, folks over in Meta and across the project generally, were working on automating as many checks as possible, loosening guidelines where it was reasonable, and modernizing as many processes as we could.</p>



<p>I&#8217;m happy to share that the theme wait time is at a historic low, with their longest wait sometimes just at a week. And as anxious as I am about the plugin wait times, we&#8217;re actually seeing a lot of progress there as well. As we follow a process similar to the one that we did on themes, I imagine it&#8217;s only gonna get better. So, in 2023, we&#8217;ve onboarded six new team members. And since September, the number of plugins awaiting initial review has been cut in half.</p>



<p>And then coming up in Q1 of 2024, we&#8217;ll have a project focused entirely on automating as many checks as possible. So I still need you, but I also need you to know that your work there matters and is having an impact.</p>



<p>[00:03:55] <strong>Josepha:</strong> The third highlight goes to the contributors who are doing outreach. This year, we launched a mentorship program with an 89% completion rate because we&#8217;ve seen time and again that our most prolific contributors had someone at the start that they felt safe asking dumb questions with. We launched and nurtured the developer blog, which was a need identified by the community because there was no place for intermediate and advanced developers to get excited about their cool explorations. And there were 53 posts there this year with thirteen thousand views, which is a 251% increase for the record, which is a ridiculous increase, but it&#8217;s a lot. Thirteen thousand views is a lot.</p>



<p>We have focused on documentation as we suggested in Porto of 2022. And marketing, I know not always our favorite topic, but marketing, our ability to talk about ourselves to more than just ourselves, has increased dramatically this year.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Not only have we started rolling out a modern design across our website, but we also are present and engaged on eight different platforms with 20-plus episodes of this very podcast and also video content that netted us seven and a half million views this year. That&#8217;s a lot of numbers, and there&#8217;s a post that goes with it.</p>



<p>[00:05:10] <strong>Josepha:</strong> Check out the show notes. But if you&#8217;re not gonna check out the show notes because you listen to this on Pocket Casts or Google or something, go to make.WordPress.org/project, and it&#8217;ll be over there. But the point is, it&#8217;s been a banner year for the software, and I am grateful for every tester, designer, and developer that showed up for it. But I also know that what makes WordPress truly irreplaceable is our ecosystem, and it&#8217;s contributions like this and the contributors who do them that make our ecosystem vibrant and responsive and thriving on into the future.</p>



<p>So, thank you all for the contributions you make to WordPress. Thank you for the shining example of how to do open source at scale, and thank you for another great year together.&nbsp;</p>



<p>[00:06:04] <strong>Josepha:</strong> Which brings us now to our small list of big things. It is indeed a small this time. First up, I would like to introduce our enhanced content safety features on Openverse. By default, search results now exclude openly licensed media containing sensitive textual content. But this new feature adds additional filtering based on titles, tags, and descriptions of the work as well.</p>



<p>[00:06:27] <strong>Josepha:</strong> The second thing on our small list of big things is that there is just a general alert. There&#8217;s a WordPress security team impersonation scam that&#8217;s going on out there. The team is aware of multiple ongoing phishing scams impersonating both the WordPress team and the WordPress security team in an attempt to convince administrators to install a plugin on their website which contains malware. I&#8217;ll include a link to that post just in case you have anyone that you think might need to be aware of that, but also all of our site administrators know. Like, WordPress is not gonna email you asking for passwords or anything ever. </p>



<p>[00:07:02] <strong>Josepha:</strong> And item number three, I would like you to join the Plugin review team. I know I just said it in the body of the episode. But, the Plugin review team is looking for new members still who believe in our mission of guiding plugin authors in responsibly transforming their innovative ideas into reality and ensuring a great WordPress plugin experience for end users. There is a deadline to apply; it&#8217;s December 31st. And so you can get that done over the holidays, over a glass of eggnog if that&#8217;s how you choose to celebrate whatever it is that you do. </p>



<p>And that&#8217;s it for your small list of big things.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Don&#8217;t forget to follow us on your favorite podcast app or subscribe directly on WordPress.org/news. You&#8217;ll get a friendly reminder whenever there&#8217;s a new episode. If you liked what you heard today, share it with a fellow WordPresser. Or, if you had questions about what you heard, you can share those with me at wpbriefing@WordPress.org. I&#8217;m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. See you again in a couple of weeks.&nbsp;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 26 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Brett McSherry";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:21;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:49:"Do The Woo Community: Goodbye 2023 and Hello 2024";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78744";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48:"https://dothewoo.io/goodbye-2023-and-hello-2024/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:345:"<p>As we look at the past year, and what 2024 holds, we are growing even more globally and elevating more voices. </p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/goodbye-2023-and-hello-2024/">Goodbye 2023 and Hello 2024</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 21 Dec 2023 13:12:15 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:22;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:82:"WPTavern: #104 – Thomas Fanchin on Community Engagement in WordPress Sponsorship";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48:"https://wptavern.com/?post_type=podcast&p=151915";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:96:"https://wptavern.com/podcast/104-thomas-fanchin-on-community-engagement-in-wprdpress-sponsorship";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:42029:"Transcript<div>
<p>[00:00:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Welcome to the jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley.</p>



<p>Jukebox is a podcast which is dedicated to all things WordPress. The people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case, community engagement in WordPress sponsorship.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;d like to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast, player of choice, or by going to WPTavern.com forward slash feed forward slash podcast. And you can copy that URL into most podcast players.</p>



<p>If you have a topic that you&#8217;d like us to feature on the podcast, I&#8217;m keen to hear from you and hopefully get you, or your idea, featured on the show. Head to WPTavern.com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox, and use the form there.</p>



<p>So on the podcast today, we have Thomas Fanchin. Thomas is a WordPress enthusiast and is the partnership manager for Weglot, which is a solution for translating websites, not limited to WordPress.</p>



<p>His role means that he&#8217;s immersed in the WordPress community. He&#8217;s passionate about connecting with, and learning from, others in the community. Thomas talks on the podcast about Weglot&#8217;s involvement in WordPress initiatives and events.</p>



<p>We get into how they decide what to sponsor, and what they hope to get in return. Thomas discusses the difficulties in tracking the effectiveness of marketing efforts at events. They&#8217;ve tried all manner of approaches, and we chat about the complex nature of measuring the return on investment, and whether it&#8217;s enough to have brand visibility as the only outcome.</p>



<p>The conversation turns to the unique engagement opportunities within the WordPress and open source community. And whether these events are different from other, more corporate, events held elsewhere.</p>



<p>Weglot operates both within and beyond the WordPress ecosystem, and Thomas shares the company&#8217;s focus on adaptability and replication in other communities. While profitability comparisons between WordPress and Shopify events are not easy to measure, thomas acknowledges both platforms are strong partners for Weglot, expressing interest in engaging with new content management systems and communities.</p>



<p>Thomas wants to explore some innovative sponsor initiatives beyond typical events in the near future. He thinks that guest posts, supporting meetups, and sharing personal expertise might be potential ways for companies to effectively engage in the WordPress space.</p>



<p>But not everything is new, and Thomas talks about Weglot&#8217;s approach towards flagship events, like WordCamp Asia and WordCamp US. They are hard at work already figuring out what they&#8217;re going to bring along, and how they&#8217;re always trying to think outside of the box.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re interested in learning about the intricacies of sponsorship, the impact of sponsored engagements at events, and the future landscape of sponsor initiatives within the WordPress community, this episode is for you.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re interested in finding out more, you can find all of the links in the show notes by heading to WPTavern.com forward slash podcast, where you&#8217;ll find all the other episodes as well.</p>



<p>And so, without further delay, I bring you Thomas Fanchin.</p>



<p>I am joined on the podcast today by Thomas Fanchin. Hello, Thomas.</p>



<p>[00:03:46] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> Hey. How&#8217;s it going?</p>



<p>[00:03:48] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Good, thank you. Very nice to have you on the podcast. We&#8217;ve intended to do this podcast before, but we had some gremlins and so we finally got to it. And I appreciate you staying the course, Thomas. Really appreciate it.</p>



<p>Just to give people some context, we&#8217;re going to be talking a little bit about sponsorship, perhaps about events today. But I guess it would be important to give you an opportunity to say who you are, and why your voice matters in this space. So a little time for a bio. Would you just tell us, Thomas, who you are and what your background is with WordPress. Who you work for, that kind of thing.</p>



<p>[00:04:17] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> Oh gosh. That&#8217;s a lot of information. I&#8217;m going to try to stay brief. Who am I? I work at Weglot, as a partnership manager there. My day to day task consisting interacting with tech partners, but also a lot with communities, including WordPress.</p>



<p>I started my journey within WordPress during my time when I was a student. I wanted to create a website. It was a pet website, back in the days I wanted to launch my own business. So that&#8217;s how I discovered WordPress. But I didn&#8217;t know anything about the community. I was trying to do everything by myself.</p>



<p>When I started to work at Weglot, that&#8217;s when I started to interact a little bit with people from the community, meetup organiser, WorldCamps, organisers. But also just people doing podcasts and other things, inside of WordPress. Once you get to interact with people inside of the WordPress community, you&#8217;re just always going to talk with a lot of people, and do a lot of stuff around WordPress. So that&#8217;s how I got into where I&#8217;m right now today</p>



<p>[00:05:23] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> We should probably explain exactly what Weglot does, because people may or may not understand what it does. But obviously it puts you squarely in the international localisation space. So just give us a, again, almost like a bio for Weglot. What does it do?</p>



<p>[00:05:36] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> Yeah. So Weglot is basically a transition plugin, that allow you to translate our website into multiple language. It&#8217;s super simple plugin to use. It&#8217;s easy to set up. If you ever want to try it, just go for it and let us know what are your thoughts about it?</p>



<p>[00:05:52] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Okay, so we&#8217;re going to talk a little bit today about the WordPress community, and about decisions that Weglot have made, in terms of where their endeavors lie. Obviously, every company in the WordPress space would love to grow and grow, and one of the ways that people do that is to sponsor events. They might sponsor particular online events, or WordCamps, and things like that.</p>



<p>So we&#8217;re going to dig into that a little bit. We&#8217;re not talking about what you&#8217;re going to do in the future, that&#8217;s up to you to decide. But in the past, what kind of things have Weglot done to get themselves out there in front of the WordPress community?</p>



<p>[00:06:27] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> We have sponsored quite a few WordCamps and meetups, in the past. During my first year, we&#8217;ve sponsored around 50 WordCamps, and it was almost the same with the meetups. Like, we sponsored maybe 30 meetups, something like that. Which was great. There was definitely a lot of logistic behind it.</p>



<p>And back then, we were thinking about becoming global sponsors. Because at some point it was hard for us to keep up with all the events, and for logistic matters too. We thought about it. And also, we were starting to think, yeah, what&#8217;s the next big move? What can we do more? What can we do better?</p>



<p>So we tried the global sponsorship, for two years now. It was also super interesting. With the global sponsorship came also new challenges. We also started to invest more into Five for the Future. I would say, yeah, we&#8217;re still super invested and trying to support more initiatives, and support more of the WordPress community.</p>



<p>[00:07:31] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> When you sit down with all of the decision makers in Weglot, how do you decide what it is that you are going to do? Because, obviously I&#8217;m not a sponsor, I have never sponsored anything, but I&#8217;ve spoken to quite a few people from different companies. And if we just take the example of WordCamp, let&#8217;s just stick with WordCamp and maybe some of the bigger events.</p>



<p>My understanding is that most of the companies who support that with sponsorship, they don&#8217;t generally think about it as something which they can measure a return on investment immediately. So let&#8217;s say that they sponsor, and they put $50,000 into sponsoring a particular WordCamp. They&#8217;re not thinking, okay, we need to get that $50,000 back, or $100,000, or some multiple thereof.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s more about just being a good citizen. Making sure that people are aware that the company exists. And we&#8217;re in financial times at the moment, where every dollar spent is really something that has to be thought about. So I just wondered if you wanted to give us an idea, why do you sponsor? Why have you been a global sponsor? What have you hoped to get out of it, and has it delivered what you wanted?</p>



<p>[00:08:40] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> It&#8217;s another big question. So I&#8217;m going to try to reply with as much elements as I can. I think, first of all, it depends on the company culture. So if you are a company and you were built, or you are based, around one specific community, then it becomes easier for you to just talk about budget for the community support. Because, I mean, the company is originally based around it. Maybe the owners are already aware of what it is.</p>



<p>And if you take, for example, Weglot, for us, the community, it&#8217;s equel feedback. So a lot of people from the team used to do support tickets, back in the days. And a lot of us are still doing it. So it make the connection between the users, the community, the support, which is our frontline, and the company. So it&#8217;s just a connection for us. Which can help us when it comes to decisioning to, yeah, we&#8217;re going to support this, or we&#8217;re going to sponsor this event.</p>



<p>The other part that is also super important, obviously is the visibility part. You mentioned it. It&#8217;s super important for us to be visible, for people to be aware of the product, of what it does.</p>



<p>And there is also the giving back part. Because obviously you are a company, you are growing and it&#8217;s good. But when you grow, you make the community also, the people that help you to grow, grow with you. So basically, it&#8217;s like creating a win win situation between your company growth, and the community.</p>



<p>I think when you combine the three, it&#8217;s let&#8217;s say, easier to set up budget, and to have this type of discussion. And it also depends maybe on your marketing strategy too. We can get into that.</p>



<p>For us, we divided into two type of strategies. So there is growth marketing, and there you have some KPIs, and it&#8217;s based on performance. And you have brand marketing. Brand marketing is not based on performance. But the Weglot brand, it&#8217;s combined with community, and with events. So we cannot dissociate both, which is good for us as a brand, and good also for the community. And it&#8217;s not based on performance.</p>



<p>The thing that mattered to us, is that the product, again, is visible. And when someone think about multilingual, we want him to think about Weglot. We know that there are agencies, freelancers, partners, people within the WordPress space, but also outside of the WordPress space, who think about Weglot, because they have met us somewhere in Asia, during WordCamp Asia, or at an event five years ago, or at a meetup, or during a conference. But it&#8217;s hard to track that. But we know that it&#8217;s working.</p>



<p>[00:11:23] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> When you say you know that it&#8217;s working, is that just an intuition that you anecdotally hear that people, when you maybe ask them, where did you hear about us? It may have been that they can link back to a sponsorship at a particular event. Or, is it more anecdotal than that? You just get a sense that there&#8217;s an uptick in sales immediately after events, and things like that.</p>



<p>[00:11:43] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> Yeah. I think the tracking part is really hard to measure. We&#8217;ve tried a couple of things in the past, like coupon deals. It didn&#8217;t work out. We tried QR code too, because I know like a lot of us are trying to flash the QR code, and it wasn&#8217;t the best solution too. We tried to have people fill up forms. It wasn&#8217;t the best solution. And in terms of logistic, it&#8217;s just super hard to maintain.</p>



<p>I know some companies are trying like this massive gift by participating an event, by entering your actual information, and so on. But I&#8217;m not sure that it has the best return on investment for them. It&#8217;s more a visibility thing, I think. I&#8217;m not sure. Maybe it&#8217;s working. If it&#8217;s working, it&#8217;s awesome and it&#8217;s cool. But I think it&#8217;s more a visibility matter.</p>



<p>I think there is no real tracking that you can set up to measure this type of action. Which is why we separate both, and you have growth marketing and brand marketing. Both goals are set aside.</p>



<p>[00:12:44] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> We are in a very interesting community, in that we&#8217;re quite unique I think. The open source movement, but WordPress particular. In that we turn up to these events, and we know that there&#8217;s going to be sponsors there, and we may interact with those sponsors. But on some level, the open source, the nature of open source has this kind of no sponsorship feel to it, if you know what I mean? There&#8217;s this kind of, everything is free, and we give our time for free, and all of that kind of thing.</p>



<p>So I just wonder if you collide with that. You turn up to these events, you&#8217;ve paid a lot of money to be a part of the sponsorship area, and maybe the crowd that have turned up are not, you know, that willing to engage with you. Maybe in a different environment, a much more corporate environment, people would be willing to make that trade a little bit more, and they might be more willing to come and talk with you, because, I don&#8217;t know, they&#8217;ve got a different agenda.</p>



<p>Do you sense that a little bit? Is there something about this community which makes it harder to advertise towards them? And if that&#8217;s the case, I presume that you have to keep juggling that.</p>



<p>[00:13:45] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> I guess the goal is to try to be really innovative, in a way that people come and interact with you. So, it&#8217;s really your role, as a sponsor to try to make sure that you do not cross a certain line. And that everything that you put out there, in terms of content, the booth, the people that are here, the people with whom you are working to, are aligned with the community culture, with the company culture too. That way you make sure that people come and interact with you.</p>



<p>I don&#8217;t see people as really like hostile toward us. Working at Weglot for the past five years, I&#8217;ve only had positive feedback about what we do inside of a community, and also about the product itself. From time to time, people don&#8217;t like it. It&#8217;s totally fine. And it&#8217;s good, because that way you can, yeah, like amazing feedbacks. To be honest, I don&#8217;t see anything wrong within the community and how it&#8217;s working out. From my perspective, and from the sponsor perspective too, I don&#8217;t know about what others might think, but that&#8217;s just my thoughts.</p>



<p>[00:14:57] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> In your introduction, when you were describing Weglot, you mentioned that WordPress is one aspect of that. But I&#8217;m reading between the lines, I could be wrong. Is it the case that Weglot operates outside the WordPress ecosystem as well? And if that&#8217;s the case, do you have a different approach to your marketing in the different markets? So firstly, let&#8217;s answer that question. Does it operate outside of WordPress? And if the answer to that is yes, what kind of things do you bolt onto? Is it other CMSs, or what?</p>



<p>[00:15:25] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> So the two founders of Weglot, they always had these goals of creating a solution for translation, that could be used on any website on the market. That was the purpose of the tool. We started to launch it on WordPress, but we also made a version for Shopify. And now you have this general integration that you can use on any website. And so the answer is yes. You can use Weget outside of WordPress.</p>



<p>Regarding question two, I think it&#8217;s a similar approach. It might be because of the company culture, and because of where we started. WordPress is like a big part of what we do inside of different communities. We believe that what we are doing here is really positive. And if something is working, and it&#8217;s positive, what you are going to try to do is to replicate it in other communities.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s really what we try to do, but at the same time, of course, you need to adapt yourselves to the other communities. Because, I don&#8217;t know, maybe it&#8217;s not the same people inside of a community. Maybe it&#8217;s more like corporate people. Maybe it&#8217;s people that are not interested about open source. Maybe it&#8217;s people who don&#8217;t know at all about how to code. I don&#8217;t know. There is various communities out there. And yeah, I would say like, we try to adapt ourself, and at the same time we try to replicate what&#8217;s working.</p>



<p>[00:16:47] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> This is going to be a difficult question to answer, potentially, because you may not have the numbers hand. But do you know if, let&#8217;s take the example of Shopify. Do you know if Shopify gives Weglot a greater level of profitability? For every dollar spent on events, or on advertising on Facebook, or Google, or whatever it may be, wherever those dollars get spent. Do you know if there is a greater profitability in one of those communities, than there is in another?</p>



