'Beards and booze' - This Week in WordPress #365

'Beards and booze' - This Week in WordPress #365 🔗 **Source:** ['Beards and booze' - This Week in WordPress #365](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqEBRQvaMoo) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: [wordpress, community, education, blogging] > author: WP Builds > source: YouTube > reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqEBRQvaMoo > date created: 2026-02-08 14:30 > > # 🏷️ Title: 'Beards and booze' - This Week in WordPress #365 >  ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Start writing more blog posts — own your content vs social media #blogging - [H2] Check WordPress 6.9.1 auto-updates — 49 bug fixes released #maintenance - [H3] Explore Internet Archive Wayback Machine plugin — combat link rot #tools ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📚 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🛡️ DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### 🔗 References - [This Week in WordPress #365](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqEBRQvaMoo) - [WP Builds](https://wpbuilds.com) ## 📝 Summary - Episode 365 of This Week in WordPress featuring extensive discussion on blogging vs social media - WordPress 6.9.1 maintenance release with 49 bug fixes - New Internet Archive plugin for combating link rot - Panel discussion on educational initiatives and AI in WordPress - Strong advocacy for personal blogging over social media algorithms ## 📖 Main Content This WordPress community roundtable emphasizes the importance of owning your content through personal blogging rather than relying solely on social media platforms. The hosts discuss how blogging provides a sense of fulfillment and permanence that social media lacks, with content remaining discoverable years later. Technical updates include WordPress 6.9.1's release and a new collaboration between Automatic and Internet Archive to preserve web links. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00](https://youtu.be/IqEBRQvaMoo?t=0) — [H1] Episode introduction and weather chat - Key idea: Welcome to episode 365 with panel discussion format - Evidence: "My name is Nathan Wrigley and today I am joined by co-host Michelle Fchett, but I'm also joined by Mark Benzerane and Ree Wyn" #### ⏱️ [05:30](https://youtu.be/IqEBRQvaMoo?t=330) — [H2] Michelle promotes International Women's Day event - Key idea: 8-hour livestream featuring 15 women in tech on March 8th - Evidence: "We decided instead of just talking about women, we want to introduce women from Tech the Tech Field during an eight hour live stream" #### ⏱️ [08:45](https://youtu.be/IqEBRQvaMoo?t=525) — [H1] Elliott's blog post about content ownership - Key idea: Social media content disappears but blog content persists - Evidence: "Every single photo that I took and if I uploaded it to social media eventually it was there to be forgot" #### ⏱️ [12:15](https://youtu.be/IqEBRQvaMoo?t=735) — [H2] Personal blogging provides different satisfaction than social media - Key idea: Writing on your own blog feels more wholesome and purposeful - Evidence: "I get a great deal of satisfaction writing on my own blog... there's something about sitting in the same chair, writing the same content in that UI, that WordPress UI, and clicking publish" #### ⏱️ [18:20](https://youtu.be/IqEBRQvaMoo?t=1100) — [H3] Mark discusses blogging motivation vs social media - Key idea: Blogging is for people you care about, social media is for metrics - Evidence: "You're writing for yourself. If you're writing for people you actually care about... whereas when you're blogging, you just want your family and friends and people you love and care about to know what's going on" #### ⏱️ [22:30](https://youtu.be/IqEBRQvaMoo?t=1350) — [H2] Social media search limitations vs blog archives - Key idea: Social media platforms have poor search functionality for finding your own content - Evidence: "I can search my handle and a specific term that I know I used and it comes up with nothing" #### ⏱️ [28:45](https://youtu.be/IqEBRQvaMoo?t=1725) — [H3] POSSE acronym introduced - Key idea: Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere strategy - Evidence: "I love the posi acronym. Publish on your own site syndicate elsewhere" #### ⏱️ [35:20](https://youtu.be/IqEBRQvaMoo?t=2120) — [H2] WordPress 6.9.1 maintenance release - Key idea: Minor release with 49 bug fixes across core and block editor - Evidence: "WordPress 6.9.1 which is a maintenance release has been released. There's 49 bug fixes" #### ⏱️ [38:15](https://youtu.be/IqEBRQvaMoo?t=2295) — [H1] Internet Archive Wayback Machine plugin - Key idea: New plugin automatically combats link rot by archiving external links - Evidence: "Automatic have joined forces with the Wayback Machine... Internet Archive Wayback Machine Linkixer... automatically scans your post content on save" #### ⏱️ [42:30](https://youtu.be/IqEBRQvaMoo?t=2550) — [H3] Plugin creates snapshots proactively - Key idea: Plugin checks for archived versions and creates new ones if needed - Evidence: "For each one, it checks the internet archives wayback machine for an archived version and creates a snapshot if one isn't available" #### ⏱️ [46:00](https://youtu.be/IqEBRQvaMoo?t=2760) — [H2] New HTML geolocation element - Key idea: Native browser geolocation without JavaScript libraries - Evidence: "If you've ever tried to do geoloccation, you usually have to use like some sort of JavaScript library... It's now in HTML and it's now done at the browser side" #### ⏱️ [48:45](https://youtu.be/IqEBRQvaMoo?t=2925) — [H3] RSS reader UX improvements proposed - Key idea: RSS readers could benefit from different UX approaches beyond email-style notifications - Evidence: "RSS was built on emails... why are we doing this? Because... nobody cares if you don't read the blog post" ## 📚 References - [Underrepresented in Tech International Women's Day](https://underrepresentedintech.com/iwd26) - [Elliott Richmond's Blog Post](https://otrichmond.co.uk) - [Terry Godier's RSS Reader Article](https://terrygodier.com/fantomobligation) - [WordPress 6.9.1 Release](https://wordpress.org/news/2026/02/wordpress-6-9-1-maintenance-release/) - [Internet Archive Wayback Machine Plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/internet-archive-wayback-machine/) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - Personal blogging provides lasting satisfaction and content ownership that social media cannot match - WordPress maintenance releases continue improving core functionality with community contributions - New tools are emerging to preserve web content and combat link rot through automation - Educational initiatives in WordPress space need better coordination to avoid confusion ## 📰 Newsletter The WordPress community is rediscovering the joy of personal blogging! This week's episode highlighted how many developers are returning to their own websites instead of relying solely on social media. There's something deeply satisfying about hitting "publish" on your own WordPress site that social platforms just can't replicate. Plus, exciting technical developments: WordPress 6.9.1 brings 49 bug fixes, and a new Internet Archive plugin automatically preserves your external links. The community continues innovating with native HTML geolocation elements and improved RSS reader experiences. Resources: [Learn WordPress](https://learn.wordpress.org/), [Developer Docs](https://developer.wordpress.org/), [WP-CLI](https://wp-cli.org/) ## ✅ Action Items #### WordPress - Core: Monitor 6.9.1 deployment and user feedback on bug fixes - Community: Encourage POSSE (Publish Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere) adoption - Plugins: Evaluate Internet Archive Wayback Machine plugin for official recommendations - Education: Clarify overlapping educational initiatives and their distinct purposes #### Community - Contributors: Promote personal blogging benefits over pure social media strategies - Maintainers: Consider link preservation strategies for long-term documentation - Sponsors: Support archival initiatives that benefit entire ecosystem #### DevRel - Education: Create content about content ownership and archival strategies - Developer experience: Document new HTML geolocation element usage patterns - Community management: Facilitate discussions about sustainable content publishing ## 🧪 Hypotheses - Personal blogging provides greater psychological satisfaction than social media posting - WordPress sites with proactive link archiving will have better long-term SEO performance - POSSE strategy adoption will increase as social media algorithms become more restrictive - Native HTML geolocation will reduce dependency on JavaScript libraries ### 📊 Methodology - Survey WordPress users about blogging satisfaction vs social media engagement - Track link rot rates on sites with and without archival plugins - Analyze content distribution patterns of POSSE vs social-first publishers ### ❓ Questions - How can WordPress better support POSSE publishing workflows natively? - What educational initiative consolidation would serve the community best? - How will native browser features change WordPress plugin development priorities? ### 🔮 Future Research - Long-term psychological effects of owned vs platform-dependent content publishing - Automated content preservation strategies for distributed web - Community coordination models for overlapping open source initiatives ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Developers should prioritize personal blogs alongside social media presence - Policy: Content archival becomes increasingly important for web preservation - Education: WordPress community needs clearer initiative mapping and coordination - Funding: Archival tools and personal publishing platforms deserve investment priority ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: Grade 10-12 #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Screenshots of plugins, UI demonstrations - Improve: Workflow diagrams for POSSE publishing, archival process visualizations #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Live podcast format with multiple speakers - Improve: Audio-only version, chapter markers for topic navigation #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Extensive discussion, personal anecdotes, community terminology - Improve: Glossary of WordPress-specific terms, analogy explanations #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Plugin installation demonstrations, hands-on examples - Improve: Step-by-step blogging setup guides, interactive archival tools ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: YouTube auto-captions available - Improve: Manual captions with speaker identification, transcript with timestamps #### Media and captions - Present: Auto-generated captions - Improve: Human-reviewed captions, downloadable transcript ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: International panel with US, UK representation - Improve: More geographic diversity, non-English WordPress community perspectives #### Representation - Present: Gender-balanced panel discussion, International Women's Day promotion - Improve: Broader demographic representation in regular episodes ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Deductive strength: Personal blogging satisfaction patterns well-supported by panelist experiences - Inductive strength: Link rot problem and archival solutions logically connected - Analogical strength: RSS-as-email analogy effectively explains UX limitations #### Tone of voice - Overall tone: Conversational, community-focused, constructive criticism of social media algorithms ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - No concerning patterns detected - Constructive criticism focuses on platforms/systems rather than individuals - Community-building emphasis throughout discussion ## 🎯 Conclusion This episode strongly advocates for content ownership through personal blogging while highlighting practical WordPress developments like maintenance releases and archival tools. The community discussion reveals growing dissatisfaction with social media algorithms and renewed appreciation for personal publishing platforms. WordPress continues evolving with both technical improvements and community-driven preservation initiatives. ## 🧱 Refactor Appendix ### 📚 Literature Split Pad ### [H1] Personal blogging provides psychological satisfaction social media cannot > [!quote] This Week in WordPress #365 by Nathan Wrigley via WP Builds. Published 2026-02-08. Accessed 2026-02-08. > "I get a great deal of satisfaction writing on my own blog... there's something about sitting in the same chair, writing the same content in that UI." Community discussion reveals deeper fulfillment from owned content publishing versus ephemeral social media posts. [view highlight](https://youtu.be/IqEBRQvaMoo?t=735#H1) #blogging #contentownership ID:rw_wpbuild365_001 ### [H2] POSSE strategy balances ownership with distribution > [!quote] This Week in WordPress #365 > "Publish on your own site syndicate elsewhere." Strategic approach maintains content ownership while leveraging social media distribution channels. [view highlight](https://youtu.be/IqEBRQvaMoo?t=1725#H2) #publishing ID:rw_wpbuild365_002 --- ### 🔖 Atomic Split Pad (Zettel Candidates) #### [Z1] Social media content experiences inevitable decay - Algorithmic feeds bury content rapidly regardless of quality - Platform-dependent content becomes unsearchable over time - Links: [[Content-Ownership]] [[Social-Media-Algorithms]] #### [Z2] WordPress maintenance releases enable community stability - Regular bug fixes maintain ecosystem health through contributor efforts - Auto-update systems reduce maintenance burden on site owners - Links: [[WordPress-Core]] [[Community-Contributions]] --- ### ✏️ Fleeting Queue - [F1] Research POSSE implementation plugins — automation opportunities #fleeting #blogging - [F2] Test Internet Archive plugin performance — resource usage concerns #fleeting #tools - [F3] Document personal blogging workflow — community education #fleeting #content --- ## Full Transcript [00:04] It's time for This Week in WordPress [00:06] episode number 365 [00:09] entitled Beards and Booze. It was [00:14] recorded on Monday the 8th of Feb 2026. [00:18] My name is Nathan Wrigley and today I am [00:20] joined by co-host Michelle Fchett, but [00:22] I'm also joined by Mark Benzerane and [00:25] Ree Wyn. We talk an awful lot at the [00:29] beginning about just blogging, and I [00:32] can't remember the last time we talked [00:33] about just that, blogging, what it's [00:35] like to blog, why we might do it, and [00:37] why it's an important thing to do in the [00:40] year 2026. We also spend a great deal of [00:43] time talking about the educational space [00:46] in WordPress and how the overlapping [00:49] initiatives can be quite confusing. As [00:52] you might expect, we also talk a lot [00:54] about AI. Despite the fact that I try to [00:56] keep up, it's very hard. There's so many [00:58] things happening at such a breathtaking [01:02] pace. So AI is going to be the stable of [01:05] what we do, I suspect, in the year 2026. [01:08] But there's all of that and so much [01:10] more, and it's all coming up next on [01:13] this week in WordPress. [01:16] This episode of the WP Builds podcast is [01:19] brought to you by GoDaddy Pro, the home [01:21] of manage WordPress hosting that [01:23] includes free domain, SSL, and 247 [01:27] support. Bundle that with the hub by [01:29] GoDaddy Pro to unlock more free benefits [01:32] to manage multiple sites in one place, [01:35] invoice clients, and get 30% off new [01:38] purchases. Find out more at [01:41] go.me/wpuilds. me/wpbuilds. [01:46] Hello. Hello. Good morning, good [01:48] afternoon, good evening. Um, welcome to [01:51] 365. Oh, that's the number of days in a [01:54] year, isn't it? Coincidentally, 365. [01:56] That's the uh So, if we did if we did an [01:58] episode