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WP Engine sues Automattic and Matt Mullenweg, alleging abuse of power, extortion, and anti-competitive behavior
WP Engine is taking legal action against Automattic and Matt Mullenweg, accusing the rival hosting company and its CEO of abuse of power, attempted extortion, and leveraging trademark law for anti-competitive purposes. The lawsuit is the latest volley between the companies after Mullenweg accused WP Engine of profiting off the WordPress project and violating trademarks…
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Mullenweg threatens corporate takeover of WP Engine
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg has rescinded an 8% licensing deal offered to WP Engine in September, suggesting that escalating tensions between the two companies could lead to a corporate acquisition by Automattic. In an interview with The Repository, Mullenweg said Automattic now wanted more than 8% of WP Engine’s annual revenue, or an equivalent of…
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WordPress YouTubers challenge “outdated” philosophy
WordPress’ philosophy has sparked debate among WordPress YouTubers, who argue that it’s outdated, misaligned with the current needs of its diverse users—in particular freelancers and agency users—and needs updating. The philosophy was a key focus of last week’s Uniting WordPress YouTubers call, organized by Automattic-sponsored contributor Anne McCarthy, who invited long-time core committer Aaron Jorbin…
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Automattic launches ambitious Tumblr migration to WordPress
How do you get maximum eyeballs on a job ad? In Automattic’s case, announce that you’re planning “one of the largest technical migrations in internet history.” Announcing the move on Wednesday and calling for programmers to join the project, the company said since acquiring the microblogging site, it had focused on making it more efficient,…
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Is a marketing consortium the solution to WordPress’s stagnating market share?
Could WordPress soon have a marketing consortium to tackle the project’s stagnating market share? During this week’s episode of WP Product Talk, Miriam Schwab, Head of WordPress Relations at Elementor, proposed forming a marketing consortium of major WordPress companies. The goal? To pool resources and develop a clear, sustained marketing strategy to compete with aggressive…
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State of the Word 2024: Ticket requests open for Tokyo event
Folks can now request one of the 300 tickets available for this year’s State of the Word, scheduled for December 16 in Tokyo, Japan. WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg will deliver his 18th annual address to a live audience at Tokyo Node Hall in the Toranomon Hills Station Tower. The event will be live streamed via…
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WordCamp US 2024 unveils full lineup
WordCamp US 2024 organizers dropped the full schedule and speaker line-up this week ahead of the September 17-20 event in Portland, Oregon, and as Zao founder Justin Sainton’s posted, “The entire schedule looks AMAZING. Mega props to the programming team!” This year’s conference kicks off on a Tuesday with Contributor Day, followed by the inaugural…
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WordPress YouTube channel gets new leadership with Jamie Marsland
Jamie Marsland has been tapped to join Automattic as their WordPress.org team’s Head of WordPress YouTube. In an announcement on WordPress.org, WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy said Marsland had taken over the management of the WordPress YouTube channel, describing him as the “ideal person to lead our efforts in expanding and enhancing our YouTube…
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First glimpse of Twenty Twenty-Five designs revealed
Automattic-sponsored design contributor Beatriz Fialho has revealed her designs for this year’s default WordPress theme. In her announcement post at WordPress.org, Fialho describes Twenty Twenty-Five as embodying “ultimate flexibility and adaptability, showcasing the many ways WordPress enables people to tell their stories with many patterns and styles to choose from.” She says the block theme…
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WordCamps to get advertising funds under proposed changes
WordCamp organizers will get up to $400 to spend on advertising under rare changes to expense guidelines proposed by the WordPress Community Team yesterday. The current guidelines state that advertising is “very, very, *very* rarely” included in WordCamp budgets and that “Most WordCamps are highly successful without spending money” on things like advertising. Automattic-sponsored contributor…