<p>[00:17:15] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> That&#8217;s the big question. What I can say is that WordPress and Shopify, they are one of our big partners, with a strong attachment to WordPress. Because when the two founders launch Weglot, it was during WordCamp Paris. So that&#8217;s what I can say.</p>



<p>I don&#8217;t have the specific numbers in mind, but it&#8217;s true that there is a lot of new communities and new CMSs out there that are emerging. And it&#8217;s definitely super interesting to interact with them for me as a partner manager. And to discover new CMSs, new communities, that comes with new people from like various communities out there.</p>



<p>[00:17:54] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So we&#8217;ve spent quite a bit of time talking about sponsoring events, but obviously sponsoring could be in all sorts of different directions. And I think you mentioned things like Five for the Future. I&#8217;m wondering if that&#8217;s something that Weglot explore. So, you know, if you&#8217;re listening to this podcast and you are working for a company, and you&#8217;re trying to think of innovative, interesting ways, and obviously you could sponsor a WordCamp, that one&#8217;s fairly straightforward.</p>



<p>Are there any other things that you do? So for example, do you sponsor particular individuals to contribute to the code base? Do you sponsor some smaller events like meetups, or anything like that? Do you do things like Five for the Future, or any other things that we may not have heard of? So anything outside the normal typical WordPress events.</p>



<p>[00:18:34] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> I think it&#8217;s a quite interesting topic, because I think like everyone within the WordPress space, like companies, they can do like various innovative initiatives. We are all like super, super busy with our agendas. But you could contribute by providing, I don&#8217;t know, guest posts, content in the areas where you are an expert. For example, for us it would be like multilingual.</p>



<p>So if you have a content team, or people from your content team that could help others. You could also, let&#8217;s say, help meet up organisers with their venues. At Weglot, from time to time, there is like this marketing community. They come to have breakfast at Weglot in the morning. It&#8217;s not cool for the employees because you get to work and everybody is eating, and you need to work. You could also do that.</p>



<p>From a personal standpoint, I did a couple of talks during meetups, around multilingual. I mean, I&#8217;m not the best. I&#8217;m sure there is plenty of people with more knowledge than me. But I have my own expertise, and my experience, and I can share it. And so far I&#8217;ve received just positive feedbacks. There is various stuff that you could do at a personal level inside of a company.</p>



<p>And yeah, of course we are also doing Five for the Future. We are sponsoring, I think, right now, three contributors inside of the community team, and the Polyglot team too. It&#8217;s quite interesting. It&#8217;s something totally new for us. We never did it in the past. And what we try to have various people who are really enthusiastic about the community, and who loves to do plenty of stuff. It will be like, I don&#8217;t know, recruitment, just someone that would come like to the Weglot team and work. We try to have the same type of people with whom we&#8217;re collaborating there, which is awesome.</p>



<p>We also supported, you mentioned meetups, we also supported a few meetups in different ways, because we try to always adapt the budget. And also the way that we support those meetups, because some of them, they need money for the venue. Other needs equipment. And there is like layers of people out there who have specific needs, so we try to adapt ourself.</p>



<p>We&#8217;re also doing something quite interesting. There&#8217;s the Weglot community there, where we invite our ambassadors, inside of the company, for one or two days. And they get to meet everyone from the company, and they get to teach about what they do inside of specific communities, and how it helps Weglot.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s super interesting because it helps the company culture. When you are growing, and you have more and more people coming inside of the company, it&#8217;s interesting to learn the basics, but also to understand what we are doing inside of WordPress, or inside of other communities too.</p>



<p>Because obviously for us, it&#8217;s simple. We know what the community is about. We know what we&#8217;re doing. We know what&#8217;s WordPress, what&#8217;s a meetup, what&#8217;s a WordCamp. But maybe like for others, it&#8217;s a little bit more, not hard to understand, but there is less visibility on this type of action. Which is why it&#8217;s super interesting to have community people to come and just interact with the team.</p>



<p>One thing that is quite interesting, because you mentioned that we are present on different communities, and we also have different ambassadors. And this year we&#8217;re making a community day in March, if I&#8217;m right. If I&#8217;m wrong, my event manager is going to be mad at me. And some of them will be outside of WordPress. And they would meet each other and attend like conference during the day, and teach to each other what they do in different space. And also about their approach, because it&#8217;s not the same approach. So it&#8217;s going to be quite interesting to have those type of interaction. But yeah, maybe I&#8217;m being too long.</p>



<p>[00:22:12] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> No, that&#8217;s really interesting. You mentioned the ambassadors. Who are they then? it sounds like they&#8217;re people who are closely aligned with what you do, but not employees. They&#8217;re just people that use your services and products, but they&#8217;re not on the payroll. But they&#8217;re willing to give some of their time over to your endeavors. That&#8217;s interesting.</p>



<p>[00:22:28] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> Yeah. The ambassador program is something that we have put together because we started to sponsor quite a few WordCamps. And it was hard for us to be able to travel from point A, to point B, to point C. You could imagine having an event in France, another one in Spain, and another one in England. So it&#8217;s hard to commute. At the end you would be like totally tired. And it&#8217;s not the goal. The goal is, of course, to have a nice balance between personal life and work life.</p>



<p>We found out that there was plenty of people who were attending WordCamps, and were willing to do it for companies like us. We tried to find some community people who shared the same thoughts as we do, inside of Weglot. Love the product, want to talk about it, and want to participate inside of a community, That&#8217;s how it started.</p>



<p>Now we have a few ambassadors who are working with us. We try now, since this year, it&#8217;s the first time that we did the community day, so we try to have the ones that are representing us in like various countries, to come up in Paris with us and discuss with the team.</p>



<p>[00:23:40] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> That&#8217;s a really nice initiative. I like that. I also just like the fact that there&#8217;s people who are so into what you do as a product, that they&#8217;re willing to donate their time. It&#8217;s almost like a little microcosm of the WordPress project inside the Weglot project. You&#8217;ve got volunteers who are helping you out. Yeah. That&#8217;s fascinating.</p>



<p>I&#8217;m going to just encourage the listeners of the podcast to go to the show notes, and I&#8217;m going to link to a piece on the make.wordpress.org website by Cate DeRosia. It was published on the 29th of November 2023, and it&#8217;s called, Should We Allow Sponsor Demo Rooms or Tracks at Events. I&#8217;m also going to link to a piece over on Post Status by Marieke van de Rakt. The name of that piece escapes me at the moment. But it was all about the WordPress community getting divided into participants on the one hand, and sponsors and companies on the other hand.</p>



<p>And I&#8217;m interested about this. I&#8217;m interested to know from your perspective. Now we&#8217;ve talked a little bit about how you make a return on investment, or whether that&#8217;s necessary or not. But I&#8217;m wondering if, as the years have gone on, you mentioned that you&#8217;ve been involved in WordPress for five years or more. Have you still got the same excitement for attending these kind of events, or do you wish there to be some kind of change?</p>



<p>And in Cate DeRosia&#8217;s piece, she&#8217;s basically saying, do we need to think a little bit outside of the box in order to get sponsors to attend these events? It sounds, the undercurrent, I guess is that it&#8217;s harder than ever to get the sponsors, enough sponsors, to cover the cost of the events.</p>



<p>So I&#8217;m just wondering if the people in the comments, you have any ideas on how your sponsor dollars could be spent? Such that you feel you&#8217;re getting more value than you are at the moment.</p>



<p>[00:25:21] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> From a personal point of view, it&#8217;s definitely super amazing to be able to travel to this event. Because you get to travel from all over the globe, thanks to WordPress, which is super cool. I&#8217;ve never been in Asia, and I went to Bangkok earlier this year, which was awesome.</p>



<p>And you get to spend time there with people with whom you have a close relationship now, thanks to WordPress. And people with whom you are friends now during this event, and that you&#8217;re not probably going to meet throughout the year, which is just amazing.</p>



<p>And from a, more of a sponsor level, I would say maybe five years ago there was more engagement. If you take an event like WordCamp Europe, we&#8217;ve talked a little bit about it, let&#8217;s talk about it again here. Yeah there were for sure like, maybe more participants and more engagement in WordCamp Europe in Berlin, than maybe now the last WordCamp Europe in Athens. It was like a really huge event, with way more sponsors than five years ago.</p>



<p>People I believe, at least that&#8217;s my thoughts, were a little bit lost with all the sponsors, and all the tracks, and everything that was happening. It was still an amazing event. I love it. It was awesome. But yeah, maybe there was a little bit less engagement.</p>



<p>And there were also other events, like in Asia, where it was just like WordCamp Asia, was just amazing. I&#8217;ve spoke with so many people that were interested about the product, about what we do. And it was something new, because it was the first time too. So I guess we&#8217;ll see like this year, next year, and the coming years how it&#8217;ll evolve. But I&#8217;m sure it could be positive.</p>



<p>Yeah, maybe right now there is less engagement. But if we go back to the beginning of this conversation, I think the job of a lot of sponsors here, is to try to be innovative to attract people. It could be your booth. It could be the activities that we are doing.</p>



<p>I think right now it is just, we are at a stage where we should all start to think about outside of the box, and think about crazy ideas that we could put together, to have people come interact with your product. But also with what you do inside of a company.</p>



<p>[00:27:44] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, I think Cate&#8217;s piece really is raising that question. So, maybe it&#8217;s off the back of data saying what you&#8217;ve just said, where the engagement is maybe down. And it&#8217;s curious that you found that the engagement was up in WordCamp Asia. So maybe that&#8217;s because they were doing things differently. Maybe they had a different, just a whole different approach, and they&#8217;re trying innovative new things. Certainly speaking to some of the organisers, that was very much the intent, was to try out some new things. And from your perspective, that seems to work.</p>



<p>But as attendees of the events will know, the ticket price is incredibly low. And that is largely offset by sponsors. And so if sponsors, like Weglot, determine that the engagement, it&#8217;s going down. Maybe we shouldn&#8217;t sponsor this particular event. That then jeopardises the event in the future. So Cate&#8217;s piece, I guess, is trying to figure out if there are things which would attract the sponsors.</p>



<p>So she&#8217;s suggesting things like demo rooms, and various other things are suggested in the chat. But she&#8217;s thinking things like, could we have a standalone room just for demos, for sponsors? Would it be possible to offer them different kind of packages? What would those packages contain? Could there be maybe some, I don&#8217;t know, an event which is at the end of the event as a whole, where the sponsors get up and get to give away prizes or something like that.</p>



<p>The point is thinking out the box. And we did an episode a few weeks ago, which again I&#8217;ll link to in the show notes, where we&#8217;re talking about next gen events. And all of that, again, seems to be talking about a picture of, these events are after the pandemic at least. We&#8217;re struggling to get them back. We&#8217;re struggling for the sponsors to be interested. We&#8217;re struggling to get the numbers back. And so being innovative matters.</p>



<p>Do you think that you&#8217;ll be, in the next five years, sponsoring these events at the same level, or do you have an intuition that you&#8217;ll be going your own route and trying things own way?</p>



<p>[00:29:32] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> Yeah. If we&#8217;re talking about the flagship events, I know that next year we will still support all of them, which is great. I already know that for WordCamp Europe, we are going to have a really nice booth there. And everyone is right now working to be as innovative as possible, to make sure that everyone has a super nice experience entering into the Weglot booth. I hope it&#8217;s going to be amazing.</p>



<p>In WordCamp Asia, I know that we are working right now on the booth, the concept and everything that we&#8217;re going to do there, which is awesome. And I think it&#8217;ll be the same for WordCamp US.</p>



<p>On a more global perspective, I know that this year, we are not going to be global sponsors. But the reason behind it, is that we want to diversify the way that we support WordPress. And we are going to try to invest more into new initiatives, but also into contribution space, and into Five for the Future.</p>



<p>But yeah, it doesn&#8217;t mean that we are stopping anything. We are still going to support the flagships, and other WordCamps too. We are going to be just more selective into the WordCamps that we are supporting.</p>



<p>But I think, for us, it&#8217;s more the logistics behind supporting like all the events. It was hard to follow up. And we always had that goal in mind, that if we were going to be global sponsor, we wanted to have someone representing us in all the WordCamps.</p>



<p>And unfortunately, we were not able to maintain that. It&#8217;s cool, not cool, but it&#8217;s like amazing to support all these events. But you need to make sure that, at least you have someone out there, and not only is there like an empty table with no goodies or with some goodies and no one there.</p>



<p>And even the logistic behind like sending goodies in like, all the places in the world, it&#8217;s like crazy. And we were lucky. Now we have our event manager who is working with us, and she put together an amazing program for the goodies itself. So it was like something that she set up only for that. And we were able to work with ambassadors from a lot of places, which is also like super cool, because now we have more and more people working with us. But still it was hard for us to be able to be present everywhere, as we wanted to. So it&#8217;s part of the reason why. What was the initial question again? Maybe I got lost.</p>



<p>[00:31:57] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, it was really about whether or not you see the landscape in the next five years being the same as in the last five years. So, obviously money is tight everywhere.</p>



<p>[00:32:07] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> I was speaking about this year, and about how we were going to support also like meetups too. So, I&#8217;m in touch with some meetup organisers too, and we&#8217;re going to support their meetups.</p>



<p>I know that a lot of sponsors are struggling, and as we talk about it earlier, it&#8217;s hard to keep a track on everything that we&#8217;re doing. And for sure, if there is room for new types of sponsorship, or new types of visibility action that we can put together, it would be awesome.</p>



<p>The thing that you have to keep in mind, is that it&#8217;s cool to have these new ideas, but we need to make sure that it aligns with the community. And that we don&#8217;t cross that line that we spoke about earlier. The more that people are positive about the new ideas that we have, and the better it is for us, because it means more people are going to engage.</p>



<p>The last thing that you want to have is to put out there like some, I don&#8217;t know, new ideas, or new things to get more visibility. And what is going to happen is that you have less engagement, and then sponsors are going to be, okay, it&#8217;s not working. There is less engagement than before.</p>



<p>[00:33:13] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. I think the endeavor at the moment seems to be to try a lot of these new ideas out on what they&#8217;re calling next gen events. Whether that name will stick around or not, I don&#8217;t know. But the intention, really, is to try these out on the smaller events. So try out some new things, try a different approach at a variety of different events. Who knows what that will be, but there was an example of a much smaller, newer event in the UK not that long ago. See how they go, and see if any of the ideas from those can percolate up into the bigger events, possibly.</p>



<p>But you&#8217;re right, you risk alienating the community at your peril. If at the end of the day you go over a boundary that the community seemingly can&#8217;t tolerate, then you risk polluting the entire river, which would be a complete disaster.</p>



<p>So I guess we&#8217;re going to see. Let&#8217;s see how these things change in the future. Let&#8217;s see how companies cope with the realities of post 2023. Over the next few years, see what their purse strings are like, and let&#8217;s hope these events are continued to be sponsored by companies like Weglot.</p>



<p>Thomas, just a quick one. If anybody has listened to this and thought, do you know what, I&#8217;m struggling with the same sorts of things, it would be nice to chat to Thomas, see if there&#8217;s any alignment. Maybe there&#8217;s some sort of opportunities to work together. Where would be the best place to get in touch with you?</p>



<p>[00:34:24] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> Maybe on LinkedIn. You could all reach out to me on LinkedIn. I&#8217;m not posting every day, but i&#8217;m really reachable by message. So if anyone wants to reach out, talk about WordPress, talk about Five for the Future, or contribution, or you have a new podcast idea, you&#8217;re looking for support. Or you just want to discuss a little bit about partnership, feel free to reach out to me there.</p>



<p>I also have a Twitter account. It&#8217;s my name, so Thomas Fanchin. Have a look at it on both LinkedIn and Twitter. You will find me, I&#8217;m almost sure.</p>



<p>And otherwise, you could just reach out to the support team. If you want to reach out, support@weglot.com, and just say that you want to talk with Thomas, and I would be tagged. So that&#8217;s also easy if you want to reach out to me. So yeah, it up to you.</p>



<p>[00:35:14] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Thank you Thomas. I really appreciate you talking to me on the podcast today. Thanks so much indeed.</p>
</div>



<p>On the podcast today we have <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-fanchin-b31333137/">Thomas Fanchin</a>.</p>



<p>Thomas is a WordPress enthusiast and is the partnership manager for <a href="https://www.weglot.com/">Weglot</a>, which is a solution for translating websites, not limited to WordPress. His role means that he’s immersed in the WordPress community. He’s passionate about connecting with, and learning from, others in the community.</p>



<p>Thomas talks on the podcast about Weglot&#8217;s involvement in WordPress initiatives and events. We get into how they decide what to sponsor and what they hope to get in return.</p>



<p>Thomas discusses the difficulties in tracking the effectiveness of marketing efforts at events. They’ve tried all manner of approaches, and we chat about the complex nature of measuring the return on investment, and whether it’s enough to have brand visibility as the only outcome.</p>



<p>The conversation turns to the unique engagement opportunities within the WordPress and open source community, and whether these events are different from other, more corporate, events held elsewhere.</p>



<p>Weglot operates both within and beyond the WordPress ecosystem, and Thomas shares the company&#8217;s focus on adaptability and replication in other communities. While profitability comparisons between WordPress and Shopify events are not easy to measure, Thomas acknowledges both platforms as strong partners for Weglot, expressing interest in engaging with new content management systems (CMS) and communities.</p>



<p>Thomas wants to explore some innovative sponsor initiatives beyond typical events in the near future. He thinks that guest posts, supporting meetups, and sharing personal expertise might be potential ways for companies to effectively engage with the WordPress space.</p>



<p>But not everything is new, and Thomas talks about Weglot&#8217;s approach towards flagship events like WordCamp Asia and WordCamp US. They are hard at work already figuring out what they’re going to bring along and how they’re always trying to think outside the box.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re interested in learning about the intricacies of sponsorships, the impact of sponsor engagement at events, and the future landscape of sponsor initiatives within the WordPress community, this episode is for you.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Useful links</h2>



<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/five-for-the-future/">Five for the Future</a></p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/">Translate WordPress</a></p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2023/11/29/should-we-allow-sponsor-demo-rooms-or-tracks-at-events/">Should We Allow Sponsor Demo Rooms or Tracks at Events?</a></p>



<p><a href="https://wptavern.com/podcast/80-angela-jin-on-how-and-why-wordcamps-might-change-in-the-future">Angela Jin on How and Why WordCamps Might Change in the Future</a></p>



<p><a href="https://wptavern.com/podcast/98-marieke-van-de-rakt-on-uniting-the-wordpress-community-for-a-stronger-future">Marieke van de Rakt on Uniting the WordPress Community for a Stronger Future</a></p>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/thomas_fch">Thomas on X</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-fanchin-b31333137/">Thomas on LinkedIn</a></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Nathan Wrigley";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:23;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:108:"Do The Woo Community: A Post State of the Word Chat with Rocio Valdivia, Pooja Derashri &amp; José Ramón";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78732";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:96:"https://dothewoo.io/a-post-state-of-the-word-chat-with-rocio-valdivia-pooja-derashri-jose-ramon/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:503:"<p>Listen to insights and experiences in the Spanish WordPress community, features and updates announced at SOTW, plus getting involved in the WordPress community. </p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/a-post-state-of-the-word-chat-with-rocio-valdivia-pooja-derashri-jose-ramon/">A Post State of the Word Chat with Rocio Valdivia, Pooja Derashri &#038; José Ramón</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 20 Dec 2023 08:50:41 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:24;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:254:"HeroPress: My Journey From an Intern to WordPress Themes Team Reps – मेरो यात्रा: एक प्रशिक्षार्थीबाट वर्डप्रेस थिम्स टीम प्रतिनिधिसम्म";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:56:"https://heropress.com/?post_type=heropress-essays&p=6254";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:184:"https://heropress.com/essays/my-journey-from-an-intern-to-wordpress-themes-team-lead/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=my-journey-from-an-intern-to-wordpress-themes-team-lead";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:59265:"<img width="1024" height="512" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/121923-min.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pull Quote: Being part of WordCamps is like unlocking a door to a whole new world." /><p><a href="https://heropress.com/feed/#nepali">यो लेख नेपाली भाषामा पनि उपलब्ध छ।</a></p>



