I spent some time giving my candid thoughts about WordPress and how it can be effectively used to make you a better writer over at InspiredMag. Please head on over there, give it a read, and drop a comment!
Appreciate it guys!
Of course, I want to give a bit more context and even some additional thoughts that you might chew on a bit and give you a bit more personal perspective on this post:
I used to work for this guy.
This post started at one place and ended up in an entirely different place as I wrote it. At one point the I found myself on somewhat of a rant as I really leaned into WordPress as a serious publishing platform. I personally have shared already why I can’t stop loving WordPress here but this Guest Post gave a little bit more background as it relates to my experience in big business and the enterprise space.
Eventually it landed in a cohesive WordPress and writing theme that’s candid and more agnostic from my past working experience. Yes, yes – at one point I actually worked at Fox and NewsCorp working with online publishers. At the time I was one of their executives overseeing the development of social software and product and just before I arrived they had committed themselves to a multi-million dollar deal building out their own Content Management System (CMS) for their publishing needs.
It was pretty much the stupidest thing ever when compared to the robust publishing toolset that was available with WordPress and the many powerful plugins that could be easily customized for our unique content needs.
I wasn’t heart-broken, but I was disappointed that the previous technologist had little to no concept (or appreciation) for open source.
There was, of course, more nuanced issues and historical precedents that were in play and it’s not of interest to openly share those here in this post, but the net result was months and months of development and disgruntled writers and contributors that lost revenue share, interest, and stifled their creative publishing efforts.
Too bad – they were darn good writers and passionate publishers. We lost some of them that year and they went on to publish for other businesses. Sure, it wasn’t just a technology issue that had them submit their 2-week notice, but I feel confident that it played a part.
I love WordPress because it provides me, and many others, the best darn writing and online publishing experience on the planet – unless you enjoy publishing from inferior and sub-standard platforms.
I originally started out with Blogger and I couldn’t agree more. WordPress is the best!
I started out with Typepad. WordPress is much easier to use.
and you’re in a better spot for it!
for sure! it’s a winner.
I just came over this past month from Expression Engine, and you can’t believe what a relief it is to do so.
wow! what a move! did you do it yourself?
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that WordPress will make you a better writer, but it is definitely the best online platform for writers/bloggers/small biz. It isn’t even close.
A friend started a blog recently and used Blogger. I actually laughed. Then I felt like a jerk. Then I laughed again.
There really isn’t a reason to use anything else.
Good stuff.
i think my point about better technology can help increase your writing skills.
I started out with Blogger too, but WP is the only way to go
did you migrate your content?
Nah, started fresh. Luckily I didn’t get too deep into it with Blogger. Blogger was good, but so limited.
Now I’m trying to help a buddy of mine migrate from Typepad to WordPress (self-hosted).
Any pointers/tutorials on that?
Back in the old days I had a Blogger blog. Thankfully I discovered WP a long time ago. I can’t imagine any big blog not using it.
word!
I used to blog on Post Nuke. Yeah, talk about silly but I’m wanted something self hosted. Good times…
you are… the man. post nuke…
I started on Xanga about 10 years ago before switching to WordPress. Never looked back!
most excellent! i started blogging off of xanga but moved to it in 2001… wow. it’s been a long time.
Started with Blogger. Then went to using WordPress.com. Now have been using self-hosted WordPress.org for a few years now. Absolutely love it.
you’re a champ!
wordpress self-hosted is so full of #winning.
John, I use wordpress and love it! I also use Standard theme and LOVE it. One question though for you. I see you have a ad bar at the bottom of your posts. How do I add that to my Standard theme and paste in a google ad?
this requires a bit of code that you’ll have to insert in your single.php file. you can drop it in there.
Years and years ago I used Blogger. Over the past 3+ years you, John, have shaped my views on WordPress for the positive with posts like this. You mentioned that the people before you at Fox and NewsCorp didn’t understand the glory of Open Source and all it had to offer. If they did, they might have made a drastically different decision. I know that you are, as I am, an iPhone/iPad user. Apple being not so open source with their mobile platform… I’m wondering what your take on that is specifically. I’m guessing you’ve chosen the iPhone over an Android phone for good reason. What about the proprietary restrictions on iOS do you like over the open source Android platform?
This question is just me being devil’s advocate… You know I’m both a WordPress fan and an Apple fan.
that’s a great question. i’m ultimately about utility. apple’s iphone works with my needs and i’m not willing to give it up to learn and/or create a new workflow. i respect and value proprietary just as much as open source.
That’s a good way of putting it. That’s kinda what I was saying with my post, in parts, in my iOS vs. Android post on Geekfori (http://www.geekfori.com/ios-vs-android) when I talked about user interface modifications. Every time I modified something it created a different workflow which ultimately just cost me more time re-teaching my brain. With WordPress, the options to customize are vast, but once it’s done… there’s usually only minor tweaks and changes here and there. Not drastic, game changers.
Good post John.
I think we’re doing pretty good. Working on getting some guest bloggers and that kind of thing. I’m still working on my iPhones for newbies blog series intermittently. So that is fun. We just did another giveaway which was cool and brought us some more traffic. We did well with the first giveaway and got some repeating visitors and I’m hoping that happens again with this giveaway.
I have decided to continue blogging at http://grahambrenna.com though. But I’m not putting any pressure on myself to have deadlines or things like that. It’s really just a blog for fun at this point. Which I really like
good for you!
i think it’s good to hvae a personal outlet for your own thoughts, etc. i know i still have my own personal bog!
word
Why do some “popular” writers (Seth Godin, for example) still use other platforms like Typepad? Is it fear of somethig new, laziness, that they don’t want to hassle with transferring twit content, or another reason altogether?
think it’s too much of a hassle… and they really don’t care much about the platform.