of this, one a day for a year. [02:00] This would be the 31st of December. [02:03] Congratulations, [02:05] WP Builds. [02:06] >> If you live that long. [02:07] >> Yeah. Yeah. I know. Nobody Nobody wants [02:09] that. once a week is more than more than [02:12] sufficient. Um anyway, sorry about last [02:15] week. The the show was meant to happen [02:16] but I had to pull it because there was [02:18] technical gremlins and um I got a few [02:21] emails for people who were sort of [02:23] questioning what was going on and this [02:25] platform just didn't work basically and [02:26] I don't really have a backup so if [02:28] anything goes wrong and it's [02:29] catastrophic like that. Reached out to [02:31] support and they were very apologetic [02:33] but all seems to be working this week. [02:35] So here we are. We're going to chat a [02:36] little bit about the WordPress stuff [02:38] that's gone on this week. There's lots [02:40] about AI, quite a lot about community [02:42] and things like that. But uh in order to [02:44] make it more interesting and not just me [02:46] blathering on for 90 minutes, I have [02:49] invited a bunch of panelists. And over [02:52] there, let me get this right. Yeah, [02:54] there there we are down there in the [02:56] corner is Michelle Fchette, the co-host [02:58] for today. How you doing, Michelle? [03:00] >> I am well, thank you. How are you? [03:02] >> Yeah, good. I've got to make a big [03:03] special thanks to Michelle because um [03:06] last yesterday I was out doing family [03:07] things and during the course of the day [03:09] Taco who was going to be on the show and [03:11] I think I sent a few tweets out last [03:12] week to that effect. He was unable to [03:14] make it because of family commitments [03:16] and bits and pieces like that. And [03:17] Michelle's stepped up and said that she [03:19] would come on. So I'm enormously [03:21] grateful to you for doing that. Thank [03:23] you so much. [03:24] >> Yeah, I appreciate it. So uh let's learn [03:26] a little bit more about Michelle. [03:27] Michelle Fchett is the executive [03:28] director of Post Status and in addition [03:31] to her work at Post Status, Michelle is [03:33] the podcast barista at WP Coffee Talk, [03:35] co-founder of Underrepresented in Tech, [03:37] creator of WP Speakers, creator of WP [03:40] Career Pages, co-founder of Sponsor Mew [03:42] WP, and also Speed Network Online. She's [03:45] an author, influencer, and frequent [03:47] organizer and speaker at WordPress and [03:49] other tech events. She lives outside [03:51] Rochester, New York, where she's an avid [03:53] photographer of nature. You can find out [03:55] more at the one URL which is meetm [03:58] michellele.online. [04:01] Thank you for joining us such late [04:02] notice. Thank you. [04:04] >> It's my pleasure. [04:05] >> Okay, next one on my list in just going [04:08] down the list is Mark. Mark over there [04:10] for the first time. He's got a nice hat [04:12] on. I appreciate the uh [04:13] >> hatw wearing. That's nice. I [04:15] >> I I want to be like Nathan. [04:17] >> Yes. Well, [04:20] no. No, you don't. That's very kind of [04:23] you. [04:24] Um, Mark's joined us on many, many [04:27] occasions. It's very nice having Mark [04:28] on. He is a marketing lead and [04:31] partnership manager over at MainWP, [04:35] uh, which is the best self-hosted [04:37] WordPress management dashboard [04:38] dashboard, trusted by so many in our [04:40] community. He's been part of the [04:42] WordPress community for years, helping [04:43] agencies work smarter and occasionally [04:46] convincing convincing them that [04:48] marketing doesn't have to be a bad [04:50] thing. Do you know what? It's kind of [04:52] curious that marketing and the WordPress [04:54] community like you you kind of wish that [04:56] they would go hand inand but it there's [04:58] a lot of people in our space for whom [05:00] marketing is kind of their nemesis. I [05:03] don't know if that uh rings well. Yeah. [05:05] >> True. I think it's true in any industry [05:07] because it's a it's a matter of uh [05:09] you're in business to make money. At [05:10] least that's the assumption. And of [05:12] course marketing costs money. So [05:14] >> yeah, [05:14] >> it's it already starts off, you know, on [05:17] the on the wrong foot until you you know [05:19] and and uh [05:21] >> so yeah, [05:22] >> I think there's something particular [05:23] about an open source community as well [05:25] though that kind of [05:26] >> Yeah, the ethics could easily misalign. [05:29] So it's kind of it's been an interesting [05:31] tightroppe that our community have had [05:33] to tread with things like sponsoring [05:34] events and stuff. Anyway, we'll get on [05:36] to more about that in a moment. Thank [05:37] you for joining us, Mark. Really [05:39] appreciate it. And it's always stupid [05:41] o'clock where Mark is. So [05:44] >> it is stupid o'clock. It is It is stupid [05:46] o'clock. Gina, my my uh my partner, she [05:49] hates the days I have to get up this [05:52] early. [05:52] >> Oh, [05:53] >> she just absolutely hates it. [05:55] >> I am so grateful. I really appreciate [05:57] you. [05:57] >> So shout out So shout out to Gina. I I [06:00] shout out to Gina right now even though [06:02] she doesn't watch the show because she [06:04] is hopefully asleep right now. [06:07] I I want her to know how much I [06:10] appreciate [06:11] >> her her good sportsmanship with me [06:14] getting up, waking up the dogs, making [06:16] the cat meow, doing all the things in [06:18] the morning, dropping dishes in the [06:20] kitchen, all that stuff when I'm trying [06:22] to stumble around in the dark to to get [06:24] here. So, [06:25] >> well, I am also grateful uh for the [06:27] allowance that has been afforded for you [06:29] to come on to this show by getting up [06:30] early and waking up the dogs and causing [06:32] a fuss in the house. I appreciate it. [06:34] Did you say Gina? Is it Gina? [06:37] >> Gina. Yes. [06:38] >> Gina, thank you. Appreciate I appreciate [06:41] you. [06:41] >> I'm going to I'm going to clip this and [06:43] I'm gonna send it to her later. [06:45] >> Lovely. Thank you. She won't know which [06:47] one of us is which because we're both, [06:49] you know, with the hats. Oh, there. [06:52] Wearing glasses. I'll say I'm the one [06:53] without glasses. [06:53] >> Okay. Without the glass. [06:55] >> There you go. [06:55] >> Yeah. There you go. Uh, okay. So, thank [06:58] you. And then we've got Reese. Reese [06:59] win. Just speak there. How you doing, [07:02] Ree? [07:02] >> I'm doing good. Hello. How are you? [07:04] >> Yeah, good. Yeah. So, um, Reese has been [07:06] on the show quite a few times now as [07:08] well, so we're all old hands here. So, [07:10] Reys Wyn is a Welsh freelance and [07:12] WordPress developer living in northwest [07:14] of England. Uh, he co-organizes the [07:16] Manchester WordPress user group, writes [07:18] WordPress plugins, and speaks at events. [07:20] He also tends to focus on performance, [07:23] SEO, and general backend WordPress and [07:25] Woo Commerce development for small and [07:26] medium-sized businesses and charities. [07:28] You can find his WordPress services [07:30] newsletter and plugins at dwin ree and [07:34] I'm going to spell it out so that you [07:35] know it's dwin [07:38] hys.com. [07:41] >> Thank you Nathan. [07:42] >> That's okay.com or find his less focused [07:45] ramblings and links to whatever social [07:47] profiles are popular at rehys.wales. [07:52] You know like the country not the animal [07:54] ws [07:56] reeales. So that is our panel. That's [08:00] who are going to be with us today. [08:01] However, an addendum to that is that you [08:04] too can kind of be part of the panel I [08:06] suppose in a way by putting a comment [08:09] in. If you want to drop us a comment, it [08:10] kind of keeps the show going. If there's [08:12] anything, you know, if you hear [08:13] something come out of one of our mouths [08:14] and you think, "Oh, I'd like to add [08:16] something to that or disagree with that [08:18] or agree with that." Feel free write us [08:20] a comment. And the best place to do that [08:22] is over on our WP Builds live page. I [08:26] realize that you may be watching this on [08:28] some other platform like X or LinkedIn [08:31] or Facebook or whatever. They don't [08:33] allow us to have the the comments come [08:35] through. So if you write a comment [08:36] underneath it, it'll just be locked into [08:39] that platform and it won't be shared to [08:41] us and I've got no time really to go [08:43] around on all the platforms and consume [08:45] all the bits and pieces. So go to this [08:47] URL instead and it is wpbuilds.comlive. [08:53] There you go. wpbuilds.comlife. [08:56] Brilliant. Look at that. Without even [08:57] prompting Reese's on it. Um, and uh, and [09:01] you'll see a little box on the right. [09:03] It's YouTube comments, so you have to be [09:04] logged into a Google account if you want [09:06] to use that. However, lurking at the top [09:09] right of the window with the video in it [09:11] is a little black button that says live [09:13] chat. You can click on that if you like. [09:15] And in that way, you don't need to be [09:17] logged into anything. You can just type [09:18] into that and it'll ask you for your [09:20] name and that's all. And you can start [09:22] tapping away. and a few people have done [09:24] that. Thank you for joining us. So, we [09:26] got James. James is joining us. He says, [09:28] "Good morning." And as is so often the [09:30] case with the show, it begins with the [09:31] weather. [09:34] I mean, I live in the UK. So, I think [09:36] Reese and I can basically agree it's [09:38] going to be bleak. Oh, look out the [09:39] window. Huh. It is bleak. It's gray and [09:43] about 7 degrees centigrade. Something [09:44] like that. [09:45] >> Is full on the same. You have the same [09:48] as me. Current temperature in Boston [09:50] apparently is 15 degrees. So, 9 degrees [09:52] centigrade. I'm not jealous. That's [09:54] That's too cold. Uh, whoever this is, [09:57] Always Open Design, I suppose that reads [10:00] as always Open Design says, uh, minus [10:02] three in James Town. Is that NY? Does [10:05] that stand for New York State? Is that [10:06] what that is? [10:07] >> Yeah. Yes. [10:07] >> Okay. Well, thank you for joining us, [10:09] whoever you may be. [10:11] >> Marcus Banette, he's with us as well. [10:13] >> That's Emily. [10:14] >> Emily, is it Emily? You know, Emily, I [10:16] think it's [10:16] >> Thank you, Emily, for joining us. [10:18] Appreciate that. Uh, it's been too long [10:20] since this the last this week in [10:22] WordPress. Lovely to see. Or yeah, we [10:23] missed the whole week. Uh, [10:25] >> that's crazy. [10:27] >> Too long. And Michelle Fchette, whoever [10:30] she may be, says, "Oh, it's minus5 [10:33] degrees." Oh, it's brutal. Minus5 where [10:37] she is, but at least it's sunny. Uh, [10:39] over the three feet of snow. We've [10:41] accumul [10:43] Oh god. [10:44] >> Yeah. Yeah. When you drive down the [10:45] roads, you feel like you're in an aluj [10:47] because the sides of the road are like [10:49] so high up that you have to inch forward [10:51] to be able to see to make a turn around [10:53] the corner. [10:53] >> Wow. Little scary. [10:54] >> Wow. Yeah. I was saying on a previous [10:56] show that we um because we because we're [10:59] at that part of the world where we [11:00] neither get much snow or basically we [11:03] hardly get any snow and when we do get [11:05] it comes for a little bit and it goes [11:06] away and it's a few inches. We don't [11:08] invest in the infrastructure to make [11:10] stuff go away like in snow plows and all [11:12] that. So when we get as like two [11:14] millimeters of snow, everything just [11:16] stops. [11:17] >> We're like, "Stay home. Stay home." [11:19] >> Yeah. [11:19] >> Meanwhile, it was it was minus two [11:21] degrees when I went out yesterday [11:23] morning for breakfast. [11:25] >> And snowing copiously. [11:26] >> Okay. Uh Marcus is kindly furnishing us [11:29] with his uh he's got Oh, of course he's [11:32] in Florida, the home of the alligator. [11:34] We found out [11:35] >> um 12 degrees centigrade on his usual [11:38] morning walk. I actually saw a picture [11:40] of your walk the other day, Marcus. I [11:41] don't know if that's a typical thing you [11:43] do, but I saw a picture of like an empty [11:45] treelined boulevard or something into [11:47] the distance in New [11:50] Yeah. [11:50] >> I have to ask Marcus if he's uh carrying [11:53] around any pocket meat, though. [11:55] >> Oh, yes. Well, that was the whole thing [11:57] last time, wasn't it? We got pocket [11:59] meat. What the heck was that? Oh, yeah. [12:01] It was in the context of alligators, [12:03] wasn't it? We're not doing that again. [12:05] Not going down the alligator. [12:07] >> Oh, come on. [12:08] >> You got to bring up the old jokes, [12:10] Nathan. So, no, we're not we're not [12:12] doing it. Uh, hello, beautiful people. [12:14] That's too kind. Who Who is it? Who who [12:18] is the webinar again? I forgot. Oh, I'm [12:21] so sorry. Uh, but whoever you are, [12:22] you're very kind. Um, that's really [12:24] lovely of you. And Brett saying it's 25 [12:28] degrees Fahrenheit in Wisconsin. [12:31] Okay. And one last one. So, this is who [12:34] did you say this was? Did you say Emma [12:35] or something? Emily. [12:37] >> Emily saying she confirmed it in the [12:39] notes here. ski down the sidewalk where [12:41] they are. Oh, you know, I suppose that's [12:44] we don't have that luxury, right? Well, [12:45] let's get on to the WordPressy stuff, [12:47] shall we? I'll raise the screen. Please [12:48] keep the comments coming. It's really [12:50] nice. You know, it's lovely to have them [12:51] and I'll raise as many on the screen as [12:53] I can, but let's make a start. So, this [12:56] is our spit of promotional stuff before [12:58] we begin. WP Builds, we release a [13:00] podcast on a Thursday. Uh the podcast [13:03] can be found in our little archive [13:04] section, which is right here. Um, and [13:07] this week I never do ones about [13:09] podcasting, but this week I managed to [13:11] steer it around to actually making [13:13] content on a WordPress website in the [13:15] podcasting space, which is really nice. [13:17] I was chatting to Seth Goldstein, who [13:20] whose whole like thing is podcasting and [13:23] WordPress, and he's got a business [13:24] around podcast mastery, it's called. So, [13:27] that's a really interesting [13:28] conversation. Um, if you want to get [13:30] involved in that, click on that link. [13:32] 455 was the episode there. And uh yeah, [13:36] you can see there's a little bit more. I [13:37] write a little bit about each of the [13:39] posts that are coming up. So the other [13:40] thing to mention is that if you want to [13:42] keep updated, just put your email [13:44] address in this little box, click [13:46] subscribe, and we'll send you an email [13:48] when we produce this what we're doing [13:50] now, and also that podcast episode as [13:53] well. Okay, there we go. So the next [13:56] thing to say then is that we allow the [13:58] guests to drop in any sort of articles [14:00] that they've been perusing over the last [14:02] five, six, seven days, something like [14:03] that. And if they've got anything they [14:04] want to self-promote as well, they can. [14:07] And um Michelle Fet, she's the first one [14:09] up. We are looking at Underreented in [14:11] Tech, which I know is your website. This [14:13] one's called We're Celebrating [14:15] International Women's Day Live. Tell us [14:17] more, Michelle. [14:19] >> Yeah, so this year we decided instead of [14:21] just talking about women, we want to [14:23] introduce women from Tech the Tech Field [14:26] during an eight hour live stream. Uh you [14:29] can register via Eventbrite. you'll get [14:30] the reminders and it'll add to your [14:32] calendar. Uh, and we're going to be able [14:34] to talk to 15 women. So, if you scroll [14:36] down a little bit, the w any women in [14:39] tech who are interested in being [14:40] interviewed during that eight hours can [14:42] fill out that form. We are giving um [14:46] we're trying to fill out around the [14:48] world. So, we're hoping it's not all [14:49] US-based. So, it's not an automatic that [14:51] you're in. Uh we are going to make [14:53] evaluate and make sure that we can cover [14:55] um you know several different continents [14:57] and make sure that we're introducing [14:58] people from around the world on [14:59] International Women's Day. [15:01] >> Nice. So uh forgive me I'm not sure. [15:04] >> It's on it's on March 8th. Yeah. [15:07] >> Sunday March. Gosh, that's quite quite a [15:10] commitment. Eight hours. N is that [15:11] non-stop or is that are you [15:12] interspersing that with breaks and [15:14] things or are you just going right the [15:15] way through? We're gonna go right [15:17] through, but um we'll we'll be able to [15:19] take breaks by I may interview somebody [15:21] while Sam is off having you know some [15:24] coffee and lunch and then the next one [15:26] she may interview without me and most of [15:28] them we'll do together though. So [15:29] >> yeah. Well that's really nice. So um if [15:32] you [15:33] >> fulfill the uh the categories there uh [15:36] you can go and fill out the form. It's [15:38] under reppresented tech.com [15:42] uhwd26. [15:44] So, International Women's Day, uh, 26 [15:47] and obviously you're on the lookout for [15:48] some people and there's a few bits and [15:50] pieces to fill out [15:51] >> and they don't even have to be WordPress [15:53] because [15:53] >> Oh, okay. [15:54] >> We encompass more than WordPress. It's [15:56] >> and it's underrepresented in tech. It [15:58] isn't underrepresented WordPress. So, [16:00] >> yes, good, good point. Uh, so the the [16:02] webinar is saying he likes the [16:03] initiative. Thinks that's a great [16:04] initiative. And I love that. And Taco [16:07] says, "Thanks for covering me today." [16:09] And he's here. We should smuggle him in [16:11] somehow, shouldn't we? [16:12] >> You're welcome, Taco. Yeah, that's [16:14] really that's really kind. [16:15] >> If you want your seat back, let me know. [16:17] >> Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Uh, okay. So, [16:19] there was Michelle's bit. Um, I've given [16:21] you the URL, but I'll drop it into the [16:23] show notes if you wish to see that. And [16:26] then, [16:27] >> can I just add that men should watch [16:28] this, too. It isn't an event just for [16:30] women. It's an event for everybody to [16:32] take part in and learn about the women [16:34] who are in technology. So, I encourage [16:36] men to tune in, register to watch the [16:39] event as well. Thank you. [16:40] >> Women on the screen, I guess, is who [16:41] you're after, though. Um, they're the [16:43] people on the screen, everybody [16:45] watching. [16:46] >> Okay, great. Yeah, that's that's nice [16:47] and clear. Thank you. Uh, I'll drop that [16:49] into the show notes, like I said. Okay, [16:51] now we've got three pieces which were [16:52] popped in by uh Ree. And the first one [16:55] is from a UK uh WordPress developer and [16:59] pizza uh shop owner, I think is fair to [17:02] say. [17:02] >> He's in the comments today. [17:03] >> And it's in the comments as well. Yes. [17:08] >> Is he where is he? Where's his comments? [17:10] >> He was in there. He said hello. and he's [17:12] been on an amazing vacation according to [17:14] his uh [17:15] >> his uh Tik Tok. [17:16] >> Yeah, he went to Bali and uh I'm quite [17:20] jealous of anybody that goes to Bali. Um [17:23] okay, anyway, we we'll we've got this on [17:25] the screen. This came from Ree. Ree, why [17:27] did you pick this piece called [17:28] Rethinking Where I Publish My Content? [17:31] >> I love this. I thought this was superb [17:33] and it was kind of like it gave me a lot [17:35] of thoughts on thoughts that I'm having. [17:37] So for context, he was on holiday in [17:39] Bali and he wrote this blog post uh [17:43] after he got back. He also has done a [17:45] video on it where he basically says [17:48] everything that I took, you know, every [17:49] single photo that I took and if I [17:51] uploaded it to social media eventually [17:55] it was there to be forgot. Like the Tik [17:58] Tok would disappear, the you know the [18:01] Instagram reels would stay for a day. if [18:03] you get post it on Facebook or X, it [18:07] will eventually drop down the feed. So [18:09] then he kind of talks about well [18:12] actually I should publish this on my own [18:15] blog kind of thing and um you know so [18:18] that it stays a little bit longer and [18:22] this is something I was I was reading it [18:24] and then I was so I've been trying to [18:26] blog a little bit more on my own [18:27] personal blog as well and you know just [18:30] talking about things and it really [18:34] resonated with me because one of the [18:35] posts I've kind of got in the archives [18:37] is there's like a social media [18:40] um [18:41] mean like of you in 2016 against you in [18:45] 2026. [18:46] >> Mhm. [18:47] >> And I realized that I blogged quite a [18:49] lot in 2016. 2016 was quite a big year [18:52] for me. Um I went to the United States. [18:55] Uh Wales qualified for the for the Euros [18:58] for the first time in my life. So I went [18:59] to France for a month and my brother got [19:01] married. And it it it helped me look [19:06] back at that time me writing it 10 years [19:10] ago. [19:10] >> Yeah. [19:11] >> And what's been really nice is side [19:14] note, my sister-in-law is Polish and I [19:17] went, the wedding was in Poland. There [19:19] was a really, really nice restaurant. I [19:21] could not remember the name of it and it [19:24] is in Kov but I wrote it on the blog [19:26] post and I am going to that going to [19:30] find that restaurant when I go to Kov or [19:33] Workab Europe. So even though those [19:36] posts don't get any sort of traffic [19:37] whatsoever, they're there and they are [19:41] still on the archive and I can just go [19:46] back and go, "Oh, [19:47] >> it's useful for me." And I think this is [19:49] what Elliot was kind of saying is is [19:51] that [19:52] >> there is going to be a um even if nobody [19:56] views his photos from Barley in the [19:59] past, [20:01] he probably will or you know his family [20:03] will and it will be a nice, you know, a [20:07] nice reminiscence of of that time. So [20:10] >> yeah. [20:11] >> Yeah. I just I just this was one of [20:13] those things and I just was like, "Yeah, [20:14] we should do this. We should post it. [20:17] Everybody should post more on on their [20:19] own sites and then share it to social [20:21] media. Now, [20:23] >> sorry, please finish if you had [20:25] something. I [20:26] >> No, no, no. I mean, I know algorithms [20:27] are against like people link, you know, [20:29] social media linking back, but this was [20:31] a it just really resonated with me and [20:34] it was [20:34] >> you know what do you know what Ree [20:38] I'm I'm so fed up of the algorithm. I'm [20:41] so sick of the algorithm. I'm fed up of [20:45] everything being done for an algorithm. [20:48] I mean, honestly, I could swear at this [20:50] point and then say the words algorithm [20:52] at the end of it, but I'm not going to. [20:54] Who cares about the algorithm? Just like [20:57] like Elliot, he's obviously got a bit [20:59] fed up with the algorithm. I had the [21:00] same epiphany, I don't know, about 18 [21:03] months ago or something like that. [21:04] Started writing more started writing [21:06] more on my blog. And here's a mysterious [21:09] thing that I can't explain. I get a [21:13] great deal of satisfaction [21:16] writing on my own blog. I cannot explain [21:20] what it is. There is something about [21:22] sitting in the same chair, writing the [21:25] same content in that UI, that WordPress [21:28] UI, and clicking publish, and it gives [21:31] me all the good feelings in the world, [21:33] and the exact same set of typing out [21:37] onto something like LinkedIn or Facebook [21:40] or social media of any kind. [21:43] >> None of it. I don't get any of that [21:45] sense of intuition. It's ephemeral. It's [21:47] going to be gone by tomorrow. It'll be [21:49] completely forgotten. I'll never find it [21:52] again. And [21:54] >> you know, I I don't really know how to [21:55] put it into words, but there's there's a [21:57] there there. [21:59] >> Yeah. [21:59] >> And it's really nice. And you know, [22:00] we've been droning on about it for [22:02] years. Own your own content. yada yada [22:04] yada. [22:05] >> Yeah. [22:05] >> It just feels nice. It's just a nice [22:08] >> thing. [22:08] >> And even if you own your own content for [22:10] you, like even if nobody else reads it, [22:13] which is going on to the next thing I'm [22:14] going to talk about. Um, but yeah, it's [22:17] it's really it it really resonated with [22:20] me, so I wanted to highlight it. [22:22] >> I hope people do more like Elliot in the [22:24] year 2026 and beyond. [22:26] >> Mark, [22:26] >> I just I just want to say that this this [22:29] really hits for me, too, because um [22:32] >> I used to blog a lot [22:35] >> uh back before social media for those [22:38] that can remember that. And it wasn't [22:40] just for me, but it was because I didn't [22:43] I didn't write for the likes. I didn't [22:46] write for the followers. I wrote so that [22:48] my family and friends and everybody when [22:50] I was moved away and all that could stay [22:53] in touch and see what was going on. And [22:55] I think that one of the reasons that [22:57] maybe you feel something, Nathan, when [22:59] you write something is because [23:02] >> your your motivation is completely [23:04] different when you blog. You're writing [23:07] for yourself. If you're writing for [23:08] people you actually care about, if [23:11] you're writing on social media, it's a [23:13] completely different mindset where it's [23:14] like it's about how much traffic you [23:16] get, how much how many likes and and [23:18] your brand and all these things. And you [23:21] don't go through and look at who all [23:23] liked your content. You just want to [23:24] know how many likes you got. Whereas [23:28] when you're blogging, you just want your [23:30] family and friends and people you love [23:31] and care about to know what's going on [23:33] in your life and you want to share that [23:35] with them and and you hope that it it [23:38] creates like this conduit through which [23:40] you stay in touch with people that that [23:43] matter to you. So, I think that there's [23:44] a lot more [23:46] uh of the really important things that [23:49] go along with when you when you blog and [23:51] and when you write for yourself and for [23:54] for the things that matter. So, uh this [23:57] has actually reinspired me to go back to [24:00] doing the blogging. So, thank you for [24:02] bringing this up. Uh [24:03] >> very welcome. Yeah. [24:05] >> Yeah. Because it actually put into words [24:07] some things that have been going around [24:08] in my mind, but I I really haven't like [24:10] it hasn't gelled with me until like [24:12] right this minute. [24:13] >> Yeah. I kind of feel Okay, so this is [24:16] going to sound so overblown and [24:18] apologies for what's about to come out [24:19] of my mouth. I kind of feel wholesome at [24:22] the end of doing a blog post. Yeah. [24:24] >> And at the end of doing social media [24:26] stuff, I don't have that feeling. It's [24:27] just like this empty exercise in [24:30] >> pouring stuff into dev null and hoping [24:32] that some of it doesn't go in there. You [24:35] know, it's kind of weird like the [24:36] incentive is totally different. Mark, [24:38] I'm not doing it because I'll then go [24:40] back eight minutes later and see did [24:42] anybody did anybody oh was really like [24:44] traction. It's just here it is. I've [24:47] thought about it. I'm offering up to the [24:48] world. Maybe nobody will read it but I [24:50] don't care. [24:51] >> Um very different. Very very different. [24:54] Yeah. And Michelle, have you got [24:55] anything on that before we move on? [24:57] >> It's interesting because like I have not [25:00] thought about that in the past and and [25:01] just posted things on social instead of [25:03] to my own blog or things like that and [25:05] then I go back and I try to find it [25:07] because I want to reference it and the [25:09] search features on social [25:12] >> are lacking. So I can search [25:15] >> that's a nice way to put it. [25:17] >> Like my handle and a specific term that [25:19] I know I used and it comes up with [25:22] nothing. Yet, when I scroll endlessly to [25:24] find the thing, there it is with the [25:26] terms that I was searching and it [25:28] doesn't find it. And so, I'm like, do I [25:30] start categoring every single thing that [25:32] I post so I can reference it back to a [25:34] link later on or do I just [25:37] >> maybe save some of those things and post [25:38] them on my blog as well? You know, those [25:41] things. [25:42] >> I haven't started re reblogging or [25:44] blogging again yet. Um, but it is on my [25:47] list for 2026. And yes, I realize we're [25:49] almost halfway through February and I [25:51] haven't accomplished it yet. [25:55] >> Yeah, I I haven't done much in the way [25:56] of blogging this um this year, but I I [25:59] fully [26:00] >> You were on fire at the end of last [26:01] year. [26:01] >> Well, I I think I will be again. I've [26:03] just taken a little bit of a hiatus and [26:05] I've got some ideas for posts that I I [26:07] want to write. And also, it's fairly [26:08] cathartic. I I get this. It's almost [26:11] like self therapy. I'm sort of writing [26:14] stuff and getting I don't know getting [26:15] stuff out there a little bit and feeling [26:17] I don't know I don't know there's [26:18] something going on it's much more [26:20] >> much more wholesome and the Madding [26:22] crowd is not there trying to you know [26:23] either rate it up or rate it down or [26:25] what have you. Uh there's always a piece [26:28] in each episode that we do where it gets [26:30] a bit of traction and this would appear [26:31] maybe there'll be one later but this [26:32] would appear to be the one for today. Uh [26:34] so James saying we're all burnt out from [26:37] social media it's time to own your own [26:39] space again. Uh James I could not agree [26:42] more. I I thoroughly thoroughly [26:45] thoroughly agree with that sentiment. I [26:47] am sick to the back teeth of it. I'm [26:50] sick to what it's doing to me. I can [26:53] only speak about me, but I've noticed [26:55] things in my life which are not [26:56] wholesome because of social media. I can [26:59] only draw a line between me and social [27:00] media and none of it's good. Um I'm not [27:03] sure that I get a fat lot out of social [27:04] media. Uh yes, says Taco. Publishing on [27:07] your own blog means it won't be [27:08] forgotten. can't be forgotten if it's [27:10] never seen, can it? Or am I being too [27:13] negative now? I know what you mean, [27:15] Taco. Um, but the incentive for me isn't [27:18] the number of people that see it. That [27:21] is 100% not why I'm doing it. If I write [27:23] a piece about a walk that I did, which [27:25] I've been doing quite a bit recently, [27:28] um, with photographs and things like [27:29] that, I don't anticipate anybody's going [27:31] to see it, but if some curious person [27:33] does see it, that's great. But the [27:35] incentive is not for it to be seen. It's [27:37] Well, obviously that's a lie because I'm [27:39] posting it online. There must