<p><em>Writing this essay brings me immense joy!</em>&nbsp;</p>



<p>I am from a remote corner of Nepal, where a unique culture emerged, the tradition of taking computer classes after completing <span title="School Leaving Certificate"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_Leaving_Certificate_(Nepal)">SLC</a></span>. It was a time when nearly 2-5% of students embraced this opportunity. I also joined them in the excitement of learning how to use a computer.</p>



<p>Our teacher kept emphasizing the importance of learning how to type. But sometimes, when he wasn&#8217;t around, we would search for the Internet icon, hoping to find interesting things. Sadly, we didn&#8217;t have an internet connection, but we still tried our best.   </p>



<p>Also, in our little learning space, every chance to use a computer felt special. These early experiences, a mix of fear and curiosity, laid the foundation for our technology journey.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It&#8217;s proof of our eagerness to learn, even when resources were limited.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Looking back, those moments of exploring and trying to connect with the wider digital world were like planting seeds of curiosity. Which later grew into a strong love for technology.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-glimpse-into-my-roots">A Glimpse into My Roots</h2>



<p>Let&#8217;s stroll through my tech journey, from mastering algorithms to leading the WordPress theme team. It all began after completing ISC (Intermediate of Science) and believe it or not, it happened in a government school.</p>



<p>After finishing school, I had to choose a path, and I went with IT. Now, the funny part is, that I was at a friend&#8217;s house one day, and I saw this cool digital ID card. I asked my friend about it, and he said it was the college ID card. At that moment, I thought, <strong>&#8220;If I study IT, I can get a modern ID card like this!&#8221;</strong></p>



<p><strong><em>The interesting twist is that I ended up being the topper in the entrance exam for IT.</em></strong>&nbsp;</p>



<p>When I joined, there were only 15-16 students. Surprisingly, only 7 of us made it through the entire degree because many decided to go to India, and some just realized IT wasn&#8217;t their thing. At that time, only a few people were keen on the IT field.</p>



<p>During my studies, programming code seemed like a puzzle to me. It was challenging to wrap my head around it. However, when we started experimenting and learning to give commands, the real-time working of it all was still a mystery.</p>



<p>As I neared the completion of my bachelor&#8217;s degree, technology was booming, and companies began realizing the importance of having a website. Simultaneously, I got involved in some social sector work, and people there started asking about IT. To understand this field better, I participated in IT events, and that&#8217;s when it hit me, I needed to do something significant in this field.</p>



<p>Fast forward, armed with a bachelor&#8217;s in Information Technology from Purbanchal University. In the 3rd &#8211; 4th semester, I wasn&#8217;t entirely sure what I would be working on afterwards.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong><em>But being in this field made me realize that your degree doesn&#8217;t define what you can achieve. It&#8217;s the passion and dedication that truly matter.</em></strong></p>



<p>Following my bachelor&#8217;s, the next step in my journey was pursuing a master&#8217;s degree to become a specialist. This led me to Sikkim Manipal University, where I immersed myself in the world of Information Technology from 2015 to 2017.</p>



<p>Well, it wasn&#8217;t just about learning Computer Science. It was a hands-on experience with a keen focus on the latest technology and software development.&nbsp;</p>



<p>During my time there, I specialized in object-oriented software development, using the newest tools and systems available. The tech adventure included delving into courses like algorithm analysis, web applications programming, and more.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong><em>Providing me with a robust skill set to navigate the ever-evolving tech world.</em></strong></p>



<p>As I lead the WordPress theme team today, my journey from being an intern is a vibrant mix of continuous learning, personal growth, and a profound passion for shaping the digital landscape.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong><em>Join me in this exciting tech adventure, where every challenge is an opportunity to innovate and evolve!</em></strong></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-attending-and-organizing-my-first-wordpress-meetup">Attending and Organizing My First WordPress Meetup</h2>



<p>Here&#8217;s an interesting part of how I got involved in WordPress. Back then, we used to install WordPress, add content to websites, and get paid NPR 5,000 for a website. We were thrilled with that!</p>



<p>Later on, during the <strong>&#8220;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibeksheel_Nepali">Bibeksheel Nepali</a>&#8221; </strong>movement led by the late <a href="https://kafleg.com.np/an-open-letter-to-matt-mullenweg/"><strong>Mr Ujwal Thapa</strong></a>, I got to know him. We participated in walking events together, covering the stretch from Mechi to Lumbini for a few days.&nbsp;</p>



<p>During that time, Mr. Thapa emphasized the importance of contributing to the community and working together. He taught me that it&#8217;s not just about me learning and earning, everyone should have that opportunity. That changed my entire mindset!</p>



<p>Now, let me take you back to 2010 when I attended my first WordPress meetup. In a gathering of 40-50 people, we discussed the basics of WordPress and how to create a site.&nbsp;</p>



<p>After 2 years in 2012, I got a chance to organise a WordPress meetup. It was there that I discovered someone who created WordPress themes.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I was both shocked and enthusiastic! That night, I went home, and searched for &#8220;Catch Themes&#8221; and &#8220;Graph Paper Press,&#8221; and that&#8217;s when my exploration began.</p>



<p>After that, I stopped using themes from others and started exploring Catch Box of Catch Themes.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Back then, I had just heard about WordPress and was eager to explore its potential. Little did I know that this casual meetup would mark the beginning of an incredible journey.</p>



<p>But the experience was exhilarating, bringing together WordPress enthusiasts, sharing ideas, and building a sense of community.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong><em>It felt like planting a seed that would grow into something much larger.</em></strong></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-volunteering-in-first-wordcamp-to-leading-contributor-day-in-wc-asia">Volunteering in First WordCamp to Leading Contributor Day in WC Asia</h2>



<p>Now moving into my WordCamp journey!&nbsp;</p>



<p>After completing my bachelor&#8217;s, I came to Kathmandu in 2014. Luckily, I had the opportunity to volunteer at a WordCamp event with the help of Mr. Ujwal Thapa. Knowing the organizers made it easy for me to blend in among them.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It was an exciting experience for me! From that point on, my world has revolved around WordPress, and I haven&#8217;t seen anything quite like it.</p>


<div class="kb-gallery-wrap-id-6254_16174c-0b alignnone wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery"><ul class="kb-gallery-ul kb-gallery-non-static kb-gallery-type-grid kb-gallery-id-6254_16174c-0b kb-gallery-caption-style-bottom-hover kb-gallery-filter-none kb-gallery-magnific-init"><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/45717552634_4b10a9f688_k.jpg" class="kb-gallery-item-link"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/45717552634_4b10a9f688_k-1024x579.jpg" width="1024" height="579" alt="" class="wp-image-6259" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">WordCamp Biratnagar 2018</div></div></a></div></li><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/contributorday_tableleads_organizers.jpg" class="kb-gallery-item-link"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/contributorday_tableleads_organizers-1024x683.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="" class="wp-image-6260" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">Contributor Day table leads and organizers of WC Asia 2023</div></div></a></div></li><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ujwal_3.jpg" class="kb-gallery-item-link"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ujwal_3.jpg" width="960" height="720" alt="" class="wp-image-6261" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">Mr Ujwal Thapa speaking in WordPress Meetup</div></div></a></div></li><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/with_worpdressers.jpg" class="kb-gallery-item-link"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/with_worpdressers-1024x768.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="" class="wp-image-6262" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">WordCamp Asia 2023</div></div></a></div></li></ul></div>


<p>On to the year 2015, I ventured into the theme reviewing team, delving into the intricate world of WordPress themes. The learning curve was steep, but the satisfaction of contributing to the WordPress ecosystem was unparalleled. Since 2018, I have been working as a team reps.</p>



<p>My WordCamp journey became a tapestry of experiences, from <strong>WordCamp Nepal in 2014</strong> to various international events like <strong>WordCamp Tokyo in 2017</strong>, <strong>WordCamp Bangkok in 2019</strong>, and more.</p>



<p>Further, I got the golden chance to organize <a href="https://biratnagar.wordcamp.org/2018/"><strong>WordCamp Biratnagar 2018</strong></a><strong> </strong>as a lead. At that moment, there were very few companies who relied on WordPress to earn. It was a hassle to convince people to attend and let them know about WordPress. But we made it successful though!</p>



<p>The years rolled on, and by 2023, I found myself organizing <strong>WordCamp Kathmandu </strong>once again, alongside events in Sylhet, Mumbai, and Manila. The swift of WordCamps continued into 2024, with Nepal and Asia taking the spotlight again.</p>



<p>Reflecting on these years, I&#8217;ve not just attended events, I&#8217;ve woven connections, shared laughter, and learned valuable lessons. Also, personal anecdotes, like meeting fellow WordPress enthusiasts in unexpected places, make these WordCamps memorable.</p>



<p>Looking forward, I&#8217;m thrilled about the upcoming WordCamps and the new experiences they&#8217;ll bring. Each event adds something special to my journey with WordPress, like a unique stroke on a canvas. The adventure goes on, driven by my love for WordPress and the incredible community that makes it all meaningful.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-growth-in-career-from-volunteer-to-full-time-wordpress">Growth in Career From Volunteer to Full-time WordPress</h2>



<p>In the vibrant world of WordPress, I wear multiple hats with pride. By day, I&#8217;m a WordPress Developer and Theme Reviewer, channeling my passion into crafting digital experiences that stand out. </p>



<p>My role as a team representative for the WordPress.org themes team, contributing full-time isn&#8217;t just a job, it&#8217;s a joyous commitment that I hold close to my heart.</p>



<p><strong><em>Adding a special touch to this journey is the honor of being sponsored by Rank Math.&nbsp;</em></strong></p>



<p>This collaboration with <a href="https://rankmath.com/"><strong>Rank Math</strong></a><strong> </strong>goes beyond the professional, it&#8217;s a shared dedication to the vibrant WordPress community that fuels my passion.</p>



<p>Now, let me share a bit about how this sponsorship unfolded. Well, <strong>Rank Math </strong>was on the lookout for someone to sponsor, and in that pivotal moment, I had the privilege of connecting with <strong>Bhanu Ahluwalia</strong>, the Co-founder of Rank Math.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Our conversation became more than just a chat; it became the catalyst that made the sponsorship a reality. Working full-time suddenly transformed from a dream to a tangible experience.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Beyond the lines of code, my free time transforms into moments of contribution. I find comfort in adding my touch to the WordPress documentation team, weaving words that guide fellow enthusiasts through the vast WordPress landscape.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>My involvement extends:</strong></p>



<ul>
<li>As a WordCamp speaker</li>



<li>Organize WordCamp as a lead organizer</li>



<li>Volunteer in different WordCamps and tech events</li>



<li>Worke in diverse fields like core contributions, and translation, and even dived into theme/plugin development.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>If you&#8217;re curious about my take on these standards, you can catch a glimpse of my <a href="https://wordpress.tv/speakers/ganga-kafle/">WordCamp presentation video</a>.</strong></p>



<p>But my WordPress journey isn&#8217;t confined to screens, it extends to the heartbeat of meetups and open-source platforms. Actively participating and engaging with the community is not just a routine, it&#8217;s a source of inspiration and connection.</p>



<p>When I&#8217;m not crafting code or contributing, you&#8217;ll find me at the seat of WPEntire, my WordPress blog, sharing insights and experiences. It&#8217;s not just a blog, it&#8217;s a canvas where my WordPress journey finds another expressive outlet.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-10-years-of-volunteering-and-getting-sponsored-by-rank-math">10 Years of Volunteering and Getting Sponsored By Rank Math</h2>



<p>I&#8217;ve been part of the WordPress community for more than ten years, volunteering and sharing my love for technology. It&#8217;s been an exciting journey, from learning the ropes to contributing to a global community.</p>



<p>Being a volunteer isn&#8217;t just about coding; it&#8217;s a personal adventure of growth and connection. Every bit of code feels like a step in a journey filled with innovation and learning.</p>



<p>A significant part of this journey has been the support from Rank Math. Their sponsorship isn&#8217;t just financial help; it&#8217;s a vote of confidence. It encourages me to keep contributing to a community that has become a vital part of my life.</p>



<p>This collaboration with Rank Math goes beyond code. It&#8217;s a shared belief in WordPress and the power of working together. As I look back at the past ten years, I see a story of learning, growing, and building friendships.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Every WordCamp and meetup is like adding a stroke to my WordPress story. I&#8217;m excited about what the future holds, and the support from Rank Math adds a personal touch to my journey with WordPress.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-gateway-to-explore-the-world">A Gateway to Explore the World</h2>



<p>Being part of WordCamps is like unlocking a door to a whole new world. It&#8217;s not just about learning techie stuff, it&#8217;s about meeting people from all over and discovering how big and diverse our world is.</p>



<p>Imagine a big gathering where folks who love working with WordPress come together. It&#8217;s like a big family reunion but with people from different countries and cultures. In this mix, we share ideas, solve problems, and learn from each other.</p>



<p>For me, WordCamps has been a game-changer. They go beyond talking about websites. They help us understand each other&#8217;s worlds.&nbsp;</p>



<p>When I spoke at WordCamp Manila and WordCamp Mumbai, it wasn&#8217;t just about WordPress tricks. It was about learning how people in different places use WordPress to solve unique challenges.</p>



<p>At WordCamp Asia, being in charge of a team with people from all over was a bit like having a superhero squad. We had different skills and backgrounds, and that made us strong. It taught me that when we bring our unique strengths together, amazing things happen.</p>



<p>But WordCamps aren&#8217;t just about work. They&#8217;re about making friends from places you&#8217;ve never been. Sharing stories about how we do things in our hometowns and realizing that even though we&#8217;re different, we&#8217;re also pretty similar.</p>



<p>So, WordCamps have become more than just events for me. They&#8217;ve opened up a whole world of friendships, learning, and exploring different cultures. It&#8217;s like having a passport to a global community where everyone speaks the language of WordPress and friendship.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-my-thoughts">My Thoughts</h2>



<p>Sure, if you&#8217;re in the IT field, you can find internships on your own by doing some research. Don&#8217;t hesitate to apply and use your resources.</p>



<p>For those interested in WordPress, consider spending 3-6 months as an intern. Instead of just thinking about money, focus on learning and gaining experience.&nbsp;</p>



<p>WordPress is not just for blogs, it&#8217;s also a place for programming where you can make money. Depending on your skills, you can find jobs in writing, front-end development, and more.</p>



<p>Surprisingly, you can even work as an HR for US companies while living in Nepal without being there physically. Being a developer is also not too difficult. If you work within the WordPress community, companies might sponsor you.</p>



<p>Remember, as WordPress grows, more companies will want people like you. Technology and WordPress are always changing. For developers, it means earning in new ways. For others, it&#8217;s a chance for something new; bloggers can improve their blogs, and writers can create fresh content.</p>



<p>So, WordPress offers opportunities for everyone involved. Ways of working and patterns might change, but you’ll never be outdated!</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="nepali">मेरो यात्रा: एक प्रशिक्षार्थीबाट वर्डप्रेस थिम्स टीम प्रतिनिधिसम्म</h2>



<p>यो निबन्ध लेख्दा मलाई अपार आनन्द मिलेको छ !</p>



<p>म नेपालको एउटा दुर्गम कुनाबाट आएको हुँ, जहाँ एक अनौठो संस्कृतिको उदय भयो, एसएलसी पूरा गरेपछि कम्प्युटर कक्षा लिने परम्परा। यो एक समय थियो जब लगभग २-५% विद्यार्थीहरूले यो अवसरलाई अँगालेका थिए!</p>



<p>हाम्रा शिक्षकले टाईपिङ्ग गर्न सिक्नुको महत्त्वलाई जोड दिनुहुन्थ्यो तर कहिलेकाहीँ, जब उहाँ वरपर हुनुहुन्थ्यो, हामी रोचक चीजहरू फेला पार्ने आशामा इन्टरनेट आइकनको प्रयोग गर्थ्यौं। दुर्भाग्यवश, हामीसँग इन्टरनेट जडान थिएन, तर हामीले अझै पनि सक्दो प्रयास गर्थ्यौं।&nbsp;</p>



<p>हाम्रो सानो सिक्ने ठाउँमा, कम्प्युटर प्रयोग गर्ने हरेक मौका विशेष महसुस गर्थ्यौं। यी प्रारम्भिक अनुभवहरू, डर र जिज्ञासाको मिश्रणले हाम्रो टेक्नोलोजी यात्राको जग बसाल्यो।</p>



<p>यो हाम्रो सिक्न उत्सुकताको प्रमाण हो, स्रोतहरू सीमित हुँदा पनि।</p>



<p>फर्केर हेर्दा, अन्वेषण गर्ने र फराकिलो डिजिटल संसारसँग जोडिने प्रयास गर्ने ती क्षणहरू जिज्ञासाको बीउ रोप्ने जस्तै थिए। जुन पछि प्रविधिप्रतिको बलियो प्रेममा परिणत भयो।</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-म-र-धर-तलहर-म-एक-झलक">मेरो धरातलहरुमा एक झलक</h2>



<p>प्रबिधि बिषयमा बिज्ञता हासिल गर्नदेखि वर्डप्रेस थिम टोलीको नेतृत्व गर्नेसम्मको मेरो प्राविधिक यात्रामा घुमौं। यो सबै ISC पूरा गरेपछि सुरु भयो र पत्याउनुहोस् वा नपत्याउनुहोस् , यो एक सरकारी विद्यालयमा भयो।</p>



<p>स्कूल सकिएपछि, मैले बाटो रोज्नुपर्&#x200d;यो, र म आईटीसँग गएँ। अब, रमाइलो पक्ष के हो, म एक दिन साथीको घरमा गएको थिएँ, र मैले त्यस दिन साथीको राम्रो डिजिटल आईडी कार्ड देखे। मैले मेरो साथीलाई यसको बारेमा सोधें, र उसले यो कलेजको परिचयपत्र हो भन्यो। त्यो पल, मैले सोचे, &#8220;यदि मैले आईटी पढे भने, मैले पनि&nbsp; यस्तो आधुनिक आईडी कार्ड पाउछु!&#8221;</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>चाखलाग्दो ट्विस्ट यो हो कि म IT को लागी प्रवेश परीक्षामा टपर पनि भएँ।</p>
</blockquote>



