This is the first time I’ve seen anyone refer to Matt as the son of Gutenberg but it seems like a good fit. The Big Money takes a look at how WordPress has been able to democratize publishing and how the software has been able to change the way people publish the written word. For anyone wanting to know an overview of how Automattic makes their money, it shapes up to be 40% upgrades, and the remaining 60% is split between enterprise services and ads. It’s great to see that even after seven years, Matt is still on a mission.
“If we can democratize publishing,” Mullenweg says with his idealism firmly in front, “if we can make these communication mechanisms just completely effortless and ubiquitous, the world becomes a better place, and that’s very motivating for everyone.”
Out of curiosity, I wonder how many people in the WPTavern audience publish content on one or more blogs consistently? If so, what is your motivation?
I’m not sure Gutenberg is the right analogy. Matt didn’t invent WYSIWYG content management or even the notion of web based blogging software. He had a significant role in popularizing it, and certainly WordPress has continuously raised the “ease” bar, and become a leading platform. The latter – popularizing – is arguably of equal importance: Apple didn’t invent the smartphone, but it sure as heck popularized it. I just don’t think it should be conflated with invention.