be some [27:41] aspect of that, but it's not the big [27:43] upfront thing in the back of my mind. [27:45] Anyway, um Elliot, oh Elliot, there we [27:48] go. Um hello Elliot. Posting for a quick [27:51] dopamine hit. I like Yeah, I'm think [27:54] that off a little bit as well. So Sean [27:56] joins us. Uh it's amazing when somebody [27:58] reaches out after finding a blog post [28:00] from X years ago that's still helpful. [28:02] Yeah. Okay. So it has its place. Okay. [28:05] We'll we'll have to agree that it [28:06] definitely does. Ver versus verse [28:09] publishing for longevity. We're maybe [28:12] getting lost a little bit now because of [28:13] when these comments dropped. Is there [28:16] anybody seeing a particular comment [28:18] that's worth raising? I can see about 10 [28:20] that I have. [28:21] >> Sean Sean the very last one I think is [28:23] worth raising. [28:24] >> Is it this one that begins sometimes I [28:26] am actually [28:27] >> I love the posi acronym. Publish on your [28:29] own site syndicate elsewhere. [28:32] >> Oh the most recent one. That's lovely. [28:34] Thank you. Uh, I love I was just about [28:36] to say what you literally just said. Um, [28:39] so yeah, that the pos I'd never heard of [28:41] that. Yes. Yeah. But why exactly that, [28:43] right? Write it on your blog. Then if [28:45] you go to social media and share it and [28:48] what have you. Yeah, that's true. [28:50] >> Um, I run a business says James and now [28:53] I can separate my thoughts brain between [28:55] work and life. Yeah, that's another [28:58] curious thing on social media. If you've [29:01] somehow [29:02] got this one handle then you are you are [29:06] kind of constrained in the kind of [29:09] things that you can write because it may [29:10] collide with work because you [29:14] >> I just I just publish everything [29:15] everywhere and people will pick it up or [29:18] not and [29:18] >> but presumably Mark let's say for [29:20] example you know he's we all know Mark [29:22] mainp and things like that there must be [29:24] sort of boxes and constraints around the [29:26] kind of things that you may or may not [29:28] be able to do because the association is [29:30] Mark works for MainWP. Anything that [29:32] Mark says reflects on MainWP and that's [29:34] kind of kind of [29:36] >> Well, to be fair, Dennis is like, "Be [29:39] yourself." He's always been that way, [29:41] which is really appreciated about him. [29:43] He's always [29:43] >> He's unusual though, isn't he? [29:45] >> Yeah, he is unusual, but he's always [29:47] been be yourself and if I don't like [29:49] something you'll say, I'll just disown [29:50] you and that's it, you know. But not [29:53] disown you but but uh you know I'll I'll [29:54] make my own disclaimers but uh by and [29:57] large uh I've never felt that constraint [30:02] from external pressures. There are [30:04] internal pressures where I'm like well [30:05] is this really something that I want you [30:08] know uh to be out there or whatever. [30:11] There are a lot of personal things that [30:12] go on that affect people in my personal [30:15] life that even though they might go to [30:17] my personal brand I feel like I need to [30:19] protect them. So, it's actually more the [30:21] the other way than it is um as as I [30:25] don't want to say that I don't want to [30:26] protect MainWP because absolutely I I [30:28] absolutely absolutely [30:30] >> I know what you mean. [30:31] >> I I feel more protective of people who [30:35] haven't given me permission [30:37] >> uh necessarily. Uh so yeah, [30:40] >> you know what? We've just spent nearly [30:42] 25 minutes on this show talking about [30:45] blogging. How nice is that? Like we [30:47] never talk about blogging. Let's just [30:49] let's just skip the AI chapter of [30:56] >> I do post I do I do post as myself [30:58] everywhere. [30:59] >> Um even when I was was publishing for [31:02] Stellar, it was my voice behind it. But [31:04] I have two things that I've learned in [31:06] publishing to social over the years. [31:07] Number one, I spent 12 years on my [31:09] school board and realized that anything [31:12] I say is viewed as me not representing [31:15] the school board necessarily, but [31:16] whether they wanted to reelect me to the [31:18] school board going forward. And so I [31:19] always thought about that. I always have [31:21] that in the back of my mind. How do I [31:22] want to be seen by the public that are [31:24] whether it's international or local? And [31:26] two, my personal mantra, my personal [31:28] mission statement is lead with kindness. [31:30] And so if I if I always pose leading [31:31] with kindness, it's it may not be that [31:33] other people see that as kindness. So I [31:36] have for example have the tweet that you [31:38] know broke the world and over 30,000 [31:40] views. Several people lambbasted me [31:43] about but honestly it was still leading [31:44] with kindness because it was about [31:46] things that were important to [31:47] technology. [31:49] So doesn't mean people are always going [31:51] to like what I put but I always have [31:53] kindness foremost in what I'm posting so [31:55] that I don't get nasty and I don't say [31:57] things that I wish I could take back [31:58] later. [31:59] >> And um curious thing, I don't know if [32:01] this is true, but it it it feels like [32:03] it's in the background somewhere. the um [32:05] the immigration policy for your country, [32:07] Mark and Michelle, is for not [32:10] immigration uh tourists even in the near [32:13] future are going to have to surrender [32:14] their social media content potentially [32:17] at the border. Um I can't remember the [32:19] number of years. Let's go for four years [32:21] or something like that. Which is kind of [32:23] a curious thing that you know we were [32:25] all sold this oh social media. Everybody [32:27] got angry on social media and now those [32:29] angry things that you may have written [32:31] three or four years ago might come back [32:32] to haunt you which is [32:33] >> it's because of our current [32:34] administration who doesn't believe in [32:36] our constitution of free speech. [32:38] >> Well, there you go. So this one will get [32:40] trolled and I will never be allowed into [32:41] the USA ever again. [32:44] >> Well, they may kick me out soon, too. [32:46] So, who knows? [32:47] >> Yeah. Uh, moving on then. Uh, Patricia, [32:50] hello. Says, "Apologies if you wrote [32:52] something about the the Reese thing [32:54] there." That was obviously Elliot. Oh, [32:56] Mark. Oh, it's that [32:59] wave arms. [33:01] >> Wave his arms and turn wave his arms. [33:03] That's brilliant. Um, so hello and uh, [33:06] gonna walk the dog, says the webinar. [33:08] Okay, that's fine. Uh, and just James, [33:10] here we go. Forgive yourself. The draft [33:12] post. He says, "The only issue I have [33:14] with personal blogging is finding time [33:15] to write. The mountain of draft draft [33:17] posts is staggering." Here's my advice, [33:19] James. Either just forgive yourself for [33:22] not doing it or when you get to the [33:24] third word, the third word. That's [33:28] enough. If that's all you've got to say, [33:31] just hit publish. Yeah. Doesn't need to [33:33] be a toone. It doesn't need to be some [33:35] sort of dstoyfski [33:38] >> thing. It just needs to be I ate lunch. [33:41] you know, that's what you've got to say. [33:44] Just hit the publish button and forgive [33:46] yourself and uh and I for one will [33:48] subscribe to your RSS feed and uh so [33:51] there we go. So that was wonderful. What [33:53] a lot of fun that was talking about [33:54] blogging. otrichmond.co.uk [33:57] and the blog posts all about writing [33:59] content uh on his blog was written on I [34:02] don't see a post date [34:04] >> but it was fairly recent. I'm sure you [34:06] can go to feed. [34:08] >> Yeah. [34:09] >> Yeah, that's right. Yeah, the last post [34:12] on the blog was eight years ago. [34:16] >> It lives forever. [34:20] >> Um, he's too busy making pizzas. Right. [34:23] So, okay, I'm going to refresh this one. [34:25] Ree, we're gonna have to race through [34:26] these ones, I think, now a little bit. [34:28] So, you very quickly Terry Godier. Terry [34:31] Godiafanobligation. [34:33] What is this? Why are we looking? [34:35] >> So, this again talk Okay. Uh if you [34:38] scroll down there's also like a um like [34:41] a read in plain text. I' I'd click that. [34:44] Um [34:45] >> but it's really really So very very [34:47] quickly Terry Godier I believe is a uh [34:50] UX designer and again talking about up [34:54] to up current things because why not? uh [34:57] this is about an RSS reader and what he [35:00] has proposed what he says is that [35:03] potentially why RSS struggles is [35:07] RSS was built on uh emails. So so every [35:11] single RSS field feed uh feeder was [35:14] built like it was an email thing. So it [35:17] had like your notification [35:20] >> uh you know a red dot with your [35:21] notification and how many unread things [35:23] like there is in email. What he has [35:26] basically said is um why are we doing [35:30] this? Because there is you don't need [35:32] while you can reply to an email and you [35:34] you know most of us should reply to an [35:36] email you don't nobody cares if you [35:39] don't read the blog post and this kind [35:42] of resonated with me again because it [35:44] was like oh yeah I've got an RSS feeder [35:47] with like hundreds of articles that are [35:48] unread and nobody cares. the people who [35:52] write it don't care if I've read it or [35:55] not. So, he goes on to say how to [35:58] structure it in a different way. And [36:00] he's got like a beta rap, which I hadn't [36:02] checked because you have to sign up for [36:04] it, but like he's proposed like more of [36:06] a campfire, like a river kind of thing [36:08] where you just let the content scroll [36:10] past. So, it effectively [36:12] >> different UX instead of it just being [36:14] things which you check off and say I [36:16] have read or I haven't read, there's a [36:18] different sort of UX component to it, is [36:19] there? [36:20] >> Yeah. Okay. I mean I mean they I think [36:22] they said that the river one wasn't [36:24] great because it was like social media [36:26] effectively which they want to kind of [36:27] get rid of. But things like the library [36:30] where is just like here is here is some [36:33] new stuff for you to read. [36:37] Go ahead read it kind of thing. And and [36:39] I was still trying to work it out but [36:41] >> I was like [36:42] >> yeah I do know what you mean. Like the [36:44] RSS to me the RSS is the most an RSS [36:47] reader. I I use several. They are the [36:51] most beautiful things in the world, but [36:53] equally they're not they're not that [36:55] engaging. So unless you're curious and [36:57] you want to I wish there was an RSS [37:00] reader and maybe there is where the more [37:02] I interact with a certain person, [37:05] >> the more or certain website the more it [37:08] kind of leverages that. So not some sort [37:10] of algorithm that I don't control. So, [37:12] I'd like to be able to say, you know [37:14] what, you are giving me too much from [37:15] this particular website, but the things [37:17] that I seem to click through in that UX, [37:20] I would like to see more of that. And [37:22] then over time, my RSS feed might sort [37:24] of have some sort of equilibrium for the [37:27] people who who I like and admire and [37:29] whose stuff I I wish to read. Um, thank [37:33] you. All right. Um, that one I'll put [37:36] the link in the show notes, but it's [37:37] terrygodia.comfantomobligation. [37:41] And I don't know why there's numbers [37:42] counting up on the screen there, but [37:44] there is. And we're on to 331, which is [37:47] fairly impressive. I'm gonna move on if [37:49] that's all right. Very quickly, and uh [37:51] introduce Reese's third and final [37:53] article of today. This is uh Matsuo. And [37:57] the title gives it all away. [37:58] Introduction to the new HTML element, [38:01] geo location. [38:03] >> Location. [38:03] >> Very cool. [38:04] >> Right. [38:05] >> Very cool. So, if you've ever tried to [38:07] do geoloccation, you usually have to use [38:09] like some sort of JavaScript library or [38:12] import something in which can work for a [38:15] bit and then it breaks and it's a bit of [38:17] a nightmare. It doesn't really work with [38:18] anything. Um, it's now in HTML and it's [38:23] now done at the browser side. Um it's [38:26] not [38:26] >> I think it's only in Chrome yet, but [38:29] basically if it's in Chrome eventually [38:31] it will [38:32] >> um go in everything and you press a [38:35] button and it pops up a window saying do [38:38] you want to you know share your location [38:42] >> um [38:44] and you can do that and and it works and [38:47] it's great and it's got a few examples [38:49] on that page which you'll just you know [38:51] should work because you may know what to [38:52] do online but uh you can set up attribut [38:55] Yeah, you got the usual choices, haven't [38:56] you? Like allow this time, which is kind [38:58] of like this one time deal. You probably [39:00] want to do that if you've got no [39:01] interest in coming back to the site or [39:03] allow while visiting the site. And then [39:05] I think there's other options, isn't [39:06] there? Like allow forever and you know [39:09] on there's certainly background [39:10] operations that you can do with apps. [39:12] >> I don't know if it'll ever stretch into [39:14] that because it's based in the browser. [39:15] I'm not entirely sure. But um yeah. [39:17] Yeah. Interesting. [39:18] >> But yeah, it's you could do things like [39:20] you could there's attributes where you [39:22] can watch it. basically once you've [39:24] accepted it, if this person moves [39:27] around, follow them basically and things [39:29] like that. [39:30] >> Yeah, it doesn't sound weird at all. Um, [39:32] but yeah, I can imagine if you've got [39:33] like, I don't know, a fitness website [39:34] and you want to track the bike ride that [39:36] you're about to do or something. You [39:37] don't want that app, you don't want that [39:39] website open all the time, but you do [39:40] want it to be monitoring what you're [39:41] doing because that's part of the deal. [39:43] Um, yeah, very cool. Very, very cool [39:46] indeed. the the interop that's going on [39:48] between the browsers, as you said, means [39:50] that I'm sure that if this is in Chrome, [39:52] it'll ship into nightly builds of [39:55] Firefox and whatever else is out there [39:57] in the very near future. But yeah, thank [39:59] you for putting that out. That's [40:00] absolutely great. Um, sorry for joining [40:03] late. You you don't need to apologize. [40:06] Uh, I canceled it last week, so you [40:09] know, you you win. Um, okay. Let's move [40:13] on in that case and let's go now into [40:15] some WordPressy stuff. I don't have a [40:18] lot to say here really other than that [40:19] hopefully if you've got your um [40:22] WordPress installs sort of set to auto [40:24] update over minor releases this will [40:27] have happened already. Maybe you got a [40:28] slew of emails or something like that. [40:30] But WordPress 6.9.1 [40:32] which is a maintenance release has been [40:34] released. There's 49 bug fixes which [40:38] include things throughout core the block [40:39] editor and addressing it says here [40:41] multiple areas of WordPress including [40:44] mail classic themes and you can see the [40:47] full list. I genuinely have nothing to [40:49] say except as always there's the great [40:51] long list of people. We can't name them [40:53] all [40:54] >> but uh thank you very much. [40:55] >> We could but we're not going to. [40:57] >> Yeah, we could but there they all are. [40:59] Um, and thank you for the people who [41:02] contribute to that to 6.9.1. [41:05] Okay, this is very cool. This is very [41:07] cool. I think this is cooler than I [41:09] thought thought about when I put it into [41:11] the rundown. So, if like me um you've [41:15] been blogging lately, at some point it's [41:17] quite likely that you'll link out to [41:18] things. And if your blog stays up for [41:20] many, many years, it's quite likely that [41:22] some of those links will just go stale [41:25] over time. you know, websites come and [41:26] they go and things get moved around and [41:29] they're no longer there. Well, uh, this [41:31] apparently is called link rot when [41:33] you've got a bunch of links [41:35] >> spacing out from your website, so to [41:37] external resources, and they just sort [41:39] of disappear, which is a bit of a shame. [41:42] Um, so Automatic have joined forces with [41:44] the Wayback Machine, the Internet [41:46] Archives Wayback Machine to offer a [41:50] plug-in called the or called Internet [41:53] Archive Wayback Machine Linkixer. It's [41:56] It's quite a mouthful that, but it does [41:59] what it says on the tin. Uh, it [42:01] literally does what you'd imagine. I'm [42:02] going to read the blurb. Internet, the [42:04] name of that plugin. I'm not going to [42:05] say it twice because it's hard. This is [42:07] a plugin designed to combat link rot. [42:09] the gl gradual decay decay of web links [42:11] as pages are moved, changed or taken [42:13] down. It automatically scans your post [42:16] content on save and across existing [42:19] posts to detect outbound links. For each [42:22] one, it checks the internet archives [42:24] wayback machine for an archived version [42:26] and creates a snapshot if one isn't [42:29] available. So, it will even by the [42:32] sounds of it, if there is no or like [42:35] archive linked, it it will go and create [42:37] one. I don't know how it's going to do [42:38] that, but anyway, um this will automate [42:41] that whole process for you and you can [42:43] see, you know, in the normal way. It's [42:44] on WordPress.org. You've got all the, [42:46] you know, the screenshots where you can [42:47] see how it looks and what it does. But I [42:49] just think that's a really nice idea. Uh [42:51] so, bravo to uh Yeah, automatic on the [42:54] way back machine. Anybody else want to [42:56] comment on that? [42:57] >> I think it's really [42:58] >> I think it's awesome. [42:59] >> Yeah, it's way it's way cool. Yeah. And [43:02] knowing how many sites I've killed in [43:04] the past, you know, just like Lady Fire, [43:06] then it would kind of be cool to be able [43:07] to link back to those. [43:08] >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And presumably from [43:10] from that blurb that I just read, it [43:13] sounds like it's going to sort of [43:14] proactively just kind of keep this whole [43:16] process going. I don't know if I've got [43:18] that right, but obviously it said on [43:20] save and then it said and across [43:22] existing posts. reads to me like it's [43:25] going to slowly just go through your [43:27] website presumably on some sort of [43:28] schedule and just keep checking on your [43:31] behalf and um and hopefully the internet [43:34] archive will have more or less [43:36] everything that's ever existed. So it [43:38] will be able to find the the [43:40] approximation for it or the correct one. [43:41] I I don't know what that bit means [43:43] about, you know, creating one if it [43:45] doesn't exist. I'm not entirely sure [43:46] what that but [43:47] >> can you bring up Amber's comment though? [43:48] I think it's worth talking about. [43:50] >> Yeah, I can. Thank you. Yeah. Uh so this [43:52] is Amber. Amber Hinds from Equalized [43:54] Digital. Um, I've wondered how this [43:56] Wayback Machine plug-in is different [43:58] from a BL broken link check which a lot [44:00] of hosts have banned because of causing [44:02] performance issues. So, I guess the [44:06] thing here is that this will so do in [44:10] the scenario that you're describing [44:12] Amber, do those plugins go and [44:14] automatically find the Wayback Machine [44:17] um the post that that is on the way back [44:20] machine? I I think from what Amber's [44:23] saying is a lot of the um a lot of the [44:25] plugins that are just literally just [44:27] broken link checkers. [44:28] >> Yeah. [44:29] >> Um will just go through your site and [44:31] they go this link's broken, this link's [44:33] broken, this link's broken, this link's [44:34] broken, [44:35] >> they're quite resource intensive. And I [44:38] think when like the the saving is [44:41] probably not that resource intensive. [44:43] You probably just you click save. It [44:45] goes off to you know an API [44:48] within the internet archive says is this [44:51] available? Yes. [44:54] Great. If not make a snapshot and this [44:58] is the URL for it so that it can it can [45:00] find it. Um I think it's more just [45:04] checking everything to make sure it [45:06] works and and everything. If you if [45:08] you've done any sort of like SEO, when [45:10] you do a broken link check, you do it [45:12] offsite because it can break, you know, [45:15] you're basically running a whole [45:17] database. You're checking everything [45:19] within your database. So, it can be [45:21] really, really slow. [45:23] >> I'll just just read a little bit further [45:24] down. So, it says what this service is [45:26] for, what this service is and what it's [45:28] used for. The Internet Archive Wayback [45:29] Machines is a digital archive. I'm going [45:31] to read it quickly of the worldwide web. [45:32] The plug-in uses their API to check for [45:34] existing archive versions of web pages, [45:36] create new shap structures for pages, [45:37] and verify the status of archived jobs. [45:40] And then maybe this is more what you're [45:41] into, Amber. What data is sent and when? [45:44] Uh, so no personal data is sent or used [45:46] to verify if Wayback Machine services [45:48] are online. Um, you've got to put in an [45:51] API key. It says, uh, your access and [45:54] secret keys are sent over an author. You [45:56] know, it's all getting into technical [45:57] stuff that actually probably isn't what [46:00] you want. I'm going to point you to this [46:01] article. Um, Amber, it's on it's on the [46:04] WordPress.org [46:06] uh repo. And we lost Mark for a minute [46:09] there, but he's back. Um, [46:10] >> he forgot to wave his hands. [46:12] >> Yeah. Yeah. Um, and I will link to it in [46:16] the show notes, but you can probably [46:17] find it by just googling this internet [46:19] archive way machine uh link fixer. [46:22] >> My ink has a really nice um uh post or [46:25] comment as well. [46:26] >> Okay, there we go. Right, here we go. [46:28] Uh, this is pretty cool. It says, "I [46:31] wonder if it also has an option to [46:32] delete the old screenshot if somebody [46:34] wants to delete any old versions." Oh, [46:35] yeah. Interesting. I don't know. Not [46:37] entirely sure. That's a good point. Uh, [46:39] the plug-in description says, "Amber, [46:41] makes me think it monitors over time." [46:43] Yes, that's what I that's the impression [46:44] I got, Amber, is that it would just [46:46] obviously when you click publish or [46:49] update on a post. I think it's doing a [46:50] check then, but then I think it's just [46:53] sort of on some crumb job going through [46:55] hopefully very gently, you know, maybe [46:58] like one post an hour or something like [47:00] that, which sounds like what the broken [47:02] link checkers do, monitoring for broken [47:04] links over time. Yeah, but again, as Ree [47:06] says, I think it's doing more than that. [47:07] It's not just reporting there's a broken [47:09] link. It's going and finding something [47:11] which means it's now not broken even if [47:14] it's not going to the original. [47:15] >> Is there an option to just see whether [47:17] or not you want it to like hey I found [47:19] this broken link. Do you want to take it [47:20] out or do you want [47:21] >> automatically scans? So I'm just reading [47:24] off the uh the website now. I'll just [47:25] read here. Uh automatically scans for [47:27] outbound links in post content. Checks [47:29] the wayback machine for existing [47:30] archives. Creates new snapshots if no [47:32] archive exists. Redirects broken or [47:34] missing links to archive versions. [47:36] Archives your own posts on update. Works [47:39] on both new and existing content. Helps [47:42] maintain long-term SEO readability and [47:45] SEO. What's this bit? Archives your own [47:48] post. [47:50] >> I think that means that when you hit [47:52] update on the post, your post will go [47:54] into the internet archive. [47:56] >> Oh, I see. It's not archiving on your [47:58] Okay. It's not like saying it's a draft [47:59] or something. I was thinking weird. No, [48:01] that's not good. [48:02] >> I think that's okay. So every time you [48:05] create an update, it pings the wayback [48:07] machine, the internet archive. Oh, [48:09] that's nice. Okay. So, so it's a [48:11] proactive crawling mechanism out the [48:13] sales of it. [48:14] >> And I think based on what Mayan has said [48:17] about it also has I wonder if it has an [48:19] option to delete an old screenshot, a [48:21] snapshot. I don't think [48:23] >> you would be able to delete snapshots [48:25] from the internet archive. I don't know. [48:28] Like that would be kind of the point, [48:29] isn't it? [48:30] >> That's kind of the point of it. [48:31] >> Yeah. I think if you go and update an [48:34] old post, [48:36] it would potentially then go, "Right, [48:39] here's a snapshot from the 1st of [48:41] February. Oh, I've updated the first of [48:42] March." [48:43] >> Yeah. [48:43] >> Here's another snapshot from the 1 of [48:45] March. Because you can see how it sign [48:47] changes every time. [48:48] >> Yeah. So, Amber Hinds, one last thrower [48:50] that I see here. She says, "Yeah, I know [48:51] it does more. I'm just curious about [48:53] what the uh continual process for [48:55] monitoring links is." Yeah, I think [48:56] you're uh we're probably just as [48:58] confused as you are to be honest with [48:59] them. So, um maybe maybe we ought to [49:02] check that out on another uh episode, [49:04] but uh okay. Anyway, very nice. Thought [49:07] that was a kind of cool thing and [49:08] definitely worth mentioning. Okay, we're [49:11] going to move on to Okay, this is going [49:13] to sound negative and I do apologize. [49:15] Try to be positive. I'm a little bit [49:17] confused about the um the education [49:20] initiatives in the WordPress space. Not [49:22] because any of them lack merit. I think [49:25] they all lack incredible merit, but [49:28] because there's a lot of them going on [49:29] and I'm finding it hard to keep up with [49:33] which things are going on where and [49:35] under what name and what thing maps to [49:38] what name and what, you know, what [49:40] initiatives are going on underneath it [49:41] and hopefully in the next few minutes [49:43] you'll understand why I'm confused. So, [49:45] >> we need an org chart for this. [49:47] >> Yeah, I think so. A spreadsheet to Yeah, [49:49] I think [49:50] >> Sounds like a new project for you, [49:51] Michelle. Oh, [49:55] >> I don't think you're busy enough, [49:56] Michelle. You've definitely not got [49:58] enough going on. So, here we go. Let's [50:00] start here and then we'll move on [50:01] through a bunch of different articles. [50:02] So, this one's called Community [50:03] Education Initiatives. Help grow [50:05] connections with educational [50:06] institutions. We'll begin here. In the [50:09] past two years, the WordPress press [50:10] community has launched a handful of [50:12] educational in education initiatives. [50:14] These initiatives initiatives are [50:16] designed to help introduce, onboard, and [50:18] educate students into the WordPress [50:19] open-source project. Projects like, and [50:22] here come a few, campus connect, [50:25] WordPress student clubs, offer students [50:28] the opportunity for hands-on learning [50:30] within within WordPress through [50:31] workshops or ongoing meetups on campus. [50:35] WordPress credits a contribution focused [50:38] initiative offers onboarding and [50:39] mentorship that helps learners satisfy [50:41] academic requirements while directly [50:44] contributing to WordPress. Now I know [50:46] that things are being put under this [50:47] sort of umbrella this I think [50:49] it'sucation [50:50] I think it is wordpress.org/education [50:52] /education. So, it's kind of all going [50:54] to live there. But I'm wondering if you [50:56] panelists who are all into WordPress and [50:58] all of that kind of stuff, do you know [51:00] the difference between Campus Connect [51:01] and WordPress student clubs, for [51:03] example, putting you all on the spot? [51:06] >> Well, Campus Connect actually gives you [51:07] college credits. [51:09] >> Yes. [51:09] >> It's it's it's very much organized [51:11] through the college itself as as earning [51:14] credits for learning WordPress as [51:15] opposed to a student club which is [51:17] people gathering around the same [51:18] information. But then interestingly, if [51:21] we look on the same article, there's [51:22] another hyperlink to a WordPress credits [51:25] thing, which kind of feels like that's a [51:28] separate thing as well. But you're quite [51:29] right. Yeah, there there is there's [51:31] definite blue uh sky. What do they call [51:34] it when there's a Yeah, blue sky. Let's [51:36] go with that. There's there's there's [51:37] each of these has a def definitive [51:38] boundary and it does one thing. I'm just [51:41] >> And it's also a ven diagram with a [51:43] little bit of over over [51:44] >> There you go. Exactly that, right? Yeah. [51:45] There's a bit of that. So, um, this is [51:48] trying to, um, this is trying to make [51:50] that whole process a little bit easier. [51:51] What they're trying to do is sort of say [51:53] on this article, if you've got any [51:55] contacts in the WordPress space and you [51:57] are somehow overlapping in the education [52:00] space, here's how you can connect [52:02] institutions, meetups, and what have [52:04] you. So, I'm going to drop that into the [52:06] the show notes. So, if if you're into [52:08] education in any way, shape, or form, [52:10] and you would like more intel, then [52:12] there's something there. So, moving into [52:14] a different thing. This is quite nice. [52:16] Um, this is UIC, which stands for the [52:19] University of Illinois Chicago. I [52:21] confess I've not heard of that [52:22] institution. And the WordPress [52:24] foundation have launched the UIC Tech [52:27] Solutions Opensource Fund. So, we have [52:30] another thing we've just added in. It's [52:32] quite a mouthful that one, isn't it? The [52:34] UIC Tech Solutions Open Source Fund. [52:36] Now, this is initiative to accelerate [52:38] open source systems. It's something to [52:40] do with UIC and Automatic. Automatic [52:43] have thrown in some money into the hat [52:44] to make it so that you can get um it [52:46] looks like AI learning. You're going to [52:49] get $1,000 if you complete this program, [52:51] but there's a cohort of I think it's [52:53] going to be 40 students who are going to [52:55] receive that money. But there's [52:56] basically there's another thing here. Um [52:59] and you may not have heard of it. If [53:01] you're in this part of the world, it [53:02] probably would have been quite nice to [53:03] have heard of that, especially if you're [53:05] into those things. And then we've got [53:08] this that I've just talked about seems [53:10] to be exactly the same as this, but now [53:13] it's being called AI leaders micro [53:16] credential. And so now we've got AI [53:19] leaders micro credential. We've got UIC [53:22] tech solutions