<p>म भर्ना हुँदा १५-१६ जना मात्र विद्यार्थी थिए। अचम्मको कुरा के छ भने, हामीमध्ये ७ जनाले मात्रै पूरा डिग्री हासिल गर्&#x200d;यौं किनभने धेरैले भारत जाने निर्णय गरे, र कतिपयले केहि समय पछि IT उनीहरूको कुरा होइन भन्ने महसुस गरे। त्यसबेला आईटी क्षेत्रमा थोरै मानिस मात्रै इच्छुक थिए । धेरैको रोजाई इन्जिनियर हुने हुन्थो।</p>



<p>मेरो अध्ययनको क्रममा, प्रोग्रामिङ कोड मलाई के हो के हो जस्तो लाग्थ्यो। मेरो दिमागमा सहजै बस्नु चुनौतीपूर्ण थियो। जब हामीले प्रयोगशालामा प्रयोग गर्न थाल्यौं, आदेशहरू दिन सिक्यौं, त्यै पनि त्यो अझै रहस्यमय थियो ।</p>



<p>जब मेरो स्नातक डिग्री पूरा गर्ने समय नजिक थियो, टेक्नोलोजी फस्टाउँदै थियो, र कम्पनीहरूले वेबसाइट हुनुको महत्त्व महसुस गर्न थाले। यससँगै म केही सामाजिक क्षेत्रको काममा संलग्न भएँ र त्यहाँका मानिसहरूले IT बारे सोध्न थाले। यस क्षेत्रलाई अझ राम्ररी बुझ्नको लागि, मैले IT कार्यक्रमहरूमा भाग लिएँ, र जब यसले मलाई छोयो, मैले यस क्षेत्रमा केही महत्त्वपूर्ण गर्न आवश्यक ठानेको थिए ।</p>



<p>पूर्वाञ्चल विश्वविद्यालयबाट सूचना प्रविधिमा स्नातक हासिल गरे। पहिला तेश्रो चौथो सेमेस्टर सम्म पनि पछि&nbsp; म पछि के काम गर्नेछु भनेर पूर्णतया निश्चित थिएन।</p>



<p><strong>तर यस क्षेत्रमा भएकोले मलाई तपाईको डिग्रीले तपाईले के हासिल गर्न सक्नुहुन्छ भनेर परिभाषित गर्दैन भन्ने महसुस गरायो। यो जोश र समर्पण हो जुन साँच्चै महत्त्वपूर्ण छ।</strong></p>



<p>मेरो स्नातक पछि, मेरो यात्राको अर्को चरण एक विशेषज्ञ बन्नको लागि मास्टर डिग्री पछ्याउँदै थियो। यसले मलाई सिक्किम मणिपाल विश्वविद्यालयमा पुर्यायो, जहाँ मैले २०१५ देखि २०१७ सम्म सूचना प्रविधिको संसारमा डुबें।</p>



<p>यो कम्प्यूटर विज्ञान सिक्ने बारेमा मात्र थिएन। यो नवीनतम प्रविधि र सफ्टवेयर विकासमा गहिरो ध्यान अनुभव गराउने थलो थियो।</p>



<p>त्यहाँ मेरो समयको दौडान, उपलब्ध नयाँ उपकरण र प्रणालीहरू प्रयोग गरेर वस्तु-उन्मुख सफ्टवेयर विकासमा विशेषज्ञता हासिल गरें। मैले यहाँ धेरै प्रोग्रमिंग भाषाहरु र अन्य कुराहरु सिके ।</p>



<p>यसले मलाई सधैं विकसित हुँदै गइरहेको प्राविधिक संसारमा हिनडुल गर्नको लागि बलियो सीप प्रदान गर्दै थियो।</p>



<p>आज मैले वर्डप्रेस थिम टोलीको नेतृत्व गर्नु, इन्टर्नबाट मेरो यात्रा निरन्तर सिकाइ, व्यक्तिगत वृद्धि, र डिजिटल परिदृश्यलाई आकार दिनको लागि गहिरो जोशको जीवन्त मिश्रण हो।</p>



<p>यो रोमाञ्चक प्राविधिक साहसिक कार्यमा मसँग सामेल हुनुहोस्, जहाँ हरेक चुनौती नवीनता र विकास गर्ने अवसर हो!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-म-र-पह-ल-वर-डप-र-स-म-टअपम-सहभ-ग-ह-द-र-आय-जन-गर-द">मेरो पहिलो वर्डप्रेस मिटअपमा सहभागी हुँदै र आयोजन गर्दै</h2>



<p><br />यहाँ म कसरी वर्डप्रेसमा संलग्न भएँ को एक रोचक कहानी छ। त्यसबेला, हामीले वर्डप्रेस स्थापना गर्ने, वेबसाइटहरूमा सामग्री थप्ने र साइटका लागि नेपाली ५,000 लिने गर्दथ्यौं। हामी त्यो संग रोमाञ्चित भयौ!</p>



<p>पछि स्वर्गीय <a href="https://kafleg.com.np/an-open-letter-to-matt-mullenweg/">उज्वल थापाको</a> नेतृत्वमा भएको ‘<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibeksheel_Nepali">विवेकशील नेपाली</a>’ आन्दोलनको क्रममा मैले उहाँलाई चिनेँ । मेचीदेखि लुम्बिनीसम्म केही दिनसम्म सँगै हिँड्ने कार्यक्रममा भाग लिए।</p>



<p>सो क्रममा श्री थापाले समुदायमा योगदान र मिलेर काम गर्नुपर्नेमा जोड दिए । उनले मलाई सिक्ने र कमाउने मात्र होइन, सबैले त्यो अवसर पाउनुपर्छ भनेर सिकाए। यसले मेरो सम्पूर्ण मानसिकता परिवर्तन गर्यो।&nbsp;</p>



<p>अब, म तपाइँलाई २०१० मा फिर्ता लैजान चाहन्छु जब मैले मेरो पहिलो वर्डप्रेस भेटघाटमा भाग लिएको थिएँ। करिब ४०-५० व्यक्तिहरूको भेलामा, हामीले वर्डप्रेसको आधारभूत कुराहरू र कसरी साइट सिर्जना गर्ने बारे छलफल गर्यौं।</p>



<p>२०१२ मा २ वर्ष पछि, मैले वर्डप्रेस मिटअप आयोजना गर्ने मौका पाएँ। त्यहाँ मैले वर्डप्रेस थिम सिर्जना गर्ने व्यक्ति हरुलाई चिने ।</p>



<p>म स्तब्ध र उत्साहित दुवै थिएँ । त्यो रात, म घर गएँ, र &#8220;क्याच थिम&#8221; र &#8220;ग्राफ पेपर प्रेस&#8221; खोजेँ र त्यही बेला मेरो अन्वेषण सुरु भयो।</p>



<p>त्यस पछि, मैले अरूबाट बनेका थिमहरू प्रयोग गर्न छोडें र क्याच थिमको थिम क्याच बक्स अन्वेषण गर्न थाले।</p>



<p>त्यसबेला, मैले भर्खरै वर्डप्रेसको बारेमा सुनेको थिएँ र यसको सम्भाव्यता अन्वेषण गर्न उत्सुक थिएँ। यो अनौपचारिक भेटघाटले अविश्वसनीय यात्राको सुरुवात गर्नेछ भन्ने कुरा मलाई कमै थाहा थियो।</p>



<p>तर त्यो बेलाको अनुभव रमाइलो थियो, वर्डप्रेस उत्साहीहरूलाई सँगै ल्याउने, विचारहरू साझा गर्ने, र समुदायको भावना निर्माण गर्ने।</p>



<p><strong>यो एउटा बीउ रोपेको जस्तो महसुस भयो जुन पछि धेरै ठूलो बन्नेछ।</strong></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-पह-ल-वर-डक-य-म-पम-स-वय-स-वक-भएर-सहभ-ग-ह-द-र-वर-डक-य-म-प-एश-य-क-कन-ट-र-ब-य-टर-ड-म-अग-व-ई-गर-द">पहिलो वर्डक्याम्पमा स्वयंसेवक भएर सहभागी हुँदै र वर्डक्याम्प एशियाको कन्ट्रिब्यूटर डे मा अगुवाई गर्दै</h2>



<p>अब मेरो वर्डक्याम्प यात्रामा जाउँ ।&nbsp;</p>



<p>मैले स्नातक पूरा गरेपछि, म २०१४ मा काठमाडौं आएँ। सौभाग्यवश, मैले श्री उज्ज्वल थापाको सहयोगमा वर्डक्याम्प कार्यक्रममा स्वयंसेवक हुने मौका पाएँ। आयोजकहरू चिन्दा मलाई तिनीहरूबीच घुलमिल हुन सजिलो भयो।</p>



<p>यो मेरो लागि एक रोमाञ्चक अनुभव थियो । त्यस बिन्दु देखि, मेरो संसार वर्डप्रेसको वरिपरि घुमेको छ, र मैले यो जस्तो केहि देखेको छैन।</p>


<div class="kb-gallery-wrap-id-6254_db195f-01 alignnone wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery"><ul class="kb-gallery-ul kb-gallery-non-static kb-gallery-type-grid kb-gallery-id-6254_db195f-01 kb-gallery-caption-style-bottom kb-gallery-filter-none"><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/with_worpdressers-1024x768.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="" class="wp-image-6262" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">WordCamp Asia 2023 </div></div></div></li><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ujwal_3.jpg" width="960" height="720" alt="" class="wp-image-6261" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">Mr Ujwal Thapa speaking in WordPress Meetup</div></div></div></li><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/contributorday_tableleads_organizers-1024x683.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="" class="wp-image-6260" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">Contributor Day table leads and organizers of WC Asia 2023</div></div></div></li><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/45717552634_4b10a9f688_k-1024x579.jpg" width="1024" height="579" alt="" class="wp-image-6259" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">WordCamp Biratnagar 2018</div></div></div></li></ul></div>


<p>२०१५ मा मैले वर्डप्रेस थिमहरूको जटिल संसारमा खोज्दै थिम समीक्षा टोलीमा प्रवेश गरें। सिक्ने क्रम ठाडो थियो, तर वर्डप्रेस संरचनामा योगदान गरेको सन्तुष्टि अतुलनीय थियो। २०१८ देखि, म टोली नेतृत्वको रूपमा काम गर्दैछु।</p>



<p>मेरो वर्डक्याम्प यात्रा सन् <strong>२०१४ मा वर्डक्याम्प नेपाल</strong>देखि <strong>२०१७ मा वर्डक्याम्प टोकियो</strong>, <strong>२०१९ मा वर्डक्याम्प बैंकक</strong>, र थप अन्य विभिन्न अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय कार्यक्रमहरूसम्मको अनुभवको एउटा भण्डार बन्यो।</p>



<p>यसबाहेक, मेरो नेतृत्वको रूपमा <strong><a href="https://biratnagar.wordcamp.org/2018/">वर्डक्याम्प विराटनगर २०१८</a></strong> आयोजना गर्ने सुनौलो मौका पाएँ। त्यो क्षणमा, त्यहाँ धेरै कम कम्पनीहरू मात्र थिए जसले वर्डप्रेस मा भर परेर कमाउने गरेका थिए। मानिसहरूलाई उपस्थित हुन र उनीहरूलाई वर्डप्रेस बारे जानकारी दिन मनाउनको लागि यो झन्झट थियो। तर हामीले यसलाई सफल बनायौं!</p>



<p>वर्षहरू बित्दै गए, र २०२३ सम्ममा, मैले सिल्हेट, मुम्बई र मनिलाका कार्यक्रमहरूसँगै फेरि एक पटक वर्डक्याम्प काठमाडौंको आयोजना गरेको थिए। वर्डक्याम्पहरुको आँधी २०२४ मा जारी रह्यो, नेपाल र एशियाले फेरि केन्द्र बनायो ।</p>



<p>यी वर्षहरूलाई प्रतिबिम्बित गर्दै, मैले कार्यक्रमहरूमा मात्र भाग लिएको छैन, मैले समुदायको एउटा राम्रो संजाल बुनेको छु, खुसिहरु साझा गरेको छु, र बहुमूल्य पाठहरू सिकेको छु। व्यक्तिगत उपाख्यानहरू, जस्तै अप्रत्याशित ठाउँहरूमा वर्डप्रेसका उत्साहीहरूलाई भेट्दा यी वर्डक्याम्पलाई यादगार बनाउँदछ।</p>



<p>अगाडि हेर्दै, म आगामी वर्डक्याम्पहरु र तिनीहरूले ल्याउने नयाँ अनुभवहरू बारे रोमाञ्चित छु। प्रत्येक घटनाले वर्डप्रेसको साथ मेरो यात्रामा केहि विशेष थप्छ, जस्तै क्यानभासमा अद्वितीय स्ट्रोक। साहसिक कार्य जारी छ, वर्डप्रेसको लागी मेरो प्रेम र यो सबै अर्थपूर्ण बनाउने अविश्वसनीय समुदाय द्वारा संचालित।</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">कर्ममा वृद्धि: स्वयंसेवक सेवामा बाट पूर्ण-समय वर्डप्रेसमा</h2>



<p>वर्डप्रेसको जीवन्त संसारमा, म गर्वका साथ धेरै टोपीहरू लगाउँछु। दिनहुँ, म एक वर्डप्रेस विकासकर्ता र थिम समीक्षक हुँ, मेरो लगाबलाई डिजिटल अनुभवहरू बनाउनमा सहजीकरण गर्दैछ, जुन अलिक फरक देखिन्छ।</p>



<p>WordPress.org थिम टोलीका लागि टोली प्रतिनिधिको रूपमा मेरो भूमिकामा, पूर्ण-समय योगदान गर्नु भनेको जागिर मात्र होइन, यो मेरो हृदयको नजिक रहेको खुशीको प्रतिबद्धता हो।</p>



<p>यस यात्रामा विशेष स्पर्श थप्नु भनेको Rank Math द्वारा प्रायोजित हुनुको सम्मान हो।</p>



<p><a href="https://rankmath.com/">Rank Math</a> सँगको यो सहकार्य जागिर भन्दा बाहिर जान्छ, यो जीवन्त वर्डप्रेस समुदायको लागि साझा समर्पण हो जसले मेरो जोशलाई बढाउँछ।</p>



<p>अब मलाई यो प्रायोजन कसरी भयो भन्ने बारे केही कुरा गर्नुछ।&nbsp; ठिक छ, Rank Math कसैलाई प्रायोजित गर्ने खोजीमा थियो, र त्यो निर्णायक क्षणमा, मैले Rank Math का सह-संस्थापक भानु अहलुवालिया सँग जोडिने सुअवसर पाएको थिएँ।</p>



<p>हाम्रो वार्तालाप कुराकानी मात्र होइन; यो प्रायोजनलाई वास्तविकता बनाउने उत्प्रेरक बन्यो। पूर्ण-समय काम गर्दा अचानक सपनाबाट मूर्त अनुभवमा परिवर्तन भयो।</p>



<p>कोडको रेखाहरू भन्दा बाहिर, मेरो खाली समय योगदानको क्षणहरूमा परिवर्तन हुन्छ। मैले वर्डप्रेस कागजात टोलीमा मेरो विज्ञता थप्दा सान्त्वना पाउँछु, शब्दहरू बुनाई जसले साथीहरुलाई उत्साही बनाउछ र विशाल वर्डप्रेस परिदृश्य मार्फत मार्गदर्शन गर्दछ।</p>



<p>मेरो संलग्नता विस्तार हुन्छ:</p>



<ul>
<li>म वर्डक्याम्प वक्ताको रूपमा उभिएको छु&nbsp;</li>



<li>एक प्रमुख आयोजक रूपमा वर्डक्याम्प संचालन र सफलता पुर्बक सम्पन्न गरेको छु&nbsp;</li>



<li>विभिन्न वर्डक्याम्पहरु र प्राविधिक कार्यक्रमहरूमा स्वयंसेवकको रूपमा सहयोगी हात दिएको छु&nbsp;</li>



<li>वर्डप्रेसको मुख्य फायालमा योगदान, र अनुवाद जस्ता विविध क्षेत्रहरूमा काम गरे, र थिम र प्लगिन विकासमा पनि डुबेको छु&nbsp;</li>
</ul>



<p>यदि तपाइँ यी मापदण्डहरूमा मेरो लिने बारे उत्सुक हुनुहुन्छ भने, तपाइँ मेरो वर्डक्याम्प <a href="https://wordpress.tv/speakers/ganga-kafle/">प्रस्तुतीकरण भिडियोको झलक</a> हेर्न सक्नुहुन्छ।</p>



<p>तर मेरो वर्डप्रेस यात्रा स्क्रिनमा मात्र सीमित छैन, यो भेटघाट र खुला स्रोत प्लेटफर्महरूको मुटुको धड्कनमा विस्तार हुन्छ। सक्रिय रूपमा सहभागी हुनु र समुदायसँग संलग्न हुनु एक दिनचर्या मात्र होइन, यो प्रेरणा र जडानको स्रोत हो।</p>



<p>जब म कोड बनाउँदै वा योगदान गरिरहेको छैन, तपाईंले मलाई <a href="https://www.wpentire.com/">WPEntire</a> को सीटमा भेट्टाउनुहुनेछ, मेरो वर्डप्रेस ब्लग, अन्तर्दृष्टि र अनुभवहरू साझा गर्दै। यो केवल एक ब्लग होइन, यो एक क्यानभास हो जहाँ मेरो वर्डप्रेस&nbsp; यात्राले अर्को अभिव्यक्त दिने ठाउँ फेला पार्छ।</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-१०-वर-षक-स-व-म-rank-math-ब-ट-प-र-य-ज-त-ह-द">१० वर्षको सेवामा Rank Math बाट प्रायोजित हुँदै</h2>



<p>म दशवर्षदेखि वर्डप्रेस समुदायको हिस्सा भएको छु, स्वयंसेवा गर्दै र टेक्नोलोजीको लागि मेरो प्रेम साझा गर्दै। यो एक रोमाञ्चक यात्रा भएको छ, सिक्ने देखि विश्वव्यापी समुदायमा योगदान गर्न सम्म।</p>



<p>स्वयंसेवक हुनु भनेको कोडिङ मात्र होइन; यो वृद्धि र जडान को एक व्यक्तिगत साहस हो । कोडको प्रत्येक अंश नवीनता र सिकाइले भरिएको यात्रामा एक कदम जस्तै महसुस गर्दछ।</p>



<p>यो प्रायोजन आर्थिक सहयोगको बारेमा मात्र होइन, यो मेरो वर्डप्रेस यात्राको व्यक्तिगत अध्याय हो, अविश्वसनीय जडानहरू र साझा प्रतिबद्धतालाई मुख्य आकर्षण गर्दै जसले यस समुदायलाई विशेष बनाउँछ।</p>



<p><a href="https://rankmath.com/">Rank Math</a> संग यो सहयोग र सहकार्य कोड बाहिर जान्छ। यो वर्डप्रेसमा साझा विश्वास र सँगै काम गर्ने शक्ति हो। जब म विगत सात वर्षलाई फर्केर हेर्छु, म सिक्ने, बढ्दै जाने र मित्रता निर्माण गर्ने कथा देख्छु।</p>



