Perspectives

A series of long-form discussions. A new guest each episode shares their insights on WordPress and the Open Web.

Perspectives with Peter Saint-Andre

Peter Saint-Andre works on Strategic Partnerships at Mozilla. He shares his perspective on WordPress and what “Open Web” means. We talk about creativity and accessibility, risks and opportunities for both WordPress and the Open Web, the importance of democratizing commerce, and the role of community. Also, Peter shares a personal story about Matt.
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Perspectives with Marieke van de Rakt

Marieke van de Rakt, CEO of Yoast joins the discussion. We talk about Yoast, advertising mistakes, growing a plugin business, and the opportunity for a WordPress “App Store”.
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Perspectives with Ryan Singer

Ryan Singer, Head of Strategy at Basecamp, joins us to talk about his book, Shape Up. Luke loves the book. Jonathan, apparently, has a “problem” with it. Ryan shares his perspective on WordPress and we discuss how the concept of shaping could work for the WordPress project.
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Season Two

June 2020—Now

September 7, 2020

Acquisitions and Ecosystems

We discuss the acquisition of Restrict Content Pro by iThemes, the ecosystems being built by WP Engine, GoDaddy, and Liquid Web, and our sense that no one is doing it well – yet.
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September 7, 2020
September 1, 2020

Blank Canvas

WordPress is our go-to tool for building new sites, in part because it doesn’t restrict creative expression. Even if that means we can publish horrid designs. In this episode, we discuss the idea of an ugly web, and whether the future of WordPress will make the web more self-same, or…
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September 1, 2020
August 24, 2020

WordPress™

We talk about the recent controversy over the WordPress app in iOS. Luke expresses his frustration about Automattic’s ownership of the app and we discuss the challenges of contributing to funded “Open Source” projects.
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August 24, 2020
August 17, 2020

Enforcing Directory “Guidelines”

Jonathan and Luke explore the implications of Astra’s delisting on the WordPress Theme and Plugin Directory. We bring up old ideas for directory listings that might better balance “Free as in Beer” against more sustainable innovation.
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August 17, 2020
August 10, 2020

P2 2

We discuss our conversation with an upcoming guest, premiering later this week. Then we jump into the release of P2, which we’re both excited about, and Luke laments its currently non-public code base.
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August 10, 2020
August 3, 2020

Gut Punch

Matt Mullenweg’s review of the new Unsplash WordPress plugin has made waves. Who doesn’t love a little #WPDrama? We skip the licensing issue and instead discuss whether a one-star plugin review is the right way for a leader, and maybe a competitor, to express their concern.
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August 3, 2020
July 28, 2020

Advertising in the Block Directory

We discuss retargeted advertising, whether or not it should exist, and the implications of the current directory guidelines on innovation in the Block Directory.
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July 28, 2020
July 21, 2020

Hamilton’s Open Web

What does Hamilton have to do with WordPress and the Open Web? We discuss Luke’s lack of knowledge regarding United States history, the connection between writing and code, and our own growth as writers.
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July 21, 2020
July 13, 2020

Kids, Jetpack, and WeChat

What’s the equivalent of TikTok in the WordPress world? We discuss WordPress as the go-to publishing tool for creativity, and compare Jetpack’s sordid privacy record with Chinese social media.
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July 13, 2020
July 7, 2020

Google and WordPress

Luke rants about Google. Then we talk about the recent history between WordPress and Google and what we both think about their involvement in the WordPress project.
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July 7, 2020
June 30, 2020

A Design System for WordPress

We discuss some proposed changes to the WooCommerce Dashboard design, the trend for WordPress plugins to embrace their own design language (separate to the WP Admin), and the idea of creating a Design System for WordPress.
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June 30, 2020
June 24, 2020

WWDC and the Plugin Repository

Season #2 premier – episodes now 15 minutes long! We jump straight into a discussion of WWDC, Hey.com, and the WordPress plugin directory.
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June 24, 2020

Season One

November 2019—March 2020

March 31, 2020

Season Finale

We discuss Season #1 and explore the wide range of topics we’re interested in covering in Season #2.
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March 31, 2020
March 12, 2020

COVID-19, Virtual Events, and Gradients

We discuss COVID-19 (and how Luke was wrong), the opportunity for virtual events, the recent introduction of full screen editing on by default in WordPress 5.4, and gradients in Gutenberg.
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March 12, 2020
March 11, 2020

WP Notify

Jonathan Bossenger joins us to discuss the WP Notify project and better ways of introducing new features in WordPress.
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March 11, 2020
February 13, 2020

WordCamp Asia and Themes

We discuss the cancellation of WordCamp Asia and then, to happier matters, the first “Future of Themes” meeting, including what an easier-to-use WordPress means for the builder ecosystem.
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February 13, 2020
February 6, 2020

Democratizing Commerce

We discuss the idea of “Democratizing Commerce” and what it actually means. Also, we’re looking forward to WordCamp Asia.
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February 6, 2020
January 16, 2020

The Block Directory

We discuss the upcoming Block Directory for WordPress and the guidelines regarding premium and “freemium” submissions.
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January 16, 2020
January 9, 2020

Notifications in WordPress

We discuss the “WP Notify” proposal and the impact of notifications through the lens of WordPress as an Operating System.
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January 9, 2020
January 1, 2020

Ecosystems and Marketplaces

We discuss ecosystems and marketplaces in WordPress, looking back on 2019 and ahead to 2020. Where are the opportunities? What might it mean for the Open Web?
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January 1, 2020
December 12, 2019

The WordPress Roadmap

A review of the WordPress Core projects scheduled for 2019 and a discussion of what’s to come in 2020.
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December 12, 2019
November 27, 2019

Pilot

Our Pilot episode, covering the WordPress 5.3 “Kirk” release.
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November 27, 2019