opensource fund. We've [53:25] got meetups, WordPress credits, campus [53:28] connect, WordPress student clubs. [53:31] You can Can you see why I'm confused? [53:33] You just need to see the silos and and [53:36] how they overlap and what exactly each [53:37] one does. [53:38] >> Yeah. My point being there's no doubt [53:42] every single one of these things has a [53:44] has a value like probably an incredible [53:47] value. I'm just confused. And because [53:50] I'm confused, I would imagine it's well, [53:53] it's probably really easy to understand, [53:55] but you know what I mean. There's a lot [53:58] going on out there. And I for one would [54:01] kind of welcome it if there's somebody [54:02] who can get in touch with me and explain [54:04] in a nice clear form how one begins and [54:07] one ends and where one is and where the [54:09] other one is. That would be really [54:11] helpful. Um so I I hopeful hopefully [54:13] that didn't come across as a moan. [54:15] Hopefully that came across as wow [54:17] there's so much going on that it's hard [54:19] to keep a track of and um yeah [54:22] >> I think Taco raises a very good point in [54:25] the comments. [54:25] >> Thank you. Maybe maybe it's me. [54:29] >> But [54:30] >> is it this one? [54:31] >> Yes. [54:31] >> Yeah. [54:32] >> And I'm just like, [54:33] >> I'm going to ask Mark, is $1,000 crazy [54:35] in the United States? Nope. [54:38] >> No. Okay. [54:39] >> No. [54:39] >> This is probably [54:40] >> I mean, your your books for one course [54:42] are going to cost you $1,000 and those [54:45] are online books these days, you know. [54:47] >> And and I was paying $1,000 for my ma [54:49] per credit for my master's degree 20 [54:51] years ago. So [54:52] >> Oh, yeah. I would have assumed that [54:54] that's what Taco meant. That that's an [54:56] inadequate amount of money. Is that what [54:58] you were passing? [54:59] >> I thought he meant it was too much. I [55:00] thought he [55:01] >> Yeah, I thought I actually thought the [55:03] same thing. I thought the same thing. [55:04] >> We need some clarification from you, [55:05] Taco. [55:06] >> Taco, tell us what you think. I thought [55:08] that you were saying it's not enough, [55:09] but I think Michelle and Mark think that [55:12] maybe you're thinking that's [55:13] >> okay. I I got confused. I think this is [55:17] like you are paid to complete that [55:20] course. [55:21] >> No. [55:21] >> Okay. Well, [55:23] after you complete that course. [55:24] >> Okay. Yeah. Yeah. But but but the money [55:26] goes to the students. It's not them [55:28] paying, you know, the student. [55:31] >> I perhaps was confused then. [55:33] >> Yeah. Let me put let me put it on the [55:34] screen. So you see none of this is [55:37] >> I was just going to say and and this is [55:39] Nathan's point right here. This right [55:41] here proves Nathan's point. [55:43] >> So here we go. So this is from the UIC. [55:45] So this is the this is the fund that's [55:47] been uh given by Automatic who sponsored [55:50] with this one particular university. Uh [55:52] and we've got this line here. Um [55:54] students who complete the course earn [55:56] $1,000. So it feels like it's money [56:00] >> to do some opensource training [56:02] particularly aligned in the AI space. I [56:04] can see why automatic would wish to fund [56:07] that particular thing because that's all [56:08] the rage at the moment. And getting a [56:10] getting a young cohort of AI enabled [56:12] WordPresses is really valuable. Um [56:15] Sounds like there's four is paying for [56:17] the course itself. So you [56:18] >> after you money No, I think Yeah. No, I [56:21] think they just give you a re a reward, [56:23] >> right? But they're not charging you also [56:24] to take the course. It's not like [56:26] >> No, I don't believe so. Yeah, I think [56:28] you you somehow maybe you have to [56:30] upfront the money at the beginning and [56:32] what have you and then you know you get [56:33] the money at the end and uh anyway there [56:36] we go. Uh so is Taco still here? Here [56:39] students would virtually anything for Oh [56:41] no, Taco did think it was too much. [56:44] >> Yeah. Okay. that I was [56:45] >> I was totally wrong. All right. [56:46] >> Yeah. But but Michelle and I were wrong [56:48] because we were thinking that the [56:50] student is paying the $1,000 as opposed [56:52] to [56:53] >> the student. [56:53] >> But I will also tell you that students [56:56] in the United States will not do [56:57] anything for 50 to 100 euro. I mean [56:59] maybe they'll they'll they'll like [57:00] shovel your sidewalk or mow your grass, [57:03] but they're not going to take an entire [57:04] course for $1,000. They're going to [57:05] expect a lot more at the end of that. [57:07] >> Okay. No. Yeah. People00 is good is what [57:11] I mean. Yeah. [57:11] >> Yeah. They're very very um they have [57:14] very high expectations of what they're [57:16] trying to do. [57:17] >> Our cost of living is ridiculous over [57:18] here too though. [57:19] >> And our cost of living is Yeah. I'm in [57:21] California. You're in New York. You know [57:22] what cost of living space in the United [57:26] States. You can basically add a couple [57:27] of zeros to anything we have over this [57:30] side of the the pond. Okay. [57:31] >> Anyway, sorry for causing the confusion. [57:33] >> No, no, no, no, no. But I'm glad that we [57:36] had that confusion because it forced us [57:37] to talk about it and figure it out. So [57:39] anyway, [57:39] >> and Amber has it exactly right in her [57:41] comment. [57:42] >> Okay, lovely on I was understand it. So [57:46] Amber says Amber Hines back in the [57:47] comments. Uh I was understanding it as [57:50] it pays the student to do it. I thought [57:53] it was free to take it though. [57:55] >> You are correct, Amber. [57:56] >> Okay, that's what you get as a reward [57:59] after completing it, but it's free to [58:00] do. [58:02] >> Have I got that right? I mean, the one [58:04] thing that I think here, [58:06] >> the one thing that I think here is that [58:07] all of these things, as confusing as [58:09] they may be, they all address this idea [58:12] of we need to get more young people into [58:14] WordPress. That's really what it boils [58:16] down to. And that's the key. And [58:18] everybody has their own idea about how [58:20] to go about doing it. [58:23] >> And somebody needs to come along, I [58:25] don't know who, but somebody needs to [58:26] come along and say, "Okay, let's make [58:28] sense of all these ideas and bring it [58:30] together." But the the goal is still [58:32] let's let's not uh take away or lose [58:35] focus on the fact that the goal is still [58:37] to bring young people into WordPress and [58:38] that's what this is all about [58:40] >> and AI is a great way to do it. [58:41] >> Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the [58:43] head Mark because I think these so a few [58:46] years ago we didn't have these [58:48] overlapping initiatives. They just [58:49] simply didn't exist. And then things [58:51] like Campus Connect um and what have you [58:53] came along and and obviously they're [58:55] being run by different people and [58:56] they've got different outcomes. But it's [58:58] exactly what you said, Mark. I think I [59:00] think there's this knowledge that, you [59:02] know, unless we do something about it [59:03] and unless we attract people, I don't [59:06] know, under the age of 30 and lower down [59:08] to come into the WordPress space, that's [59:10] going to have an impact in a decade or [59:12] half a decade's time. [59:14] >> And so there's all these initiatives. [59:15] They're all happening at the same time, [59:17] but but that just means it's quite hard [59:19] for people like me, like our panelists [59:22] >> to get a grip of which one does what. [59:24] What's that thing again? Um and so the [59:27] clarity around that would be would be [59:28] quite useful. [59:30] >> So the world's worst web developer put [59:32] the last comment in person old person's [59:34] platform. There are other things that [59:36] are more attractive to young people like [59:38] AI. So, I actually saw a claim yesterday [59:42] that counters what we'd seen prior prior [59:44] to that, which is that that a lot of um [59:47] people are checking your your resume, [59:50] for example, or your CV to see if it's [59:52] been done by AI and and automatically [59:54] checking if it has. I saw a claim [59:56] yesterday that that's reversed now. That [59:58] because they're checking to see if [60:00] you're using AI and they're putting you [60:01] at the top of the list because they want [60:03] to see that you have AI skills in a lot [60:05] of these jobs. So, [60:07] >> I don't know how I don't know if that's [60:08] true or not, but that is a claim that I [60:09] saw yesterday online and I was like I [60:11] wish I could go back to where it was, [60:12] but I saw it fleetingly. So, [60:14] interesting. [60:15] >> And by the way, who are you calling old? [60:18] >> I'll [60:20] take it. So long as I don't get really [60:23] really old, then you know that's just an [60:25] insult. But [60:26] >> I'm older than you, Nathan. [60:28] >> I'll take that. Take that any day of the [60:30] week. Um D. [60:33] So yeah, Taco is back in. Uh the comment [60:37] got um truncated. He said, "But I really [60:39] dislike that we have seasoned [60:40] contributors living in poverty and [60:42] students getting a course fee and then [60:44] $1,000 grant for getting getting free [60:47] education all in caps. Getting free [60:50] education." Um and yeah. Okay. So bit of [60:53] clarity hopefully here. Um Mayan or I [60:56] don't know how you pronounce that. [60:57] Sorry. Thank you, May. Um, he says, [60:59] "Yes, the course will be free to take [61:00] and upon completion, students will get [61:03] $1,000. Goal is to get more and more [61:05] young people into WordPress and it got [61:07] truncated and more students may end up [61:10] joining it because they will learn AI. [61:14] Uh, you all of you are old. I [61:18] >> own it. I own it." [61:20] >> And uh, [61:22] tell me that. [61:23] >> I think Reese is still in his 30s [61:24] though, so let's keep [61:26] >> Well, I I appreciate that. I am I'm 21. [61:30] >> I'm going to guess that that beard alone [61:32] took at least 30 years to conjure up. [61:36] >> No, no, no. This this beard was my I [61:39] need to be able to look like I can buy [61:41] alcohol. [61:44] >> Underneath those baby face. [61:46] >> Yeah. Yeah. [61:49] >> Um, young people are rejecting AI. This [61:52] this goes either way though, doesn't it? [61:53] I think some young people depends on the [61:55] group for sure. people clearly aren't. I [61:58] I my we all know what I think about AI. [62:01] I have great reservations about it. I [62:03] would like it all to go back in a box. [62:05] Um although it's marvelous in certain [62:08] respects. So here we go. Young people [62:10] are rejecting AI. They have a lot of [62:12] environmental concerns and ethical [62:14] concerns. I can only tell you about the [62:16] young people in my life and they are all [62:19] aligned with that comment. The young [62:21] people that I have in my life, they [62:24] don't want AI to be the thing. They're [62:26] they're terribly worried about the [62:27] future that they're going to be living [62:29] in should AI take, you know, every [62:31] single job out there. Um, and let's keep [62:34] going, Taco, it seems that they are [62:35] saying, you see, [62:38] even we're reading the article, we can't [62:41] pause what the article says. Um, Taco, [62:43] it seems like they're saying that free [62:45] education is not sufficient motivation [62:46] to take the course. um [62:48] >> to bribe them with $1,000 also. [62:52] >> Okay, there you go. And then there's a [62:54] comment about Reese's beard and alcohol. [62:56] That's why I stopped drinking alcohol, [62:57] Reese. I can't I can't grow a beard. [62:59] It's got to be beards and alcohol, [63:01] hasn't it? The name of this episode. [63:03] >> Beard beards and booze. Let's go with [63:06] that. [63:06] >> There you go. [63:08] >> I have I have no beard. [63:11] >> I kind of keep mine to, you know, a [63:13] manageable length. I could strike a [63:15] match on mine. That's the That's the [63:16] goal. I mean, I'm a woman under 50, so I [63:18] do pluck a few here and there, but [63:21] >> uh AI is like politics, says the [63:23] webinar. You have the ones that love it [63:25] and the other ones that are against it. [63:26] >> Absolutely. [63:27] >> 100%. [63:28] >> Um [63:29] >> we're not supposed to talk about it. [63:30] Like you're not supposed to talk about [63:32] politics. [63:32] >> Fight club. That's just [63:35] >> Okay, let's move on. Um so that was a [63:37] whole bunch of stuff all about education [63:39] and what have you. And if you're [63:41] confused like me, let's let's see if in [63:43] the next year or two it becomes more [63:44] obvious. Um agree that there's multiple [63:47] ways into WordPress and so some people [63:50] who are young people will come into [63:52] WordPress [63:53] >> in spite of AI and others will come [63:54] because of AI and so opening up more [63:58] than one route will will help bring more [64:01] people from diverse populations in. [64:03] Yeah, I think that that's the bottom [64:05] line. [64:05] >> Yeah. Uh last comment about AI and it's [64:08] this. There we go. That sums it up [64:09] perfectly for me. Uh Taco says, "I love [64:12] AI. Full stop. and I hate it with a [64:15] passion. Yeah, there you go. [64:17] >> I can apply that sentence to a few [64:18] things in my life. [64:19] >> Yeah, no sitting on the fence there. [64:22] So, okay, moving on. On the screen now, [64:24] we've got the repository. Uh this [64:26] article entitled WordPress meetup [64:28] organizers back revamp plans but warn [64:30] infrastructure must catch up. So, I'll [64:32] quickly summarize. Uh if you've never [64:34] been to a WordPress meetup, think of it [64:36] as an evening long word camp. The idea [64:38] is that you show up and for a couple of [64:41] hours you would possibly um sit as an [64:43] attendee probably watch a couple of [64:45] presentations maybe have a bit of [64:47] networking time and you know it's all [64:49] probably done in the same room and it's [64:51] citybased and you know so hopefully you [64:54] can travel to one that's fairly close [64:55] they kind of took a bit of a hit massive [64:57] hit in fact in the UK at least anyway [64:59] during COVID never really recovered [65:01] there are a few going on but they they [65:04] seem all the ones that I've been to [65:06] anyway follow a very similar formula you [65:07] show up as a as a register as a [65:10] attendee. You show up, watch a few [65:12] people talk about something which [65:14] hopefully aligns with what you're trying [65:15] to do and then you know have a chat with [65:17] people, network and then leave. And the [65:19] idea here is uh that's been proposed is [65:22] wouldn't it be good if rather than show [65:24] up and watch it was show up and do. So [65:29] um things where the content enables you [65:31] to interact. So I'll just quickly see if [65:35] I can find the correct sentence. Yeah. [65:38] So the idea a road map uh has been [65:41] proposed which plans to expand the [65:42] traditional meetup format beyond talks [65:44] and social events to include handson [65:47] sessions where attendees can contribute [65:49] to WordPress and connect with make teams [65:53] which is lovely really nice idea but [65:55] both Ree and I and Michelle and Mark I'm [65:59] sure in the past has been involved with [66:01] these kind of things. that that's a [66:03] really nice sentiment, but the the [66:04] article here is sort of also proposing [66:07] the point of how how do you actually do [66:09] that? Like if you're an organizer of an [66:11] event, how