<p>प्रत्येक वर्डक्याम्प र भेटघाट मेरो वर्डप्रेस कथामा तलाथप्नु जस्तै हो। म भविष्यमा के हुन्छ भन्ने बारे उत्साहित छु, र Rank Math को समर्थनले वर्डप्रेसको साथ मेरो यात्रामा व्यक्तिगत स्पर्श थप्छ। म खुसि छु ।</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">विश्वलाई अन्वेषण गर्ने एक प्रवेशद्वार</h2>



<p>वर्डक्याम्पको एउटा अंग हुनु भनेको नयाँ संसारको ढोका खोल्नु हो। यो प्राविधिक सामानहरू सिक्ने मात्र होइन, यो सबै ठाउँका मानिसहरूलाई भेट्ने र हाम्रो संसार कति ठूलो र विविध छ भनेर पत्ता लगाउने बारेमा पनि हो।</p>



<p>एउटा ठूलो जमघटको कल्पना गर्नुहोस् जहाँ वर्डप्रेससँग काम गर्न मन पराउने मानिसहरू एकसाथ आउँछन्। यो एउटा ठूलो पारिवारिक पुनर्मिलन जस्तो छ तर विभिन्न देश र संस्कृतिका मानिसहरूसँग। यस मिश्रणमा, हामी विचारहरू साझा गर्छौं, समस्याहरू समाधान गर्छौं, र एकअर्काबाट सिक्छौं।</p>



<p>मेरो लागि, वर्डक्याम्पहरु एक खेल-परिवर्तक भएको छ। तिनीहरू वेबसाइटहरूको बारेमा कुरा गर्न बाहिर जान्छन्। तिनीहरूले हामीलाई एकअर्काको संसार बुझ्न मद्दत गर्छन्।</p>



<p>जब मैले वर्डक्याम्प मनिला र वर्डक्याम्प मुम्बईमा बोले, यो केवल वर्डप्रेस बारेमा मात्र थिएन। यो विभिन्न ठाउँहरूमा मानिसहरूले अनौठो चुनौतीहरू समाधान गर्न वर्डप्रेस प्रयोग गर्ने तरिका सिक्ने बारेमा पनि थियो।</p>



<p>वर्डक्याम्प एशियामा एक टोलीको इन्चार्ज हुनु भनेको सुपरहिरो भएको जस्तो थियो। हामीसँग विभिन्न सीप र पृष्ठभूमिहरू थिए, र यसले हामीलाई बलियो बनायो। यसले मलाई सिकायो कि जब हामी हाम्रो अद्वितीय शक्तिहरू सँगै ल्याउँछौं, आश्चर्यजनक चीजहरू हुन्छन्।</p>



<p>तर वर्डक्याम्पहरु कामको बारेमा मात्र होइन। तिनीहरू तपाईं कहिल्यै नगएको ठाउँहरूबाट साथीहरू बनाउने बारेमा पनि हुन्। हामी हाम्रो गृहनगरमा कसरी काम गर्छौं भन्ने बारे कथाहरू सुनाउदै र महसुस गर्दै कि हामी फरक भए तापनि, हामी पनि धेरै समान छौं।</p>



<p>त्यसो भए, वर्डक्याम्पहरू मेरो लागि घटनाहरू भन्दा बढी भएका छन्। तिनीहरूले मित्रता, सिक्ने, र विभिन्न संस्कृतिहरू अन्वेषण गर्ने सम्पूर्ण संसार खोलेका छन्। यो विश्वव्यापी समुदायमा पासपोर्ट भएको जस्तै हो जहाँ सबैले वर्डप्रेस र मित्रताको भाषा बोल्छन्।</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-म-र-भ-वन-हर">मेरा भावनाहरू</h2>



<p>पक्का, यदि तपाईं आईटि क्षेत्रमा हुनुहुन्छ भने, तपाईंले केही अनुसन्धान गरेर आफैंमा इन्टर्नशिपहरू फेला पार्न सक्नुहुन्छ। लागू गर्न र आफ्नो स्रोतहरू प्रयोग गर्न नहिचकिचाउनुहोस्।</p>



<p>वर्डप्रेसमा रुचि राख्नेहरूका लागि, एक इन्टर्नको रूपमा ३-६ महिना खर्च गर्न तयार हुनुहोस्। पैसाको बारेमा मात्र सोच्नुको सट्टा, सिक्ने र अनुभव प्राप्त गर्नमा ध्यान केन्द्रित गर्नुहोस्।</p>



<p>वर्डप्रेस ब्लगहरूको लागि मात्र होइन, यो प्रोग्रामिङको लागि ठाउँ पनि हो जहाँ तपाईं पैसा कमाउन सक्नुहुन्छ। तपाइँको सीपको आधारमा, तपाइँ लेखन, डिजाईन विकास गर्न, र थप मा काम पाउन सक्नुहुन्छ।</p>



<p>अचम्मको कुरा के छ भने, तपाईं शारीरिक रूपमा त्यहाँ नभई नेपालमा बसेर अमेरिकी कम्पनीहरूमा एचआरको रूपमा काम गर्न सक्नुहुन्छ। विकासकर्ता बन्न पनि गाह्रो छैन। यदि तपाइँ वर्डप्रेस समुदाय भित्र काम गर्नुहुन्छ भने, कम्पनीहरूले तपाइँलाई प्रायोजित गर्न सक्छन्।</p>



<p>याद गर्नुहोस्, वर्डप्रेस बढ्दै जाँदा, धेरै कम्पनीहरूले तपाईंजस्ता मानिसहरू चाहन्छन्। टेक्नोलोजी र वर्डप्रेस सधैं परिवर्तन हुँदैछ। विकासकर्ताहरूको लागि, यसको अर्थ नयाँ तरिकामा कमाइ हुन्छ। अरूको लागि, यो केहि नयाँ को लागी एक मौका हो; ब्लगरहरूले आफ्नो ब्लगहरू सुधार गर्न सक्छन्, र लेखकहरूले नयाँ सामग्री सिर्जना गर्न सक्छन्।</p>



<p>त्यसोभए, वर्डप्रेसले संलग्न सबैका लागि अवसरहरू प्रदान गर्दछ। काम गर्ने तरिका र ढाँचाहरू परिवर्तन हुन सक्छ, तर तपाईं कहिल्यै पुरानो हुनुहुने छैन!</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/my-journey-from-an-intern-to-wordpress-themes-team-lead/">My Journey From an Intern to WordPress Themes Team Reps &#8211; मेरो यात्रा: एक प्रशिक्षार्थीबाट वर्डप्रेस थिम्स टीम प्रतिनिधिसम्म</a> appeared first on <a href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 20 Dec 2023 02:15:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"Ganga Kafle";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:25;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:109:"Gutenberg Times: State of the Word, Redesign Developer resources, Block Theme updates — Weekend Edition 278";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?p=26698";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:114:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/state-of-the-word-redesign-developer-resources-block-theme-updates-weekend-edition-278/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:23681:"<p>Howdy, </p>



<p>2023 is coming to the end. This is the last edition for 2023, as I take a few vacation days over the Holidays and be with ailing family members. In January, it&#8217;ll be six years of almost weekly news about the block editor, and its progress into a first class site building tool. Thank you for being a faithful subscriber to the Gutenberg Times, and all your encouraging comments over all those years.</p>



<p>For a highlight reel of 2023, I recommend you watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7M4mBVgP3Y&t=1s">the recording of the State of the Word 2023 by Matt Mullenweg</a>, if you missed it on the live stream. It was a great presentation with an outlook for 2024 and beyond. If you are not the video-watching type, you&#8217;ll also find quite a few links to Recap posts below. </p>



<p>Wishing you and yours festive Holidays, and a prosperous, healthy and happy New Year! </p>



<p>Yours, 💕<br /><em>Birgit</em></p>






<div class="wp-block-group has-light-background-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">
<p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p>



<div class="wp-block-sortabrilliant-guidepost"><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-word-press-release-information">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</a><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#1-state-of-the-word">State of the Word</a><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#2-list-of-recap-posts-from-around-the-word-press-space">List of Recap posts from around the WordPress space</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#3-q-amp-a-after-state-of-the-word-2023">Q &amp; A after State of the Word 2023</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#1-gutenberg">Gutenberg Updates</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#5-strong-upcoming-events-strong">Upcoming events</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-p">Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#7-theme-development-for-full-site-editing-and-blocks">Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </a></li></ul></div>
</div></div>




<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="0-word-press-release-information">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="1-state-of-the-word">State of the Word</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7M4mBVgP3Y&t=1s"><strong>State of the Word</strong> recording</a> is available on YouTube. </p>



<p>What stood out for me in terms of what&#8217;s coming next year?Here is my list: </p>



<ul>
<li><strong><a href="https://wordpress.org/data-liberation/">Data Liberation</a></strong> is a massive initiative. Empowering users to take their site with them from one CMS to another is such a pain right now. It&#8217;s not only from Squarespace or Wix to WordPress, it&#8217;s also from one WordPress host to another, and also from one-Page Builder to Core. A giant step towards an open web. <a href="https://github.com/wordpress/data-liberation"> GitHub repository</a> and WP Slack channel:  <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C069AKUBPHB" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">#data-liberation</a>.</li>



<li>The promise of connecting the Block editor to Custom fields is intriguing. <strong>Mario Santos</strong> posted a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/53300#issuecomment-1808020238">proposal for the first iteration in WordPress 6.5</a>. </li>



<li>The <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/discussions/categories/interactivity-api"><strong>Interactivity API</strong></a>, has been mentioned in a few Weekend Editions. It has been used internally for a few core blocks, in WordPress 6.4 and  will become a public API in WordPress 6.5. </li>



<li><strong>Patterns </strong>will become first class citizens of the site editor with their upcoming partially syncing feature. It means you can change the styling of a pattern that&#8217;s used over multiple pages without updating the content. </li>



<li><strong><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/playground/">WordPress Playground</a></strong> will also change how we preview and develop for WordPress. We use it as another way to work with the <a href="https://github.com/bph/gutenberg/discussions/81">Gutenberg Nightly</a>. </li>



<li>Mullenweg revealed that <strong>WordCamp US </strong>will be in <strong>Portland, Oregon </strong>with two contributor days and a two &#8211; day conference, <strong>September 17 &#8211; 20, 2024</strong>. Sounds like an exciting new format!  Furthermore, I am excited about more WordCamps in 2024, especially in Europe with the shorter travel distances for me now. For now, I only have plans to be at <a href="https://asia.wordcamp.org/2024/">WordCamp Asia</a> in Taipei, Taiwan and <a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2024/">WordCamp Europe </a>in Torino. </li>
</ul>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="2-list-of-recap-posts-from-around-the-word-press-space">List of Recap posts from around the WordPress space</h4>



<p><strong>Matt Mederios</strong> was probably the first to publish a <strong><a href="https://thewpminute.com/state-of-the-word-2023/">State of the Word 2023 Recap</a>. </strong></p>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/ioanamuresan"><strong>Ioana Mureşan</strong> </a>wrote the article on the WPTavern <a href="https://wptavern.com/state-of-the-word-2023-hola-wordpress"><strong>State of the Word 2023: ¡Hola WordPress!</strong></a> and includes demo videos from the talk so you can review them in due time. I bookmarked this article for later reference, too. </p>



<p><strong>Joost de Valk</strong> wrote for the Post Status blog: <a href="https://poststatus.com/state-of-the-word-2023-excitement-all-around/"><strong>State of the Word 2023: excitement all around!</strong></a></p>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/tomwillmot"><strong>Tom Willmot</strong></a>, CEO of Human Made, published his recap: <a href="https://humanmade.com/wordpress-for-enterprise/state-of-the-word-2023-takeaways-for-enterprise/"><strong>State of the Word 2023: Takeaways for Enterprise</strong></a>. </p>



<p><strong>Courtney Robertson</strong> posted here recap for GoDaddy: <a href="https://www.godaddy.com/resources/news/wordpress-state-of-the-word-2023"><strong>WordPress State of the Word 2023</strong></a></p>



<p><strong>Torque Magazine</strong> also reported on the event: <a href="https://torquemag.io/2023/12/envisioning-the-future-of-wordpress-state-of-the-word-2023/"><strong>Envisioning the Future of WordPress: State of the Word 2023</strong></a></p>



<p>Last but no least, there is the <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/state-of-the-word-2023-recap/"><strong>State of the Word 2023 Recap</strong></a> on the WordPress.org site by <strong>Nicholas Garofalo</strong></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="3-q-amp-a-after-state-of-the-word-2023">Q &amp; A after State of the Word 2023</h4>



<p>The recording of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S01uBD2pyQY"><strong>Q &amp; A portion of the State of the Word</strong></a> is also available on YouTube. Due to time constrains , only a few questions, could be answered. Matt Mullenweg started answering the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project/2023/12/12/overflow-questions-from-state-of-the-word-2023/">overflow questions</a> online. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="1-gutenberg">Gutenberg Updates</h3>



<p><strong><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/releases/tag/v17.3.0-rc.1">Gutenberg 17.3 RC 1</a></strong> is available now for testing. The stable release is scheduled for Dec. 20, 2023. Release lead is <strong>Madhu Dollu</strong>, JavaScript Developer at Automattic. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Jamie Marsland</strong> interviewed <strong>Matias Ventura</strong> to get the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWN5Vyq3pRE"><strong>WordPress Gutenberg &#8211; The Inside Story!</strong></a> If you haven&#8217;t been around the project for that long, listening to the two of them discuss the Genesis of the project and its early days, gives you a great insight in how decisions were made, about the scope and the four phases of the project. The list of chapters makes it possible to view the one hour and twenty minutes video in several sittings. It&#8217;s a fabulous conversation where both men bring in context and can look at bigger pictures. You might not agree with some decisions made, but listening to Ventura, you will be in a better place understanding the context of decisions in terms of user experience and use cases, and their place in the project. </p>



<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWN5Vyq3pRE"><img width="652" height="197" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-12-at-16.46.31.png?resize=652%2C197&ssl=1" alt="Matias Ventura in a conversation with Jamie Marsland. " class="wp-image-26733" /></a>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p class="has-accent-color has-light-background-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-b21294d93d10468b5f9c6136fdd74073">🎙️ Latest episode:  <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-94-state-of-the-word-gutenberg-17-2-17-3-and-17-4-wordpress-6-5-migrating-from-classic-theme-to-block-theme/">Gutenberg Changelog #94 – State of the Word, Gutenberg 17.2, 17.3 and 17.4, WordPress 6.5, Migrating from Classic Theme to Block Theme</a> with Sarah Norris</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="5-strong-upcoming-events-strong">Upcoming events</h3>



<p><strong>Dec 19th, 23 &#8211; 16:00 UTC</strong> : <a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/297143342/"><strong>Developer Hours: Modern WordPress development with the wp-scripts package</strong></a></p>



<p><strong>Jan 16, 24 &#8211; 21:00 UTC</strong> <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/11/23/hallway-hangout-lets-explore-wordpress-6-5/"><strong>Hallway&nbsp;Hangout: Let’s explore WordPress 6.5</strong></a></p>



<a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/297143342/"><img width="600" height="338" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/image.png?resize=600%2C338&ssl=1" alt="Announcement graphic of the next Developer hours on Dec 19 at 16:00 UTC " class="wp-image-26749" /></a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="0-p">Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners</h2>



<p><strong>Jamie Marsland</strong> found that WordPress users have trouble understanding the interdependency between global width and custom content width with Block themes and created <a href="https://www.pootlepress.com/2023/12/beginners-guide-to-customizing-page-width-options-in-wordpress-gutenberg/"><strong>Beginners Guide to Customizing Page Width Options in WordPress Gutenberg</strong></a>. &#8220;The page width options in WordPress Gutenberg, combined with the ability to set these values in global styles in block themes, offer an unprecedented level of control and flexibility in web design.&#8221; Marsland wrote. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>In his video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyYgMdrXJiY"><strong>Creating a one-page website</strong></a>, <strong>Wes Theron</strong> takes you through the steps on building a one-page website with WordPress. Theron starts with a discussion of what kind of content would be placed on a one-page website, goes through an example of a business website, and walks through the various steps on how to add each section to a page.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Thomas Zwirner</strong> created a single block plugin called <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/download-list-block-with-icons/"><strong>Download list with icons</strong></a>. It provides you with a block to manage a download list with file type-specific icons. No configuration is necessary. The Block can be used immediately after installation.</p>



<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/download-list-block-with-icons/"><img width="652" height="236" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-14-at-17.44.30.png?resize=652%2C236&ssl=1" alt="Screenshot of the download list block" class="wp-image-26758" /></a>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Jacob Martella</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/ViewFromTheBox/status/1732075066727288918">introduced </a>the <a href="https://crosswindsframework.com/">Crosswind Framework</a>, a set of tools, out of the box templates, patterns, and themes and additional blocks for your building websites with WordPress and the Site Editor. Its promise is a complete, nocode way to build websites. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>The <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/create-block-theme/"><strong>Create Block Theme</strong></a> plugin by WordPress core contributors has received an update: with improved child theme export, increases consistency over the plugin pages and forms, and regularly updated Google Fonts available locally. </p>



<p><strong>Ganesh Dahal</strong> recently published a <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/12/05/a-walk-through-tutorial-on-using-create-block-theme-plugin/"><strong>A walk-through tutorial on using the Create</strong></a> Block Theme plugin, that should help you get started and take full advantage of the Theme building plugin. </p>



<p>Brian Gardner shared the updates for his themes: <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/frost/"><strong>Frost</strong></a> - is now sporting, among other refinements,  a progress bar pattern, better shadow presets, hover styles in theme.json.  The Power Studio<a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/powder-studio/"><strong> Theme</strong></a> just landed in the WordPress theme repository and offers a wide variety of wireframe patterns, styles, and templates, and color choices inspired by Tailwind CSS. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="7-theme-development-for-full-site-editing-and-blocks">Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks</h2>



<p>At WordCamp Vancouver,  <strong>Flynn O&#8217;Connor</strong> gave a talk on <strong><a href="https://wordpress.tv/2023/11/13/exploring-block-themes/">Exploring block themes</a></strong>, that is now available on WordPress TV. From the description: &#8220;This session provides an exploration of block themes, the modern approach to building in WordPress. We will examine how block themes differ from traditional PHP-based themes and highlight their core components, including theme.json. Reviewing the advantages of block themes and how they empower users to easily customize the visual appearance of their websites without touching the code. This session offers valuable insights into the world of block themes and their impact on the future of WordPress development.&#8221; </p>




<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="toolbelt-video-wrapper"></div>
</div>




<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Anne McCarthy</strong> made a call for response in the <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C015GUFFC00/p1702356362566639">#fse-outreach-experiments </a>channel: <strong><a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C015GUFFC00/p1702356362566639">Opportunity to share your theme building workflow with contributors working on theme tooling</a></strong>. McCarthy already identified about 30+ theme builders who were active in the channel before. If you want to participate in the initiative, chime in on the Slack thread, or email me at pauli@gutenbergtimes.com. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Maggie Cabrera</strong> shared her experience on being co-developer lead for the 2024 default theme in an <a href="https://onemaggie.com/2023/12/open-letter-to-a-future-default-theme-lead/"><strong>Open letter to a future default theme lead</strong></a>. &#8220;While most of the work will be reviewing contributors’ work, the key part of your role is keeping an eye on the big picture and being ready to make high-level decisions. You won’t always have the answers, but you will have people around you to help you figure out the best outcome.&#8221; she wrote. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Ellen Bauer</strong> gives you a view behind the scenes, and shares <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXq6pp7IvIE"><strong>how she creates patterns for a WordPress Block Theme</strong></a>. She first shows you her pattern building workflow and then builds a project pattern. </p>




