Interesting, definitely some great products. I'd like to know whether they lived up to the expectations that led to the acquisitions.

From the outside it looks like a lack of focus, but it's hard to tell. For example, with these acquisitions and Jetpack are they chasing the puck or skating to where it'll be? They're obviously taking a long view, which is smart, but the danger is that it takes a while to know whether you’re right.

But it's hard to innovate without focus. For example, Amazon takes a long view and is now broad, but they're the best at ecommerce. I'd ask, "What is Automattic the best at? Or what are they trying to be best at?"

But Jetpack is a smart bet. If WordPress becomes the "OS" of the web, then Jetpack could be its killer app. But to do that it can't just consist of mediocre features, it'd have to be the best at something. At that point it becomes a gateway drug to a new ecosystem. In this case it makes sense that a lot of their acquisitions improve Jetpack.

As a foothold into .org, Jetpack is also an insurance policy in case WordPress.com fades away. But at that point I think there'll be a one-click Heroku-type platform that makes WordPress.org as easy as WordPress.com, but without the limitations--that's likely the next big opportunity.

And how cool would that be to build? It's better to risk boldness than triviality, so we'd have to set it apart. For example, imagine free SSL on all sites, free use of custom domains, selling domain names at cost, unlimited disk space/bandwidth, and monetizing in novel ways that actually add value and don't feel like costs. And why not? Why do current website platforms have the same old business models? The web has changed, there are new opportunities for monetization. Why not be the Tesla of the website industry?

Anyway, it's easy to call it a lack of focus, but it's way too early to call it. Though I hope we start to something formulate in the next few years because in this business irrelevance is often worse than outright failure.