would you make that happen? [66:15] It can happen at word camps because [66:18] there's lots of time to plan. There's [66:20] probably some sort of reliable Wi-Fi [66:23] that's been paid for. Probably people [66:25] are going to show up with a laptop. [66:27] They've probably taken time off work. [66:29] So, you know, yada yada yada. um this is [66:32] not going to be the case for meetups. So [66:34] really what this article is saying is [66:36] great idea but how on earth do we [66:38] implement that and I think that's a [66:40] that's a good sentiment. We would need I [66:42] think a lot more direction possibly from [66:44] on I [66:45] >> uh to give us ideas about how that will [66:47] be done. Ree it sounds like you're [66:48] wanting to [66:49] >> yeah this is one of those things because [66:51] we're we're different in Mwork compared [66:53] to [66:54] >> work camp work [66:56] in that we don't have speakers. We are [66:58] literally a co-working. [67:00] >> Yep. So we're literally Friday afternoon [67:04] we go here we're an afternoon based word [67:07] camp uh WordPress meetup and you can [67:10] just come along with your laptop and we [67:11] co-work and we discuss the network. The [67:14] reason why we do it like that is because [67:15] all the organizers burn themselves out [67:18] you know and and and that's why we you [67:20] know that's why we we've kept it very [67:23] very simple. We go to the same place we [67:26] have an okay I mean put it this way it's [67:28] a co-working space. Nobody really minds [67:30] to we're there kind of thing. Uh we're [67:34] kind of a little bit under the radar a [67:35] little bit. Somebody did show up and [67:37] went to them and said, "Where's the meet [67:40] up?" And they were like, "We don't [67:41] know." [67:43] >> Is under the radar. [67:44] >> Yeah. We Yeah. Um but we just we that's [67:49] the way which we do it because everybody [67:50] involved in it burnt out and it just [67:56] this feels like somebody going a little [67:59] bit because it would it would probably [68:02] be the meetup organizers [68:04] planning this you know and and and going [68:06] okay so you know like they talk about [68:09] contributing right [68:12] you need somebody to go if somebody [68:13] wants to contribute to WordPress you [68:15] need somebody who is a meetup organizer [68:18] who is also doing, you know, knows how [68:22] to contribute, you know, and because cuz [68:25] I've done both the coding and like the [68:27] forum support when I've done [68:30] contributing at word camps when I did [68:33] the um you know the actual coding [68:37] I got a patch into core but it literally [68:39] took me six hours to set my laptop up. [68:42] >> Yeah. [68:43] and and just just so that it worked [68:46] because the way in which I work on a on [68:49] a day-to-day basis is all is completely [68:51] different to the way in which you're [68:53] supposed to set up and use track and and [68:56] all that and all that jazz. [68:58] >> Yeah. So, it's [69:00] it's one of those things where it's like [69:03] it's all very well saying that and as [69:05] well as what you said, Nathan, in terms [69:07] of the, you know, the uh you know, the [69:10] infrastructure, the Wi-Fi, you know, [69:12] setting everything up and everything, [69:14] it's the people as well. It's the [69:16] organizers because it would be us [69:19] leading this and or teaching them how to [69:22] do something in WordPress or whatever. I [69:25] mean, [69:25] >> yeah, you get a real range of people [69:27] showing up to these things as well. And [69:28] so it be really to kind of figure out [69:30] what the content would be that would be [69:31] meaningful and not just really like, you [69:33] know, some expert shows up and it's [69:35] just, oh my goodness, we're doing 101 [69:37] blog posting, are we? [69:39] >> Um, you know, that's not entertaining. [69:41] It feels a little bit like sort of [69:43] saying, do you know what we should do? [69:44] Let's run a So, nothing to do with [69:46] WordPress. Somebody just has this bright [69:48] idea. There should be a marathon in our [69:50] town. Let's set up a marathon because [69:52] all we need to do is get a load of [69:53] people to come here and run. [69:55] >> Uh yeah, but what about all the things [69:58] like the the medical stuff and the [70:00] ticketing and the organizing the event [70:03] and the you know yada yada yada a [70:05] million things that need to happen if [70:07] you're going to run a marathon. Sort of [70:08] same thing here. It's a lovely lordable [70:10] idea, but the the realities and the [70:13] proclivities kind of feel that it might [70:16] be much much harder to do than um you [70:18] know certainly across all of the the [70:20] meetups. And Taco makes a good point. [70:22] Oh, it's got lost. Where's it gone? Um [70:27] uh there was something about nine [70:29] people. There we go. He said, "I loved [70:31] it when we had two or three speakers a [70:32] night and 100 plus attendees. I happily [70:34] put the work that was needed in. [70:37] Nowadays, it's way harder to motivate [70:38] myself for a nineperson meetup. And this [70:41] is [70:42] >> this is the problem. I I don't think [70:44] this would be a sticking plaster [70:45] solution for that. Just sort of saying [70:47] let's do [70:48] >> contributor based stuff isn't going to [70:50] fix it. I don't think at least [70:52] >> from an from an NA from a Manchester [70:55] meetup perspective nine me nine person [70:58] meet up would be our biggest ever [71:00] >> like that would that would that would be [71:01] our biggest thing since before co [71:03] >> right [71:04] >> because we we we reg [71:06] we did it in such a way [71:09] >> because we tried to get the speakers in [71:10] the evening meet up [71:12] >> and it it struggled. So this is why we [71:17] then said right it's a mid-after [71:19] afternoon co-working thing and I realize [71:21] we eliminate everybody who can't work [71:25] from you know who who have to go to an [71:27] office who have a day job you know and [71:30] and it does kind of limit who shows up [71:32] to this and but at the same time it [71:36] means there is a meetup there is [71:38] something going on they can say if [71:39] you're in Manchester and you do [71:42] WordPress come along to this on a Friday [71:46] afternoon. [71:47] >> Um, so there's a variety of different [71:49] comments in here. So, uh, Elliot, who we [71:51] mentioned his blog post earlier, oh, [71:53] it's now moved up. Uh, where's it gone? [71:54] Where's it gone? Where's it gone? The [71:57] comments are coming in so fast. So, when [71:58] I try to click on one, there's another [71:59] one and it bumps it up the the [72:01] >> very active group today. [72:02] >> Yeah, it's really nice. Yeah, thank you [72:04] for all your comments, by the way. I [72:05] don't say that often enough, but we're [72:07] very pleased that you guys are [72:08] commenting. Um, uh, right. Okay. The [72:12] thought of contributing uh came to mind [72:14] for our meetup but the logistics proved [72:16] to be impo prove to be impossible. Not [72:19] everyone has a laptop, Wi-Fi, seating [72:21] etc. And there was something a bit like [72:24] that. Uh I saw another comment which was [72:27] you know you could spend sort of two [72:29] hours just setting up the the laptop for [72:32] for the the hard so it's hard you know [72:34] you come to a contributed day on a big [72:36] word camp. Anyway, gosh, I don't I can't [72:39] circle that square, but I thought it was [72:41] >> Yeah, worth mentioning. We only ever [72:44] have one thing per show that captures [72:46] the uh the comments, but today we've had [72:47] two. So, uh I'm feeling this is one of [72:50] the more successful episodes that we [72:52] ever have have ever had. So, that's [72:54] really nice. Thank you for your your [72:56] commentary. Uh is there anything that's [72:57] popped up in the comments that you think [72:59] worthy of bringing onto the screen? And [73:01] very quickly, I think Taco's comment was [73:04] about an organizer when he said what's [73:06] as an he split over two. [73:08] >> This one as an organizer, what's the [73:10] difference between finding a speaker and [73:11] finding a workshop lead? I don't suppose [73:13] anything really. I suppose it's more the [73:15] who's going to show up and what are they [73:16] going to bring with them. [73:18] >> Most of our attendees at WLDDN, they [73:20] don't have a laptop. they're just sort [73:21] of showing up and you know [73:23] >> it also depends on how you're selling it [73:24] to people and how you're organiz you [73:26] know it's not enough to just [73:28] >> say it's a workshop you have to put a [73:30] lot more thought and energy into how [73:31] you're [73:32] >> sending that information out to other [73:34] people so they know how to prepare to be [73:35] there. Yeah, like like like like what [73:38] Nathan said, it's like [73:40] >> there is no, you know, not everybody who [73:42] shows up at WPLDN brings a laptop [73:46] >> and if they [73:47] >> Well, and and this goes to the comment [73:48] James made uh which I think we skipped, [73:51] which is what I learned from our end of [73:53] the year gather. People just wanted to [73:55] network and I think that that's a a huge [73:58] >> uh part of it. I know it is for me when [74:00] I go to meetups is is really just to [74:02] network and help people if they have [74:06] issues. But that's part of networking as [74:09] far as I'm concerned. Um, yeah. And and [74:12] uh [74:13] >> I think that doing things the way that [74:16] you do at risk is is the way that makes [74:19] sense to me for a meetup is just don't [74:23] have anything formal [74:25] >> people show up and you get some [74:27] networking in, you get some work in, you [74:29] get, you know, you get some [74:31] >> all these things that that help you to [74:33] connect and and that's what builds the [74:35] community in the first place is that [74:37] connection. So, [74:39] >> and it's a lot easier than trying to [74:40] find speakers because I've done both and [74:42] let me tell you, [74:44] >> yeah, [74:45] >> wpspeakers.com helps you find speakers [74:48] by the way. [74:48] >> Yes, we've provided we've made use of [74:50] that. Yeah, thank you. Michelle's [74:51] resource wpees.com is worth [74:54] >> but also like my meetup and here for [74:56] Rochester is still online. Like we went [74:57] online during the pandemic. It's still [74:59] online because my mobility has decreased [75:01] since we were meeting in person. And if [75:04] I don't have somebody to help me because [75:06] I can't lift my scooter and assemble it [75:07] out of my trunk by myself, then I can't [75:09] run a meetup offsite. So mine will [75:11] always be online unless and until [75:14] somebody else steps up to coordinate it. [75:17] >> Maybe this is part of the educational [75:19] piece that there's this bigger picture [75:21] of trying to make this whole thing work [75:22] through all these different initiatives [75:24] so that there are some people younger [75:26] blood so that those kind of activities [75:28] can happen. Um, okay. So there was a lot [75:31] there. I don't think we've got the the [75:32] the measure of it exactly, but hopefully [75:34] that you know hopefully some of these [75:37] kind of initiatives will take off and [75:38] maybe there will be some more kind of [75:39] contributing type work, but it also [75:42] feels like there's a significant [75:44] impediment to making it just work at the [75:46] sort of click of a fingers. The ideation [75:48] is where we're at. Oh, and just out of [75:50] just here, there seem to be quite a few [75:53] uh people who also were just sort of [75:55] railing against the meetup.com platform. [75:58] Um meetup.com is the sort of de facto [76:01] platform that um charter program meetups [76:06] use. It's free um if you are one of the [76:09] charter program meetups. If you're not [76:11] then obviously you'll have to pay but um [76:14] it is it has it has drawbacks and it has [76:17] um you know bonus things as well. It's [76:20] got some good and some bad and obviously [76:22] things like gather press which Patricia [76:24] who was in the comment she's been [76:26] involved in rather a lot. Um, it would [76:28] be great if that became a like forl like [76:30] swap out and everybody could gather uh [76:33] on gather press a sort of homebuilt [76:35] WordPress solution for the exact same [76:37] thing. So, okay, that was another point [76:39] that got raised. Righty ho. Um, it is [76:43] we're going to have to race. I'm sorry [76:44] about this. Uh, I'm going to commiserate [76:46] the fact that the community has lost. [76:48] Um, well, not lost. That's not true. U, [76:50] >> he's just moving into a different [76:51] >> Sorry, uh, Nick. It sounds like your [76:53] demise, but uh it's maybe it'll be the [76:56] making of you and wonderful things will [76:57] happen. I apologize. Nick Diego, who um [77:00] has been on the podcast several times, [77:02] he is leaving automatic. He uh obviously [77:05] has been tinkering a lot with AI and has [77:07] decided that he's got uh got some new [77:10] pastures to uh to check out. Let's just [77:12] put it that way. And so he has left [77:14] automatic and uh I think there's a bit [77:16] of a hole there to be filled. So [77:18] hopefully somebody else will come in and [77:19] take whatever role that he had. But uh [77:21] thank you uh Nick for your contributions [77:24] particularly to this show. Really [77:26] appreciate that [77:26] >> and good luck to you [77:28] >> indeed. Yeah, good luck indeed. Right [77:30] now the Okay, so you know I was saying [77:32] my RSS dwindled, my RSS dwindled is now [77:36] really short. basically the the the vast [77:39] majority of WordPress content that I am [77:41] receiving through my RSS feed. And [77:43] you've just got to trust me when I say [77:45] that I have got more or less everything [77:47] that I can find in the WordPress space [77:49] in my RSS speed reader. So much AI is [77:54] now that's just like more than half the [77:56] content appears to be around AI. And so [77:59] we'll just cover off a few things [78:01] because time is short. I don't think [78:03] we'll have a chance to get into them. [78:04] That's handy because I don't understand [78:06] any of it anyway. Um, but uh here we go. [78:11] So, the first one is from Felix who is [78:14] no longer uh employed at Google but is [78:16] still contributing. Thank you, Felix. [78:18] Appreciate it. Um, proposal for merging [78:21] WP AI client into WordPress 7.0, an API [78:28] agnostic client. So, in other words, it [78:30] it's not like clawed or open AI. You [78:33] bring your own key and what have you um [78:36] into WordPress core. I'll just let that [78:39] sink in for a bit. What do we think [78:40] about that first comment? No, thank you [78:44] on the and then be it joined in. Care to [78:47] elaborate? And it would you don't [78:50] normally get this many comments, but [78:52] look, AI is so interesting to so many [78:54] people. I I think probably if people [78:58] want it, we should have it in there, but [79:00] I definitely don't want it to be aligned [79:02] to any particular institution, company [79:04] or anything like that. Any thoughts [79:08] quickly? [79:10] >> Oh, is this a plug-in territory? [79:13] >> That's kind of that I think is probably [79:16] where my head goes. But I think that I [79:19] do you know what, Ree? I think the more [79:21] weeks that go by, the more this is an [79:24] indispensable thing in just every [79:26] developer's toolkit, isn't it? Is [79:29] anybody who's developing like any [79:31] significant proportion of people who are [79:33] developing not using AI anymore? It [79:35] feels like everybody's jumped on in some [79:37] way, maybe some more than others. So [79:40] maybe that whole 8020 argument has sort [79:42] of