<p><strong> <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;Keeping up with Gutenberg &#8211; Index 2022&#8221;</a> </strong><br />A chronological list of the WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS, Test, and Meta team from Jan. 2021 on. Updated by yours truly.  <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index-2020/"><em>The index 2020 is here</em></a></p>




<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </h2>



<p><strong>Nick Diego</strong> announced the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2023/12/15/developer-resources-gets-a-refresh/">Developer Resources redesign going public.</a> The design is now block theme based and allows for much better on page navigation and helps developers with breadcrumbs and expandable right side navigation. Developer Resources are available via <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/">developer.WordPress</a>.org and houses all Handbooks for Block Editor, Themes, Plugins, Playground, and Common APIs. </p>



<img width="652" height="311" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-16-at-13.18.58.png?resize=652%2C311&ssl=1" alt="Screenshot of developer.wordpress.org" class="wp-image-26771" />



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Jonathan Bossenger</strong> recording his tutorial on the <a href="https://wordpress.tv/2023/12/15/new-wordpress-developer-apis-the-interactivity-api/"><strong>Interactivity API, as new WordPress API </strong></a>now experimental and hopefully becoming a public API in WordPress 6.5. &#8220;he main goal of the Interactivity API is to provide a standard and simple way to handle the frontend interactivity of Gutenberg blocks. This standard would make it easier for developers to create rich, interactive user experiences, from simple cases like counters or popups to more complex features like instant search, or carts and checkouts. In this session, you will learn more about this new developer API, through a live&#8221; Bossenger wrote in the tutorial&#8217;s description. </p>



<a href="https://wordpress.tv/2023/12/15/new-wordpress-developer-apis-the-interactivity-api/"><img width="652" height="369" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-16-at-14.40.40.png?resize=652%2C369&ssl=1" alt="Still image from the Tutorial Video " class="wp-image-26784" /></a>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>Also at WordCamp Vancouver, Ryan Welcher talked about <a href="https://wordpress.tv/2023/11/13/extending-wordpress-using-the-slotfill-system/"><strong>Extending WordPress using the SlotFill&nbsp;system</strong></a> - &#8221;The SlotFill system can be used to extend blocks and the UI for the Block Editor and Site Editor screens, making it a critically important tool for any WordPress developer. This talk will take a deep dive into how this system works, show how and where you can currently extend WordPress, and finally, how to create your own custom SlotFills!&#8221;</p>




<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">

</div>




<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Bartosz Gadomski</strong> wrote a post about <a href="https://bartoszgadomski.com/filtering-the-theme-json-file-values-such-as-default-color-palette-and-other-global-styles-in-wordpress/"><strong>Filtering the theme.json file values (such as default color palette and other global styles) in WordPress</strong></a> and dives deeper into the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/filters-for-theme-json-data/">four new filters</a> available since WordPress 6.1 to access values programmatically. </p>




<p><strong><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/need-a-zip-from-master/">Need a plugin .zip from Gutenberg&#8217;s master branch?</a></strong><br />Gutenberg Times provides daily build for testing and review. <br />Have you been using it? Hit reply and let me know.</p>



<p><img alt="GitHub all releases" src="https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/bph/gutenberg/total?style=for-the-badge" /></p>




<p class="has-text-align-right has-small-font-size"><em>Questions? Suggestions? Ideas? Don&#8217;t hesitate to send <a href="mailto:pauli@gutenbergtimes.com">them via email</a> or send me a message on WordPress Slack or Twitter @bph</em>. </p>



<p class="has-text-align-right has-small-font-size">For questions to be answered on the <a href="http://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast">Gutenberg Changelog</a>, send them to <a href="mailto:changelog@gutenbergtimes.com">changelog@gutenbergtimes.com</a></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />




<p>Featured Image: Palace Neptuno, Madrid, with State of the Word 2023 displays.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p class="has-text-align-left"><strong>Don&#8217;t want to miss the next Weekend Edition? </strong></p>



<form class="wp-block-newsletterglue-form ngl-form ngl-portrait" action="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/" method="post"><div class="ngl-form-container"><div class="ngl-form-field"><label class="ngl-form-label" for="ngl_email"><br />Type in your Email address to subscribe.</label><div class="ngl-form-input"><input type="email" class="ngl-form-input-text" name="ngl_email" id="ngl_email" /></div></div><button type="submit" class="ngl-form-button">Subscribe</button><p class="ngl-form-text">We hate spam, too, and won&#8217;t give your email address to anyone except Mailchimp to send out our Weekend Edition</p></div><div class="ngl-message-overlay"><div class="ngl-message-svg-wrap"></div><div class="ngl-message-overlay-text">Thanks for subscribing.</div></div><input type="hidden" name="ngl_list_id" id="ngl_list_id" value="26f81bd8ae" /><input type="hidden" name="ngl_double_optin" id="ngl_double_optin" value="yes" /></form>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide" />";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 16 Dec 2023 13:45:30 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:18:"Birgit Pauli-Haack";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:26;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"Matt: What’s in My Bag, 2023";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:23:"https://ma.tt/?p=101009";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://ma.tt/2023/12/the-bag-post/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16401:"<img width="604" height="340" src="https://i0.wp.com/ma.tt/files/2023/11/2023-11-bag-1024x576.jpeg?resize=604%2C340&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-107037" />



<ol>
<li><a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/16-inch">16” M3 Max MacBook Pro</a>, with all the memory and storage. I went from carrying two laptops earlier in the year, a 14” as well to just this. I like the Space Black color because it’s novel but might go back to silver next time. Brand new so just a few stickers so far!</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V4LZS9S/?tag=photomatt08-20">Black Magic Mouse</a>, steady and useful when I’m doing lots of emails. Looking to replace this, as it uses Lightning. At home I’ve been using the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z81WS5L/?tag=photomatt08-20">Mojo Pro Performance Silent Gaming Mouse</a> because it’s wired and quiet when you click, so something wireless and quiet could be nice for when on the go… I do like the gestures of the Magic Mouse though. I&#8217;ll be testing out some new mice over the holidays.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09P8CNRK1/?tag=photomatt08-20">Universal Airplane Phone Holder</a>, also good along with #4 for mounting an iPhone for using the <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213244">Continuity camera</a> or <a href="https://ma.tt/files/2023/11/IMG_1637-scaled.jpg">selfies</a> (after taking that he said &#8220;please don&#8217;t go to jail&#8221;). Also super cheap, &lt;$20 for two.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B5S7X6BN/?tag=photomatt08-20">Capstone Continuity Camera mount for MacBook laptops</a>, easy way to mount your iPhone to your laptop to use as a webcam. Looks amazing, but a bit of a pain, which is why I’m excited about #6.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MF6TJLW/?tag=photomatt08-20">Anker 655 USB-C 8-in-1 Hub</a>. I use this mostly for Ethernet, but since everything is USB-C now I can also use this with either phone or the iPad. I seem to have bad luck with USB hubs, I’m always burning through them, but this one has lasted a while. This thing is heavy! I could go smaller/lighter here.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CM8V52PG/?tag=photomatt08-20">Opal Tadpole webcam</a>, this is the <a href="https://opalcamera.com/">Opal</a> product everyone has been waiting for. Quality close to iPhone at a smaller size, plugs in via USB-C so you don’t have to worry about connectivity or charging, doesn’t need any special software, looks amazing. Only fits a laptop though, not a bigger monitor. The way the cable works is really clever, great design.</li>



<li>This is one of my most delightful new additions, a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083SCPFQK/?tag=photomatt08-20">Pixel G1s RGB Video Light</a>, it can cast warm light for a Zoom call or you can send it to a specific color to enhance the ambience of room for a party. It can rotate through a rainbow of colors. I ended up giving this to all my friends, and now when we&#8217;re in the same place we can instantly vibe out a room with two or three of these devices, and turn off any unpleasant default lighting a space may have. It charges via USB-C, natch. Hat tip: <a href="https://rjwalters.info/">Robb Walters</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://pro.ultimateears.com/pages/ue-premier">UE Premier custom headphones</a>. The best aural experience you can have. Invest the time in visiting an audiologist to get earphones and earplugs customized for your ears.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E9W11QM?tag=photomatt08-20">Belkin Rockstar headphone splitter</a>, great for sharing audio with others, especially if they have #8.</li>



<li>Small USB-C to 1/8th inch converter, to be extra though <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09F8M9PDG/?tag=photomatt08-20">upgrade to this one from Belkin with power</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BKGR5B76/?tag=photomatt08-20">Rolling Square inCharge XL 6-in-1 Multi Charging Cable</a>, nice compact all-in-one I’ve been playing with. They make some <a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/RollingSquare/page/FAB0F15F-9BCA-46AF-A453-A2157CD94CC9?tag=photomatt08-20">other interesting accessories</a>. A 100w Swiss army knife of cables, and the thing they do combining Lightning and Micro-USB is so cool.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C85BVS5V/?tag=photomatt08-20">Baseus has made a retractable 100w/5a USB-C beautiful cord</a>. This is probably the one you’ll want to carry around. Someday it will replace all other cables when we achieve USB-C nirvana.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08JG2YRFB/?tag=photomatt08-20">Chafon USB-C multi-cable is my ultimate workhorse</a>, what I use the most. It’s available at different lengths. I like the way the attachments can be moved around, but there is some fragility being entered at every connection so I like to travel with these not linked so they don’t bend or break.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BY8Q69DC?tag=photomatt08-20">Tiny Miisso 6000mah battery pack with cables built in</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C34DL6Z7/?tag=photomatt08-20&th=1">Pixel Fold</a>. I always try to have an Android device for testing and the pixel fold has been a interesting one, because I found myself using it in ways that feel like sci-fi. Reading a book on the Kindle where you can turn the pages it&#8217;s really nice. It&#8217;s just a fun tool.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1N7SGMZ/?tag=photomatt08-20&th=1">Pixel Buds Pro</a>, they sound remarkably good. Airpods for Android.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHWRXH8B/?tag=photomatt08-20">Airpods Pro</a>, now with USB-C as God intended. I have a little robot on mine. Just amazing, and how great that you can buy them anywhere in the world. This is the first thing I’d replace if I lost it.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-15-pro">iPhone 15 Pro</a>, now that it has USB-C, my favorite iPhone ever. No notes.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T9CHYOU/?tag=photomatt08-20">Maruman N196A Nemosine Notebook</a>, great paper. I have a small Pilot Couleur pen tucked into the spiral binding. Both brands are Japanese and I think I picked them up on a trip there, probably at the amazing <a href="https://store.tsite.jp/daikanyama/english/">Daikanyama T-Site</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q5VZ8PU/?tag=photomatt08-20">OHTO Needle Point Knock 0.7mm pen</a>, a nice daily driver. I was carrying around a <a href="https://www.montblanc.com/en-us/ballpoint-pens_cod19971654707127749.html">Montblanc Heritage Egyptomania Doué ballpoint pen</a> but I lost it somewhere.</li>



<li><a href="https://ugmonk.com/pages/analog">Notecards from Ugmonk Analog</a>. I really enjoy everything they make, great company, I keep these on every desk as well. These cards are often what drives my day.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08B495319/?tag=photomatt08-20">Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, finally with USB-C</a>! I prefer the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7TLZF4/?tag=photomatt08-20">Oasis</a>, but they inexplicably haven’t updated it to be USB-C, so I carry the Paperwhite instead.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJLF3QVN/?tag=photomatt08-20">11-inch iPad Pro</a>, always great in a pinch. I have the pen in case I magically develop an ability to draw and the keyboard and alway-connected 5G makes this great for hopping on Slack or <a href="https://texts.com/">Texts</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-35w-foldable-compact-dual-usb-c-port-wall-charger-for-iphone-ipad-macbook-air-samsung-smartphones-tablets-and-more-white/6504662.p?skuId=6504662">35w dual USB-C charger, from Insignia</a> I probably picked up at Best Buy. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09N94ZVFX/?tag=photomatt08-20">Here is a 40w Amazon alternative I recommend and usually carry</a>. This is one of the items I give away the most, so I must have given away my Highsay version.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B091Z6JNX4/?tag=photomatt08-20">Ugreen 100w 4-port compact charger</a>, this is what I break out when I want to charge my laptop quickly.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09H6PJDWB/?tag=photomatt08-20">Belkin 37-Watt Dual USB Car Charger</a>, I use this very rarely now but it’s great in a pinch, especially on older cars that have very weak USB ports.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG9192B4/?tag=photomatt08-20">Epicka travel adapter</a>. Nice that it has some built-in ports, but I rarely use them. I probably should switch back to the smaller and lighter Muji adapter.</li>



<li><strong>Still my favorite power cable:</strong> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVW27Y1Y/?tag=photomatt08-20">Baseus 60w</a>. I tried the higher watt models, they didn&#8217;t always work on planes. This is a 6-foot extension cord and can charge a laptop directly. Really a joy. When they do an all-USB-C version I&#8217;ll probably upgrade..</li>



<li><a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MT0H3AM/A/apple-watch-magnetic-fast-charger-to-usb-c-cable-1-m">Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger</a>, of course with USB-C</li>



<li>This year, I’ve been focused more on my overall health. As I’m getting into the habit of moving my body everyday, the <a href="https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-ultra-2/">Apple Watch Ultra 2</a> has been motivating because it’s great at letting me know how much I don’t run. Jokes aside, I’m a data person so seeing the numbers of my habits have helped me optimize my goals.&nbsp;</li>



<li>A candle can make a space feel cozy. Though I don’t travel with my own candle, I like to have my trusted <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GLRLH25/?tag=photomatt08-20">Rechargeable Candle Lighter</a>. Light fire with USB!&nbsp;</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MF60UC/?tag=photomatt08-20">Swiss Army Card</a>, let’s talk about cool gadgets. I use every feature of this card on a regular basis during my travels. It’s incredibly compact and slim. I’ve had to reorder this card a couple of times because they will confiscate the tiny knife.&nbsp;</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KYTR0HM/?tag=photomatt08-20">Petzl e+LITE Headlamp</a>, as a former boy scout, I’m always prepared for anything including a potential blackout.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>



<li><a href="https://lockpicktools.com/folding-pocket-set/">Lockpick set</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VW8QH4N/?tag=photomatt08-20">Carabiner</a> is always good to have on hand.</li>



<li>You know, a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HS3JKDC/?tag=photomatt08-20">Disposable mask</a> is just good practice. This mask shape is my favorite and very comfortable.&nbsp;</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0062ALC9U/?tag=photomatt08-20">Immunity Throat Spray</a> was recommended to me by Paul Stamets. I’m not sure if it’s a placebo, but I haven’t gotten sick. Thus, 3 sprays twice a day will keep the doctor away… for me at least.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Lately, I’ve been curious about the quality of air. I carry the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YY7BH2W/?tag=photomatt08-20">Aranet4 CO2 monitor</a> to gain insight about different spaces.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/healthybuildings/2021/09/09/impacts-of-indoor-air-quality-on-cognitive-function/">Higher CO2 literally makes your brain slower</a>!</li>



<li>Winter is coming… <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FD7W4SD/?tag=photomatt08-20">BioDerma Chapstick</a> is my go-to for dry lips.&nbsp;</li>



<li>I must admit I don’t really eat the mints from this <a href="http://www.marunao.com/cms_en/products/308/">Marunao Mint Case</a>. However, I have a high admiration for this elegantly crafted case. It has a soft finish feel and a satisfying magnetic closure.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BKMY834?tag=photomatt08-20">Kikkerland Red Plaid Earphone Case</a> is where I store my custom molded ear plugs.&nbsp;</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DX1G5YM?tag=photomatt08-20">SmartMouth travel packets</a> was the best recommendation I received in 2019. It really tackles mouth hygiene well for all day freshness.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Cloth card holder / wallet, simple minimalist way to carry some extra cards and a few bills. I believe <a href="https://tim.blog/">Tim</a> uses one of these as well.</li>



<li><a href="https://twitter.com/helenhousandi/status/746057671531429889">WordPress ring</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.sea2see.org/products/treviso-sun?variant=20495073771618">Sea2See Sunglasses.</a> Sunglasses made from recycled plastic collected from the ocean. I discovered this from a goodie bag at the <a href="https://brilliantminds.co/">Brilliant Minds conference</a> and have since purchased more to have it everywhere I go.</li>



<li>Small plastic holder I got from my sister that helps me carry around stickers without them getting crinkled.</li>



<li>Hermes business card holder. There are some occasions where exchanging business cards is a ritual. Also great to wedge it in a door jamb to keep it from autolocking.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Passport, never leave home without it. Always be ready for adventure! My passport photo is actually AI-generated, because, why not? We live in the metaverse.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.sleepmastereurope.com/">Eye Mask</a>. I like these because the material feels nice on the skin and the wraparound is excellent for blocking out the light and some sound since it covers your ears. Great for sleeping or just needing a moment away from overstimulating environments. Similar one <a href="https://us.drowsysleepco.com/products/eye-mask">here</a> (the version I have doesn’t appear readily available outside of Europe).&nbsp;</li>



<li>REI Goretex mittens. They’re shell liners, lightweight and water resistant. The ones I have are an older version and no longer in stock. <a href="https://www.rei.com/product/194829/rei-co-op-minimalist-gtx-mittens-20?color=BLACK">Version 2.0 available.</a> There&#8217;s no bad weather, only bad clothing.</li>



<li>Gloves, nice in the winter but I carry them year round in case I need to carry wood or something. Also the fingertips have the conductive material that makes it touchscreen compatible for devices.</li>



<li>This is a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035N09CS/?tag=photomatt08-20">grey wool buff</a>, which works as a scarf, a hat, or an eye cover if I’m trying to sleep. I tried this out because of one of <a href="http://tynan.com/gear2017">Tynan’s also-great gear posts</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.gorewear.com/us/en-us/m-gore-windstopper-thermo-beanie-100391">Gore Thermo Beanie</a>, my favorite feature are the slits by the ears for sunglasses. Kept my eyes and ears protected while in Antarctica with Tim. He and I recorded a podcast episode in our tent talking about our personal fears, bucket lists, and more. <a href="https://pca.st/qmwhc7zz">Have a listen</a>!</li>



<li><a href="https://aersf.com/collections/backpacks/products/fit-pack-3">Aer Fit Pack 3 backpack</a>, embroidered black-on-black with Automattic and WordPress logos. I upgraded this year from version 2 to 3, which changed some of the interior pockets a bit, and most notably added outside side pockets, which I have found super useful. This is the bag that makes it all work.</li>
</ol>



<p>Not pictured: <a href="https://flipperzero.one/">Flipper Zero</a>, which was actually in my pocket and I forgot to put it in the photo. I have found this device really handy and fun to play with, just a delightful piece of technology.</p>



<p>Here&#8217;s what I was rocking earlier in the year:</p>



<img width="604" height="453" src="https://i0.wp.com/ma.tt/files/2023/11/bag-early-2023-1024x768.jpg?resize=604%2C453&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-106304" />



<p>I&#8217;m not going to label it all, just posting for posterity. It&#8217;s mostly the same except I gave up on carrying around the Airpods Max, the grippy tripod, and haven&#8217;t found a great disco phone light yet.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 15 Dec 2023 12:43:58 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:27;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:104:"Do The Woo Community: Resources and Opportunities in WordPress for Speaking, Contributing and Connecting";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78697";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:45:"https://dothewoo.io/community-jobs-resources/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:402:"<p>WordCamp opportunities, supporting underrepresented and connecting the WordPress community with resources and sites.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/community-jobs-resources/">Resources and Opportunities in WordPress for Speaking, Contributing and Connecting</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 15 Dec 2023 12:31:11 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:28;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:11:"
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:66:"HeroPress: Better Development With WordPress, WP Photos, And More!";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://heropress.com/?p=6201";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:171:"https://heropress.com/better-development-with-wordpress-wp-photos-and-more/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=better-development-with-wordpress-wp-photos-and-more";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9783:"<img width="1024" height="768" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/839655ae1936ee3c0.52974282-1024x768.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Boy in a boat on a Bangladesh beach at sunset." /><div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6201_381c02-47 alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6201_11d963-76 inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6201_1ef628-4f wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://heropress.com/">HeroPress.com</a> &#8211; <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/wordpress-taught-better-developer/">How WordPress Taught Me To Be a Better Developer</a></h2>





<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default">
<img width="300" height="300" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ed_finkler-300x300.jpg" alt="Ed Finkler" class="wp-image-999" /></div>



<p>Ed Finkler was a WordPress developer for a long time and then moved on to &#8220;real programming&#8221;. He&#8217;s on the of few that still have respect for The WordPress Way, and is grateful for what it taught him.</p>



<p><em>Ultimately what I find most satisfying in life is not the particular actions I’ve chosen, but <strong>the impact they have upon the people around me</strong>.</em></p>



<p>Ed&#8217;s essay is <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/wordpress-taught-better-developer/">available</a> on <a href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress.com</a>.</p>
</div></div>

</div></div>


<div class="wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-6201_108596-f6"><div class="kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center"><hr class="kt-divider" /></div></div>


<div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6201_71411b-5e alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6201_18957b-7a inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6201_a44261-b0 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://hallwaychats.com">WPPhotos.Info</a></h2>





<div class="wp-block-image">
<img width="300" height="225" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/975656edaa198dd64.92618733-scaled-1-300x225.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6206" /></div>



<p>This week&#8217;s <a href="https://wpphotos.info">WPPhotos Info</a> is called &#8220;<a href="https://wpphotos.info/thermosolar-plant/">Thermosolar plant in Seville</a>&#8220;. </p>



<p>This photo was taken by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/nilovelez/">Nilo Velez</a> and it is the thermosolar plant inside the Heineken factory in Seville. They use it to boil water and save energy when they are making beer.</p>



<p><a href="https://wpphotos.info/thermosolar-plant/">Read more of the story at WPPhotos.info!</a></p>
</div></div>

</div></div>


<div class="wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-6201_92eb7e-24"><div class="kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center"><hr class="kt-divider" /></div></div>


<div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6201_700552-40 alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6201_feb2c3-de inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6201_646446-89 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://wppodcasts.com">WP Podcasts</a></h2>






<a href="https://wppodcasts.com"><img src="https://heropressnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pocket_casts_single_315.png" alt="Pocket Casts image" class="wp-image-4316" /></a>




<p>There were <em>eighteen</em> WordPress podcast episodes released this week! There&#8217;s also a new podcast this week, <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/the-wordpress-edge/">The WordPress Edge</a>!</p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://underrepresented-in-tech.castos.com/episodes/our-thoughts-on-feminism#new_tab">Our Thoughts on Feminism</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/underrepresented-in-tech/">Underrepresented in Tech</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wp-tonic-show-a-wordpress-podcast.castos.com/episodes/891-wp-tonic-this-week-in-wordpress-saas-the-challenges-of-building-kadencewp-on-wordpress#new_tab">#891 – WP-Tonic This Week in WordPress &amp; SaaS: The Challenges of Building KadenceWP On WordPress</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/wp-tonic/">WP-Tonic</a></li>



<li><a href="https://unbilleteachattanooga.com/episodio-240/#new_tab">Episodio 240: Así nos lo montamos para ir a tantos eventos</a> de <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/un-billete-a-chattanooga/">Un billete a Chattanooga</a></li>



<li><a href="https://share.transistor.fm/s/2ca52c75#new_tab">State of the Word 2023</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/the-wp-minute/">The WP Minute</a></li>



<li><a href="https://viewsource.fm/s2/5#new_tab">We want to see more releases like WordPress 6.4</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/viewsource/">viewSource</a></li>



<li><a href="https://dothewoo.io/page-builders-documentation-and-an-scaling-for-swifties/#new_tab">Page Builders, Documentation and an Scaling for Swifties</a></li>



<li>Posted onDecember 8, 2023 <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/do-the-woo-a-woocommerce-podcast/">Do the Woo &#8211; A WooCommerce Podcast</a></li>
</ul>



<p>There are new episodes every single day, so be sure to stop by <a href="https://wppodcasts.com">WPPodcasts.com</a> and search for things that interest you!</p>
</div></div>

</div></div>


<div class="wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-6201_ddcc4c-63"><div class="kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center"><hr class="kt-divider" /></div></div>


<div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6201_2a1478-17 alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6201_1e2866-6e inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 id="wpphotos" class="kt-adv-heading6201_fc6775-27 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos">WP Photos</a></h2>



<p>Here are some of the great photos submitted to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos">WPPhotos</a> project this week!</p>




<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2246576df3eb751b6.70554510-2048x1536-1.jpg"><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2246576df3eb751b6.70554510-2048x1536-1-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6229" /></a><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/sharankrishna/">sharankrishna</a>



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/13965785a624c15b8.38688020-scaled.jpeg"><img width="768" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/13965785a624c15b8.38688020-768x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-6226" /></a><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/sheelagc44/">sheelagc44</a>



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/84657976a91e6c58.90548471-scaled.jpg"><img width="576" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/84657976a91e6c58.90548471-576x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6224" /></a><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/vishalrana2404/">vishalrana2404</a>



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/257657926fd43a316.15730428-scaled.jpeg"><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/257657926fd43a316.15730428-1024x768.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-6228" /></a><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/devtanbir/">Tanbir Ahmod</a>



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/497657723b56b1e82.88549465-scaled.jpg"><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/497657723b56b1e82.88549465-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6225" /></a><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/smrajib/">smrajib</a>



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/40665771219281808.24779285-scaled.jpg"><img width="1024" height="689" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/40665771219281808.24779285-1024x689.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6227" /></a><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/anildulal/">anildulal</a>




<p></p>



<p>Be sure to check out the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">hundreds of other great photos</a>!</p>
</div></div>

</div></div>


<p></p>



<p>The header photo for this post is a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/839655ae19/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/ardhrubo/">Dhrubo</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.</p>






<p>That&#8217;s it for this week! If you&#8217;d like to get this post in your email every week, <a href="https://heropressnetwork.com/newsletter">make sure you sign up</a>!</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://heropress.com/better-development-with-wordpress-wp-photos-and-more/">Better Development With WordPress, WP Photos, And More!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 15 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:29;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:94:"Do The Woo Community: A Post Mortem Marketing Analysis of Black Friday aka Stuff You Should Do";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78693";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:93:"https://dothewoo.io/a-post-mortem-marketing-analysis-of-black-friday-aka-stuff-you-should-do/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:453:"<p>Adam and Emma discuss the importance of conducting a post-mortem analysis after a major marketing campaign, such as Black Friday.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/a-post-mortem-marketing-analysis-of-black-friday-aka-stuff-you-should-do/">A Post Mortem Marketing Analysis of Black Friday aka Stuff You Should Do</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 14 Dec 2023 11:47:49 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:30;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:54:"Matt: Podcast with Texts founder Kishan and Techcrunch";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:23:"https://ma.tt/?p=109295";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:40:"https://ma.tt/2023/12/kishan-techcrunch/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1280:"<p><a href="https://kishanbagaria.com/">Kishan Bagaria</a> and I had chance to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/13/why-automattic-spent-50m-on-texts-com/">catch up with Alex Willhelm on the Techcrunch Equity podcast</a>, it&#8217;s a bit of a time travel since we recorded this on November 28<sup>th</sup> and there has been a ton of activity in the messaging space including the whole <a href="https://www.techmeme.com/231211/p17#a231211p17">Beeper Mini launch and smackdown from Apple</a>. However it&#8217;s worth listening to get to know Kishan and hear some of Automattic&#8217;s broader, long-term strategy in this space. </p>



<p>To give our current take with regards to iMessage: Right now we run on desktop only, basically automating Apple&#8217;s first-party app. This obviously won&#8217;t work on iOS or Android. With every network we support we want to have a good, non-adversarial relationship that puts the user first, with the utmost standards for privacy and security, and understanding the principles and values each network is trying to uphold. We&#8217;re watching this space unfold very closely, and trying to help where we can. Check out the episode here:</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div>    <div></div>    </div>
</div>



<p></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 14 Dec 2023 03:35:36 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:31;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:43:"WordCamp Central: 2023 Annual Meetup Survey";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:39:"https://central.wordcamp.org/?p=4810030";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:68:"https://central.wordcamp.org/news/2023/12/2023-annual-meetup-survey/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1760:"<p>In November, we launched the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2023/11/17/announcing-the-2023-annual-meetup-survey/">Annual Meetup Survey</a>. This year, we propose a unified survey for all Meetup members and organizers. Because of lack of time, we were not able to coordinate the translation to other languages as we did in previous editions, and I&#8217;d love to apologize to all meetup members and organizers who were waiting for the survey to be available in their languages. Next year we&#8217;ll plan it in advance.</p>



<p>Please take a moment to complete the <a href="https://wordpressdotorg.survey.fm/2023-meetup-annual-survey">Annual Meetup Survey</a> – even if you haven’t participated in a meetup recently! This survey is an important opportunity to share your feedback on WordPress meetups in 2023 and how we can improve the program in the future. Even if you did not attend meetup events in 2023, your input is valuable! The survey takes less than 5 minutes to fill out, and the results will help strengthen WordPress meetups in the years to come.</p>



<p>We hope to achieve a 100% response rate among Meetup organizers and members around the world, and get actionable insights about two challenges that the WordPress ecosystem is facing right now:</p>



<ul>
<li>How can we increase the number of WordPress events?</li>



<li>How can we increase the number of WordPress users worldwide?</li>
</ul>



<p>The survey will remain open until January, Dec 14, 2024.</p>



<p>To open the survey in a new tab, please use the following link: <a href="https://wordpressdotorg.survey.fm/2023-meetup-annual-survey" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://wordpressdotorg.survey.fm/2023-meetup-annual-survey</a></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 13 Dec 2023 15:06:44 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6:"Isotta";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:32;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:96:"WPTavern: #103 – Emma Young on Exploring WordPress, the Software, the Events and the Community";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48:"https://wptavern.com/?post_type=podcast&p=151850";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:108:"https://wptavern.com/podcast/103-emma-young-on-exploring-wordpress-the-software-the-events-and-the-community";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48040:"Transcript<div>
<p>[00:00:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Welcome to the Jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley.</p>



<p>Jukebox is a podcast which is dedicated to all things WordPress. The people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case getting excited about WordPress.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;d like to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast player of choice, or by going to WPTavern.com forward slash feed forward slash podcast. And you can copy that URL into most podcast players. If you have a topic that you&#8217;d like us to feature on the podcast, I&#8217;m keen to hear from you and hopefully get you, or your idea, featured on the show. Head to WPTavern.com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox, and use the form there.</p>



<p>So on the podcast today, we have Emma Young. Emma is the head of content for Hostinger, and is on the podcast today to chat through her new found love of WordPress and the community which surrounds it.</p>



<p>Emma&#8217;s journey is quite inspirational. From having almost no experience with WordPress just a few years ago, she&#8217;s now immersed deeply in all that WordPress has to offer. Just over a year ago, she&#8217;d been using WordPress a little, but that was it. Then she found employment in the space and has been to all three 2023 flagship WordCamps, as well as the WordPress Community Summit. So the whole conversation is colored with this newness, and energy, which is quite infectious.</p>



<p>We explore the delicate balance between profitability and community values in her job. Emma sheds light on Hostinger&#8217;s commitments in the WordPress space, and how they tread the tight rope of being a good community citizen while still turning a profit.</p>



<p>We also delve into the company&#8217;s recent involvement in WordPress events and WordCamps, discussing the benefits they have reaped from these. It&#8217;s things like brand awareness and invaluable feedback from the community. Emma&#8217;s passion for networking and continuous improvement is evident as she shares her personal experiences. We discussed the inclusive nature of the WordPress community and the various pathways individuals with different personality types can follow to feel at home. Emphasizing the ample opportunities available for everyone to contribute.</p>



<p>We get into the collaborative nature of the WordPress community, exploring the cameraderie, philanthropy, and human connections that thrive within WordPress events and projects. Emma shares her insights from her recent involvement in helping to organize WordCamp Europe, and her dedication to contributing to documentation.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re looking for a way to find your place in the WordPress community, this podcast is for you.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re interested in finding out more, You can find all of the links in the show notes by heading to WPTavern.com forward slash podcast, where you&#8217;ll find all the other episodes as well.</p>



<p>And so without further delay, I bring you Emma Young.</p>



<p>I am joined on the podcast today by Emma Young. Hi Emma.</p>



<p>[00:03:34] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Hello.</p>



<p>[00:03:35] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Very nice to have you on the podcast today. We are going to talk about the WordPress community. We&#8217;re really going to hone in on the community, and Emma&#8217;s recent contributions. Her journey very recently, in really getting stuck into WordPress events and all of that kind of thing.</p>



<p>Before we get into that Emma, I wonder if you wouldn&#8217;t mind just spending a moment, giving us your bio. You can go as far back as you like. But I guess, given that this is a WordPress podcast, maybe if we center it around WordPress and the community and so on.</p>



<p>[00:04:04] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah. So just briefly, I had a lot of failed attempts at WordPress blogs growing up. But they were a lot of fun, and I think led me to content in general, and where I got probably the most involved in the WordPress community. So yeah, all of that leading to traveling to different places, and ending up working for Hostinger, where I used WordPress every single day.</p>



<p>Which led to, I don&#8217;t know, diving feet first, head first, whole body first into the WordPress community earlier this year. One thing just led very nicely to the other. It was just this nice little circle, universe kind of shoving me towards the WordPress community. And me just jumping, or kind of like slowly running, like on the beach, like the 90s rom com, like with open arms and the community just being like, welcome.</p>



<p>I guess really started diving in last year with the contributions to the docs team. Somebody introduced, hey have you ever heard of Five for the Future? Have you ever heard of contributing to WordPress?</p>



<p>And I was like, what, you could do that? Yeah, let&#8217;s look into it. It&#8217;s super easy. Signed up, and then, you know, I love documentation. I love words. I love everything that the docs team stands for. And then I just got super obsessed with it. What else do you need? What else can I do? And that was mid last year. And then I think since then, I don&#8217;t know, I feel like we&#8217;ll unfold a lot more of that in this podcast. I don&#8217;t want to give too many spoilers. Yeah, I don&#8217;t really have that much bio before that time.</p>



<p>[00:05:25] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Okay. That&#8217;s totally fine. It sounds as if you were, I&#8217;m going to use the phrase digital nomad. I could be completely wrong in that intuition. But is there a bit of that? Were you using WordPress over the last decade, as a way of earning a living whilst doing things in different parts of the globe? Or was it more of a hobby thing? You definitely mentioned that you&#8217;d used WordPress repeatedly, but I don&#8217;t know on what level that was helping supplement what you were doing.</p>



<p>[00:05:49] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah, like on a personal level, I wasn&#8217;t making any money. It was more like blogs and trying to give my family a little bit, family and friends a little insight into what I was doing. But digital nomad is for sure a great way to put it. I don&#8217;t stay put in one place. I think for a while there, it was like every six months we were moving. I actually live out of my suitcase right now as well. But with all of that, most of the jobs that I had was using WordPress in one way or another. So it&#8217;s always been like a common denominator through all of my travels and work.</p>



<p>[00:06:18] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Do you know what? I&#8217;ve never heard the idea of a website to keep your parents updated. And yet, that&#8217;s such an obvious way of doing things. I had a period of time where I was roaming the world, and the internet simply didn&#8217;t exist. You know, you had to go through pains of getting on an international call, which inevitably was really difficult to achieve.</p>



<p>But yeah, the idea of creating a blog or something, with imagery and descriptions of what you&#8217;re doing that your parents and, well, anybody that is interested in what you&#8217;re up to. Yeah, that seems like a really perfect use case.</p>



<p>So you mentioned that the last year has really been the time where you&#8217;ve got stuck into it. Is that because of a collision with a job that you&#8217;ve taken on, or anything like that? Or was it intentional from your part, which then led to a job? Which way round did that go?</p>



<p>[00:07:03] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> The chicken and the egg. Both. I don&#8217;t know. The job I guess was the reintroduction into it, which made me go from just using WordPress slightly, and daily work activities. And for the blog, I think, really jumping into the WordPress community.</p>



<p>Started working at Hostinger. I&#8217;m head of content for their marketing team. And majority of what I do is providing educational content to help people with their WordPress sites. So it was a very easy transition to hear like, oh wait, you can just do this for WordPress, and you can help twice as many people. If it&#8217;s easier for somebody to use WordPress, then it&#8217;s going to be easier for the people that are looking at our tutorials.</p>



<p>So while it first came through my company, that was just kind of like the door. And then when we started learning about WordCamp and participating in that, that was kind of, oh, what&#8217;s Five For the Future? How do you contribute? How do you actually help out with all of this? What are some problems you can help with? That was the second part, but that&#8217;s definitely been a huge part of it.</p>



<p>[00:08:02] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Given the nature of this podcast, it would be great if we don&#8217;t make this slide into an advert for Hostinger, but I think we should dive into that a little bit. What is the position of Hostinger, vis a vis WordPress? I mean, it is a hosting company and obviously we all know that WordPress is incredibly popular with hosting companies, because of the benefits that it has. The fact that it&#8217;s free and open source, and they can offer it to their customers and so on.</p>



<p>What is the position that they&#8217;ve got? Do they send you to events in order to promote? Do they send you to events in order to network? And also you mentioned the kind of content that you create. Is it specifically aligned to Hostinger&#8217;s implementation of WordPress? Or is it a bit of, okay, here&#8217;s just how to use WordPress more generally. So it&#8217;s not necessarily tied to, well, you must be on Hostinger to make use of this article and so on.</p>



<p>[00:08:49] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah. It&#8217;s gonna be interesting to try to teeter the line. But yeah, so Hostinger&#8217;s managed WordPress hosting is what we offer. And WordCamps are all of the above. I guess you could say. Yes, we go there to help the community. We also go there for feedback. We go there to promote as well, and to network.</p>



<p>But I think everything can be boiled down to majority of our users use WordPress. So if WordPress isn&#8217;t working well, and isn&#8217;t continuing to improve and have innovation and have new features, then nobody&#8217;s going to want to use it. So then what are the people that use Hostinger going to want to use?</p>