flipped. Maybe 80% of the developers [79:44] out there are using this stuff [79:45] habitually and so it kind of does [79:47] belong. Anyway, uh there's a proposal by [79:50] Felix. If you think AI belongs in core, [79:53] you can have your say. Call for feedback [79:55] and testing is the instructions are down [79:57] here. Or you could go and make a comment [79:59] and join in the uh the fun over there. [80:03] Uh right, okay. Next one. If you're a [80:05] com there's a Claude connector. That [80:09] means that um if you're a Claude user [80:11] and you've got a WordPress.com account, [80:13] it's possible for you to now ask [80:15] Claude's stuff about your WordPress [80:17] website. So in the past, Claude had to [80:20] sort of make assumptions. Now it can get [80:22] into the back end of your com account [80:23] and tell you things like which is the [80:26] most popular post and essentially it can [80:28] suck data out of your WordPress website [80:31] should you allow that to happen. So [80:33] that's interesting. Also interesting is [80:36] TechCrunch very very rarely writes about [80:39] WordPress. Uh but that thing was [80:42] apparently important enough. This [80:43] connection between Claude Code and uh [80:46] WordPress got an article. I don't know [80:48] why the headline has gone. Where's [80:50] where's the headline gone? There used to [80:51] be a headline at the top there saying, [80:53] "Oh, is that it now? Is that what you [80:55] get?" You just get this tiny little [80:56] headline down there. That's curious. [80:58] Um anyway, it was mentioned in [81:01] Techrunch, so obviously, you know, all [81:03] the uh all the AI makes this stuff very [81:05] fascinating. Jonathan Bosinger has an [81:08] interesting spin on AI this week. He's [81:10] clearly an open-source advocate. I don't [81:12] know how disgruntled he is with the, you [81:15] know, the open AIs and the clauds and [81:16] the anthropics and all of that sort of [81:18] stuff out there, but he has created [81:20] what's called the WPO Lama model [81:23] provider. And I'll just read from the [81:25] blurb down at the bottom. It's a [81:27] WordPress plug-in that provides local [81:29] and cloud AI model support. O Lama for [81:32] the WordPress AI client. So, if you [81:35] don't wish to entrust your information [81:37] or all of that with to these big giant [81:39] companies who, let's be honest, we don't [81:41] know if they're going to exist into the [81:43] year 2027. Feels like they got quite a [81:45] few debts to pay. Then, uh maybe going [81:48] for local uh LLMs and things like that [81:51] is your thing. There's an article here [81:53] and a plug-in which will help you do [81:55] that. [81:56] And there's some experiments in the [81:59] world. I'm sorry, I'm just talking. I [82:00] hope you three don't mind. I'm just [82:02] going to go through this quickly and [82:03] then you can sum it up at the end uh if [82:05] you want. There's some AI experiments [82:07] which are going around at the moment. [82:09] Jeffrey Paul produced this article on [82:11] the 4th of Feb. Uh and they would like [82:13] some intuition as to how much of this [82:15] stuff is interesting. Maybe some of it [82:17] should go into the AI experiments plugin [82:19] or go into core perhaps. So they are as [82:21] follows. Um they are typing ahead [82:24] suggestions. So this is the idea that AI [82:26] would autocomp complete a sentence for [82:28] you or maybe the next sentence based [82:30] upon the previous paragraphs that's of [82:33] interest to you. This next one uh kind [82:36] of scares me a little bit. It's the [82:37] ability to get an AI to create mod um [82:41] comment replies and the UX that they've [82:45] got kind of suggests that you don't need [82:47] to read the comment. You just click a [82:49] button and it replies on your behalf. [82:50] Maybe I've misunderstood that but that [82:52] seemed a bit peculiar. Markdown feeds, [82:56] extended AI providers. So that feels a [82:58] bit like what Jonathan was talking [83:00] about. The ability to add in a whole [83:01] bunch of different uh providers and [83:03] more. And is that done with AI? H no, [83:07] no. Here we go. This the last one. Yeah, [83:10] this is the last one this week. This [83:12] week, um this is AI guidelines for [83:16] WordPress. If you're a contributor, and [83:18] we now know that more or less every [83:20] contributor is probably using AI, there [83:22] are now some guidelines if you're going [83:23] to contribute to core and things like [83:25] that about what it is that you must be [83:27] aware of in terms of AI. So the most [83:30] important bullet point is the top. If [83:33] you're contributing and you are using [83:34] AI, you are responsible for your [83:37] contributions. An AI can assist, but it [83:40] isn't a contributor. You have to [83:43] disclose any assistance that you receive [83:45] from an AI. uh license compatibility [83:48] matters. So obviously, you know, if if [83:51] you can't be certain that what your AI [83:53] is outputting isn't, I don't know, [83:55] ethical, moral, legal, then you need to [83:57] somehow figure that out. And a bunch of [84:00] other stuff as well. That was this week. [84:03] Um there's probably another bunch of [84:05] articles being posted as we speak which [84:07] are, you know, equal to that as well. [84:09] There's a lot in the AI space. Let's [84:11] just [84:13] just put it that way. Ah and breathe. [84:16] Anybody on AI? [84:20] >> Please say something. I have to have a [84:21] German. [84:23] >> I think I think the only thing which is [84:25] very interesting very quickly is when it [84:27] says about the non-code assets. [84:30] This could this could be interesting [84:32] because what happens if somebody [84:36] generate I mean I can't think of an [84:37] example off the top of my head but if [84:39] you generate an image that looks like a [84:43] Star Wars character [84:46] >> and then Walt Disney comes [84:49] >> you know you know what I mean it's it's [84:51] that sort of thing where it's like okay [84:54] so you're responsible [84:57] and you know images could be generated [85:00] and put as being contributions. [85:03] And I mean, I'm fairly I'm using this as [85:05] a very very, you know, kind of this is [85:08] probably not going to happen. Somebody [85:10] would recognize a Stormtrooper, but it [85:14] it just it it does scream that there [85:16] will be there'll be something down the [85:18] line where something gets missed. [85:21] >> Did you see the um did you see the there [85:23] was a lawsuit somewhere in the United [85:24] States? It it wasn't very very recently, [85:26] but it was last year at some point where [85:28] the lawyer um appears to have used an AI [85:32] to well, it turns out create fake um [85:36] >> no [85:37] >> precedent. [85:38] >> Um and they went into the courthouse and [85:40] they read out this apparently, you know, [85:42] this justification for winning the the [85:44] lawsuit and it turns out it was just [85:46] completely made up. It's kind of like on [85:48] that level, isn't it? You know, if you [85:49] contribute something, [85:51] >> you can't just say the AI did it. You've [85:53] got a So here they're very very clearly [85:55] sort of saying whatever you put in [85:58] whether it's an image or a [85:59] >> whatever it may be the buck stops with [86:02] you. It's uh um the um the person from [86:07] uh Westmin [86:08] police in the UK a few weeks ago lost [86:10] their job because they used AI because [86:12] what they did was they were looking at [86:15] um Macau Tel Aviv football fans for a [86:19] game against I think it was Aston Villa [86:21] who were a team based in Birmingham and [86:23] they were saying should Macabby Tel Aviv [86:25] fans go because they think there could [86:28] be a security risk based on you know the [86:30] political situation. [86:32] And uh the person asked AI all the cases [86:36] of which there had been trouble with [86:37] McCabby Tel Aviv fans and they said that [86:41] they were there was a game between [86:43] Mccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham in Europe [86:46] where they had trouble. That game never [86:48] took place. [86:49] >> Oh, but it was so full of trouble. [86:51] >> Yeah. [86:52] >> Yeah. Yeah. No, no, no, no, no, no. That [86:55] that game wasn't even scheduled to take [86:57] place. It's hysterical, isn't it? [86:59] >> And and um yeah, the uh the police [87:03] officer used that as an example for why [87:06] >> they should ban the fans even though [87:08] that they the AI hallucinated that game. [87:11] >> Honestly, this is this is my fear with [87:13] the whole AI stuff like code and [87:15] everything. Yeah, maybe it's great. [87:16] >> The hallucinations. [87:18] >> Yeah, [87:19] >> it still hallucinates like crazy. Yeah, [87:21] >> but the hallucinations just smuggling [87:24] themselves into whole paragraphs of [87:27] actual content and then there's just [87:28] this one weird little sentence of just [87:31] madeup nonsense that nobody spots, [87:35] >> you know. Okay, I'm going to do another [87:36] shout out to Gina, uh, which is really [87:38] funny because she is not super, um, [87:42] she'll tell you she's not super [87:43] technically proficient, but she does [87:44] she's a nurse practitioner and she does [87:47] use AI for some things. And one of the [87:51] things that she does, which I think is [87:53] actually brilliant, is and and anyone [87:56] can do it, is she says, "Okay, now that [87:57] you've given me this information, site [87:59] the sources." And that's all she has to [88:02] do is just say, "Sight sources." And [88:03] then she'll go and she'll look at the [88:05] sources to make sure that they're [88:06] accurate. And it's like, okay, if you're [88:08] going to use AI to do something, you [88:11] know, [88:12] treat it like a human being. Cite your [88:14] sources. [88:15] >> Trust it. Exactly. [88:16] >> Yeah. Distrust it and question [88:18] everything, you know, whatever that that [88:19] saying is, trust but verify or whatever. [88:21] Yeah. [88:22] >> And which I never really understood that [88:25] that saying because it always felt like [88:27] a contradiction, [88:28] >> but that's really what you're doing. [88:30] You're you're you're trusting it to a [88:33] degree, but you're still you still want [88:34] to verify, you know, that's responsibly [88:37] talking to a fouryear-old, aren't you, [88:39] when you Yeah. You got to trust it with [88:42] that level of, you know, competence and [88:44] capacity to just make stuff up. [88:47] >> Um, [88:47] >> and this first bullet point reminds me [88:49] of a few years ago I got pulled over by [88:51] a highway patrol officer. I was towing a [88:53] trailer and the chains were hitting the [88:55] ground and sparking on the ground. [88:57] >> Okay. And I and and when I got pulled [88:59] over, the the highway patrol officer, I [89:01] said to him, I said, "Well, I'm not the [89:02] one who hooked up the trailer. Uh hooked [89:04] it up." He says, "Yeah, but who's the [89:05] one driving?" [89:06] >> Oh, yeah. It's right. Yeah. Who's the [89:08] one in this case? [89:10] >> Yeah. Yeah. [89:11] >> By the way, [89:12] >> good point. [89:13] >> Um, you know, you want to write this one [89:15] down. It was probably about 28 minutes. [89:17] I know you're going to play some of this [89:18] stuff to Gina. Uh, nice little sentence [89:20] you uttered just there. You say, "Shout [89:22] out to Gina. She's not super." That was [89:25] what you said. I'm just saying. [89:26] >> Oh, no. She is Okay. Okay. Wait. Hold [89:29] on. She is super. She's amazing. Okay. I [89:33] I knew Wait, [89:34] >> you go play. [89:35] >> I'm gonna be editing the video and [89:36] showing her all of this. Okay. Cuz I'm [89:38] not I don't trust you now. So, [89:41] >> that's not going to be the title [89:42] episode. We're definitely [89:46] >> We want We want Gina to enjoy the show. [89:49] Uh, right. Okay. So, last couple of [89:51] things very very quickly just before we [89:53] end. If you are a Woo Commerce user, [89:55] you've got a new version 10.5. You can [89:58] read on the blog what that's about. Um, [90:01] and Boblet, who has been on this show a [90:03] few times, little while ago, a couple of [90:06] years ago, she um managed to work out [90:08] that if you wanted to change the name of [90:10] a block in the block editor, and you [90:12] needed to use a keyboard to make that [90:14] happen, you had to use 14 different [90:17] clicks to make it happen. You had to hit [90:19] the keyboard 14 times. The reason I'm [90:21] bringing this up, and I can't find the [90:23] article now, but I think this has been [90:25] merged uh into core in the uh presumably [90:29] in the 7.0 release. So, just a little [90:31] hack tip. Things do move even if they go [90:33] sometimes very very slowly. So, well [90:35] done. Props to you for getting that in. [90:38] Uh just couple of things, Word Camp [90:41] Asia, if you're going to that, there's [90:42] an article which has come up about [90:44] things that you can do if you're in and [90:46] around the Mumbai area. And we are [90:49] really out of time, but if you've got a [90:51] Substack account or you've ever set a [90:52] Substack account up, there was a data [90:55] breach which uh somebody managed to I [90:57] don't know whether they excfiltrated. I [90:59] don't know what they got out, but it was [91:00] 663,000 [91:03] uh account holder records and email [91:04] addresses and profile details and things [91:07] like that. It's a lot. So, if you've got [91:09] an account over there, you might just [91:10] want to check what your password is and [91:12] whatnot. And uh that's it, I think. [91:16] Yeah, I'll mention these other things [91:17] which were just sort of on the screen [91:19] briefly there for a second. I'll push [91:20] those forwards into next week. So, there [91:23] we go. That's it. That's all we've got [91:25] time for. Uh, we didn't spend quite as [91:27] long on the AI as I had imagined and I'm [91:29] very glad of that because we talked [91:30] about blogging instead. [91:33] >> Oh, that was fun. [91:34] >> Yeah, wasn't it? Maybe that's what we [91:35] should do. [91:36] >> Which is which is anti- AI [91:40] you can get. [91:41] >> Let's move AI to the end. So, if we've [91:43] run out of time, [91:44] >> yeah, let's just sacrifice that. [91:45] >> Yeah. Honestly though, if you if you [91:47] like I said, if you're like me, it is it [91:49] is sucking all the oxygen out of the [91:51] room. It is really interesting how [91:53] profoundly important it seems to be [91:56] >> uh up at the top, you know, in terms of [91:58] like the leadership, but also at [92:00] grassroots, the people that are writing [92:02] code and plugins. It seems to be really [92:04] all the things. So, yeah, I'm sure that [92:06] won't change, but yeah, maybe we'll [92:08] change that in the future. [92:10] All right, it's time for the handwave [92:12] thing that we do. If you want to give us [92:14] your little Y. Give us a smile. [92:17] Everybody smiles. Thank you. So, I'm [92:19] going to say thank you to Ree. I'm going [92:20] to say thank you to Mark. And I'm going [92:21] to say thank you to co-host Michelle [92:23] Fcher. I'm also going to say thank you [92:24] to you lot. That was probably more [92:26] comments, I think, than we've ever had. [92:27] There was loads this time around. [92:29] >> Great. [92:29] >> And uh yeah, really two weeks. Two weeks [92:32] worth. [92:32] >> Yeah, [92:35] it's probably three weeks worth if I'm [92:37] being honest. Um, but thank you for you [92:40] for making those comments and you know [92:42] if you're lurking in the background and [92:43] you don't have some comments, we [92:44] appreciate you being here as well. We'll [92:46] be back this time next week, so stay [92:48] tuned. See you next week. Bye. Byebye. [92:52] Bye-bye. Bye. Bye.