<p>That is the foundation of their site. While you do need hosting, obviously to get your site online, WordPress being the majority of, what&#8217;s that? I don&#8217;t know what the statistic is these days, around 48% of users online, or 51%. It&#8217;s still a majority, at least halfway. So that is a priority for us as a company, you know. So we want that to be the best that it can be, because it&#8217;s the first line of the first iteration, the first foundation that everybody else is going to use, and we can build on top of that.</p>



<p>[00:09:53] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> What do you have as your content workflow? What is the process of deciding which pieces of content you&#8217;re going to create next? You know, is it driven by support? Is it just driven by ideas that your team have? What&#8217;s going on there?</p>



<p>[00:10:06] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah, so it&#8217;s been quite a few years that we&#8217;ve had support, but also tutorials. So we have like SEO content, that anybody can kind of search for if they have some type of query or problem. And then we have support that&#8217;s geared specifically for our users, like how to exactly do this with our dashboard.</p>



<p>But focusing more on the SEO content. Yeah, it&#8217;s just for anybody. It doesn&#8217;t matter if you&#8217;re using this company or that company. It&#8217;s just as long as you use WordPress. How to set something up, how to get the best out of it, how to recover from the most recent Google updates so that like your site&#8217;s still optimised.</p>



<p>Basically anything from a complete beginner to like, okay, which plugin is the better one for this very specific use that you want it for. Just anything underneath that umbrella.</p>



<p>[00:10:53] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I&#8217;ve always thought it would be really difficult for a company like you to pitch where it puts its content, and how it portrays itself at events and things like that. Because clearly you have to be profitable, you have to pay your staff. And so that&#8217;s really important. Without that, the business collapses, and there would be no content of any description.</p>



<p>But on the other hand, the WordPress community, unlike I think lots of other commercial communities, there is this sense of open source, and not being quite so aggressive with the advertising. Just a conversation about that really. How do you pitch these things? How do you decide, okay, we&#8217;re going to do one Hostinger related piece of content for every three WordPressy pieces of content?</p>



<p>When we show up at events we&#8217;re going to set a certain amount of people on the booth, and they&#8217;re obviously assigned to promoting the product, and getting people to sign up. But then we&#8217;ll also put two of them out, and they were not connected to the booth, that kind of thing. So let&#8217;s just chat that through. How does Hostinger manage that difficult tightrope walk?</p>



<p>[00:11:51] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> That&#8217;s actually a great question. I think it all comes down to like open source. Obviously, this is my personal opinion, but like the idea of open source and helping each other. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. It&#8217;s been something that&#8217;s been in my life, I guess, since before I can remember. Both my parents worked for open source companies as well, and products.</p>



<p>Yeah, I think that&#8217;s kind of why I like Hostinger so much. Because the end goal, as much as you&#8217;re saying like, marketing is to make money. Every company wants to make money. As much as we&#8217;re like, oh, the money&#8217;s not important, it is. But there is a line, and at the end of the day the biggest focus is on the client, and on the customer, and the person that&#8217;s reading the tutorial.</p>



<p>Is this actually even helpful for them? Do they even care what this is about? Are you just regurgitating from SERPs, like from the top 10 things that pull up? Or are you actually checking the steps, making sure that you&#8217;re actually going to get to the solution as fast as possible? And are you answering all of these questions before they even become a problem, so that it&#8217;s all there prepared for you?</p>



<p>And at least for my content team, that is our mission and vision. That we want anybody who reads this to not have to like scroll all the way to the bottom after the history of everything, but just to actually help.</p>



<p>And I think that&#8217;s the nice thing about this line, is that&#8217;s what the WordPress community is about. That&#8217;s what open source project, everything is just working towards a similar goal. At the end of the day it&#8217;s just, was it helpful? And did it solve somebody&#8217;s problem?</p>



<p>And if we happen to make money along the way, awesome. But not all of our content is out there to make money. Some of it, yes. But a lot of it, it&#8217;s just there to answer your question. Hey, if you have a problem, we can help you because we&#8217;ve done it X amount of times before with different content.</p>



<p>[00:13:30] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I would imagine if you&#8217;ve been attending some of the bigger WordPress events in the last couple of years, you will have seen the presence of Hostinger. Because you&#8217;ve been fairly aggressive with the, you know, you&#8217;ve been sponsoring a lot. You&#8217;ve been taking some of the big sponsorship packages, and things like that.</p>



<p>And I know you&#8217;ve only been there for a short amount of time. So this might be out of your wheelhouse. But I was curious as to when that process began. I don&#8217;t know if it&#8217;s been going on for years and years and years, or if it&#8217;s a much more recent push to be part of the WordPress community. So my intuition, my feeling, is that it&#8217;s really over the last two, two and a half years that Hostinger has become more focused on this. So just very quickly, is that right? Have I got that about right?</p>



<p>[00:14:09] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah, pretty much. Not this year, but last year was the first time that we actually, you know, participated in WordCamps, flagship ones. And then also more local ones. But, yeah, you&#8217;re right. The last two years, pretty much.</p>



<p>[00:14:22] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> We have quite a broad audience, but there&#8217;s definitely product owners, and hosting company representatives listening to this podcast. And very often when we get into conversations about this kind of thing, we talk about the fact that there isn&#8217;t really an ROI on attending WordPress events.</p>



<p>And often it&#8217;s a sunk cost, you know, you&#8217;re going, you&#8217;re showing your face, you&#8217;re talking to an already converted crowd in many ways. Those people are, you know, they&#8217;ve been in the WordPress space for a long time, they&#8217;ve figured out what hosting it is that they want.</p>



<p>I just wondered what your intuition was around that. Is attendance at those kind of events, is it more about just making your presence felt, being a good citizen, showing up. Rather than, okay, we&#8217;re going to definitely come out of this with 100, 200, 300 new customers. Because I&#8217;m guessing that isn&#8217;t really what comes out of it.</p>



<p>[00:15:08] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Wow, that would be amazing. I think the biggest thing that we can call a win is the first years WordCamps to this one is, people are not being like, who are you guys? Never heard of you before. And it&#8217;s like, I&#8217;m going to come check out your booth. Like that is a big win just for branding, you know.</p>



<p>Another one is, I don&#8217;t think the intention is to go in there and be like, we have to get a thousand new customers. But in a sense, we can grow quite a bit and, you know, reap the benefits of like a snowball effect by getting feedback from everybody that&#8217;s there.</p>



<p>Like you said, everybody has a niche, or something specific that they work on, and they&#8217;re the expert of. And then they can give us feedback on, and we can improve from there. And in the long run, yeah, we can benefit from that. But it&#8217;s not like short term and boom, boom, boom.</p>



<p>[00:15:48] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, it&#8217;s not a quick win, is it? I remember the first time I saw your logo was at WordCamp Europe, and you had one of the big booths. So obviously, in my head, there was a bit of disconnect there. I&#8217;m thinking, woah, I know that is a very sizable investment, but also I&#8217;ve not heard of that company before. Whereas all the other ones who&#8217;d made the similar investment, and indeed the ones that were on the slightly smaller booth shall we say, I&#8217;d heard of all of them. So that was just curious to me.</p>



<p>And then I went to another event, and there you were again. And so it repeated itself. I feel that&#8217;s the game, isn&#8217;t it. It&#8217;s the long game. It&#8217;s about being recognised. It&#8217;s about showing up. Not necessarily, as you said, trying to get that return on investment, although that would be brilliant.</p>



<p>And so for product owners who are new into the space, I guess there is some lesson to learn there. Those WordPress events, I think sometimes people show up expecting that kind of return on the investment. And often it maybe isn&#8217;t the case. But the long tail of showing up again and again, I could reel off lots and lots of companies who have benefited from that.</p>



<p>Although it is a bit of a hidden benefit, and it won&#8217;t necessarily go on this year&#8217;s profit and loss spreadsheet. It might in the end be worthwhile doing. And I&#8217;m guessing, the fact that you&#8217;re still doing it is proof that you believe there is a benefit to it, albeit it isn&#8217;t entirely tangible.</p>



<p>[00:17:05] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah, exactly. And it&#8217;s definitely like a learn from, I don&#8217;t want to say mistakes because if you&#8217;re learning from it. But learning from your past experiences, and what are you going to tweak this time? What are we going to do better? What are we going to stop? Because, oh, shouldn&#8217;t have done that.</p>



<p>That&#8217;s something that, you don&#8217;t get like a nice checklist that is like, hey, you&#8217;re new to WordPress and the community, do this, this and this. It&#8217;s kind of like, good luck. And the networking helps, because like especially with community, you can get help from other people that have been in there longer, and can give us advice.</p>



<p>We&#8217;ve gotten a lot of advice from people in the community. I think one of the best things about it is, in everyday life we have our competitors, other hosting companies. But then at WordCamps, and more community focused events, it&#8217;s like on pause.</p>



<p>And me and Courtney from GoDaddy had some dinner, you know. GoDaddy people we&#8217;re just like, I think this is the best way to showcase the beauty of WordPress communities. It&#8217;s like Monday, game on. But today like, hey girl, how&#8217;s it been? So like I said, that&#8217;s even on pause.</p>



<p>We learned from that, and it was advice from other people that it was hey, you can&#8217;t look at it as in like, how many people come to your booth? How many hosting plans did you sell? This, this or that. It&#8217;s, hey, but look at it in this way, and look at all the doors that you&#8217;re opening in the future. And I think people that are coming into this should really remember that when they&#8217;re like what did we get from sponsoring this WordCamp? It&#8217;s not just about that.</p>



<p>[00:18:20] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I think that there are quite a few pitfalls. If you are new to the community, and let&#8217;s say that you&#8217;ve been, well, let&#8217;s keep talking about events. Let&#8217;s say that you&#8217;ve been attending events in other walks of life. So nothing to do with open source, or anything like that, specifically WordPress.</p>



<p>It may be that the etiquette, for want of a better word, is slightly different. And there may be pitfalls that you fall into. And I think it is kind of good to have a plan going into that first set of events, just to take the temperature of the room a little bit, and try to figure out what other people are doing.</p>



<p>It just feels a little bit more community related at WordPress events. Well, obviously there&#8217;s a real great opportunity to sell if you wish to. But it does feel that the aggressive sales side of things is not quite so obvious. And you&#8217;ve just pointed to the fact that you put your weapons down, for want of a better phrase. Once the event closes for the night, and go out and have dinner with the other people, and talk about what they&#8217;re doing, and try to figure out things.</p>



<p>And then obviously go off into things like contributor day, and literally do the work together. So it&#8217;s not like you&#8217;re just having a chat over a drink, you&#8217;re actually doing work. But, taken your company T-shirt off for a moment and you&#8217;re just friends. So I guess what I&#8217;m trying to say there is, yeah, take the temperature of the room on the first few times that you go, because it may not be what you expect it to be. And your intuitions may be slightly wrong there.</p>



<p>Let&#8217;s talk about you for a little bit though, personally. Because I&#8217;m just curious as to what you&#8217;re getting out of all this. You&#8217;ve obviously been doing this for, well, the amount of time that you said, just over a year or something like that. And you also said, I think you said, not just feet first, like whole body first or something like that.</p>



<p>What&#8217;s the deal there? Why so much in the space of time? So just to clarify, my understanding is that a year or so ago, you hadn&#8217;t been to any kind of WordPress event. Now, obviously, with the help of the company that you work for, so we need to know that, you&#8217;ve been to the three flagship events.</p>



<p>So you went to WordCamp Asia, you went to WordCamp Europe, WordCamp US. You&#8217;ve been to WordCamp Madrid, which is really big. You know, it&#8217;s not one of the smaller ones. Why so much? I mean, maybe the answer is simply, well, that&#8217;s my job. But it feels like there&#8217;s more to it than that.</p>



<p>[00:20:22] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> It actually isn&#8217;t my job. Now I kind of adapted to that role because I like it, you know. But, I still do run the content team, you know. Organic traffic, woo. But yeah, I think my first flagship, my first WordCamp in general was a flagship.</p>



<p>And it was the beginning of this year, just in January, in Bangkok. And the first time I was ever going to be there. I had been contributing and I was like, yeah yeah, great. You know, I can really help out with this because I like it. I think I was doing it on my spare time, not work time. And it just happened to work very parallel, and overlap with work, that they were like, if she enjoys, it this is perfect.</p>



<p>But then I was, I don&#8217;t know what came over me, but I was like, let&#8217;s just not go. But let&#8217;s volunteer. Let&#8217;s do, I had no idea what that meant. I&#8217;ve never been to a WordCamp. Let&#8217;s also volunteer at the one that probably has the most hype, because it&#8217;s the first one after the pandemic.</p>



<p>And then, I don&#8217;t know, I had public speaking PTSD from being inside my house for three years, only talking to people through the screen. And I kind of challenged myself, and I volunteered as an interviewer. I was like, let&#8217;s just not go to an event where you have to mingle, but let&#8217;s make it a job. And let&#8217;s actually have to find people and sit down and encourage them to talk me. Let&#8217;s just make my life harder, you know.</p>



<p>And it was the best experience ever. I don&#8217;t even know how to explain how much fun I had from like the first day from volunteers. Meeting colleagues from different countries that also came together to be at this WordCamp.</p>



<p>I just remember walking into like volunteers orientation being like, this was the dumbest thing you&#8217;ve ever done, Emma. Like yeah, you like to travel. Yeah, you like WordPress. Nope, just awkwardly moonwalk out of here and just hide in a corner for the next three days and it&#8217;ll be fine, you&#8217;ll just get fired, it&#8217;s okay.</p>



<p>Yeah, I don&#8217;t know, I think it was Milan who was like, oh hey girl. I was like, oh hey dude. And that was it. That was all it took. Like some dude who I had never met before, just come up to be like, hey girl, what&#8217;s your name is? Just like playing around. And the rest was history.</p>



<p>And I enjoyed that so much that I was like I want more of this. I see the point of this. I see the benefit of this, and it also helps my company on the side. So that&#8217;s, I think what led to, you know, being super involved with WordCamp Europe, and volunteering for that.</p>



<p>I tried to do something different, and put myself in kind of like a learning experience. Instead of volunteering as an interviewer, I was like maybe I can be an MC. Let&#8217;s see how I feel on stage. So maybe one day I could be a speaker, I don&#8217;t know.</p>



<p>And right before that same thing, I was like, this is the dumbest idea Emma. Like, why do you keep doing this to yourself? And then when I went out there, I don&#8217;t even know how to explain it. I was like, this is awesome. Nobody cares if I mess up. Nobody cares if I made a mistake. Nobody realises if I made a mistake. I can be as silly as I want to be. Just as long as I say all the things I&#8217;m supposed to.</p>



<p>And it was to an audience of all the same WordPress nerds is me. We would all geek out on the same thing. I could make all of the same jokes that I would say to somebody that I was having coffee with at WordCamp, but to a huge audience. And they would get it because we have the same interests.</p>



<p>I mean like I&#8217;ve done like calls or workshops and trainings, and I still get like butterflies. I don&#8217;t know, it was just a different experience. I had like zero fears when I was emceeing. That was kind of an internal thing that I was using to see how I would do moving forward.</p>



<p>And the WordPress community, WordCamp&#8217;s helped me kind of work through that. And now it&#8217;s just gone and gone and gone, and now I&#8217;m part of the next WordCamp Europe&#8217;s organising team. And it&#8217;s just crazy that not even a few months ago was the first time I&#8217;d ever been to WordCamp Europe.</p>



<p>[00:23:43] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So in summary, no regrets.</p>



<p>[00:23:46] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Oh, zero. I encourage everybody to do it. Or come find me and I will try to give you the best pep talk there is.</p>



<p>[00:23:52] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So a couple of things to throw in there. First of all, I suspect that not everybody is the same as you. So you strike me, forgive me if I&#8217;m getting this wrong, but you strike me as fairly outgoing. And maybe the baggage that you were carrying is that you walked into the room. You were more than willing, when Milan walked up to you, you were more than willing to just throw it off and get stuck in. And all it took was for a friendly face to come over and say hi, and that was it. You were off to the races.</p>



<p>But would you say that for somebody who was, let&#8217;s say more introverted, or a little bit more concerned about how the event might go down, they haven&#8217;t done anything like this before. They just want to lurk. Is that okay in your opinion? You know, you don&#8217;t have to be a certain personality type.</p>



<p>And the kind of roles that you took on, I guess it&#8217;s important to say as well, are very public facing. Whereas you really don&#8217;t have to have that as part of your arsenal. It is quite possible to contribute meaningfully, just sitting at a desk with your computer, not necessarily being outgoing or vivacious. Just chatting to the people that are nearby. Concerned with the thing that you&#8217;re concerned with. Could be docs. Could be TV. Could be, I don&#8217;t know, SEO. Could be anything that any of the tables occupy.</p>



<p>So firstly that. You were well equipped for this. But it&#8217;s not necessarily that that needs to be the case for everybody, right?</p>



<p>[00:25:03] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah, no, 100%. There were also some people from my team that contributed as well for photography. You know, that&#8217;s a great one if you&#8217;re very into like arts and more creative, where you don&#8217;t have to speak to anybody. Everybody sees it, well, not everybody. But oftentimes when they see a camera at this event, they&#8217;re like, okay, I&#8217;d love to smile for it.</p>



<p>But like you said, with the contributions as well. That&#8217;s one of the best ways to start. You can test out every single thing to see where you are the most comfortable with. Where you feel you can help the most, or where you&#8217;re enjoying helping the most. And it&#8217;s not like an outwardly facing, hey, get on stage, kind of contribution. Maybe you&#8217;re very interested in just writing stuff and testing some things out, or QA-ing a plugin or a theme that somebody wants approved. But very important as well.</p>



<p>And same with volunteering actually. You know, there&#8217;s lots of different teams that you don&#8217;t have to go on stage. You don&#8217;t have to ask people to do interviews. You can simply, if you do want to be a volunteer and help with WordCamps that way, you know, just being somebody who can direct somebody to the bathroom. Or like where the emergency kit is. Or working the lost and found, where you talk to people every once in a while.</p>



<p>If you don&#8217;t want to talk to anybody at all, maybe social media, where you sit behind the laptop and people bring you images and you post on there. You know, there&#8217;s lots of different ways that you can volunteer for the WordCamps that aren&#8217;t as outgoing or extroverted.</p>



<p>But you also don&#8217;t have to do any of that. You can also just go there and enjoy it as an attendee, and talk to people when you want to talk to people. Approach them. If somebody says like, hey, how&#8217;s it going? No, sorry, not now. No one&#8217;s going to take offense to it. I think at one of the WordCamps, they actually had interaction badges.</p>



<p>[00:26:35] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. It was WordCamp US in San Diego, I think that was right. There was a little indicator on your lanyard, which indicated how open you were to being talked to out of the blue.</p>



<p>[00:26:46] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> And I think that like extra measures like that is helpful. But there&#8217;s a place for everybody. You don&#8217;t have to go as aggressive as I did. You can be a lot more introverted. Even if you want to try, and I encourage you to be a speaker for the first time, to try it. Even as an introvert. Somebody who&#8217;s never, maybe done a presentation to a large group of people, or at all.</p>
