There is perhaps no better way to begin this post than with a riddle. What organization runs 16% of all websites, hosts several of the largest media companies on their servers, yet is hardly ever mentioned in the news?
:S
Google, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon?
Give up yet?
The answer is, WordPress. Perhaps the big “W” gave it away. So what is WordPress and how are they taking over the web you ask? WordPress is a free open source platform, created by a small group of passionate people working to make it easier for anyone to publish content on the web, particularly blogs. It is a nonprofit organization founded in 2003 by then 19 year old Matt Mullenweg.
As for why it barely gets any coverage in the media. I have a couple guesses:
- Most online publishers, take the technology and passion of its creators for granted and subsequently think it has always been this easy to publish content.
- Second hypothesis is until fairly recently not much money has exchanged hands, but as more people learn about the platform this will change.
WordPress and other content management systems (i.e. Joomla and Drupal) are so exciting because anyone who wants to take the initiative to get involved can do so. Besides being the best platform for bloggers, it’s an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to help existing users on the platform customize their websites. Anyone can write a plugin for WordPress and take advantage of the many business models available. Automattic, the for profit company founded by Matt has several examples of plugins that helps users customize their blogs.
In fact if you’d like to learn more about WordPress, there are WordCamps held around the world which are organized by the passionate people behind the product. You can see a full schedule of cities and dates on the WordCamp website.
Additionally, Sarah Lacy, Founder of PandoDaily recently interviewed Matt. You can see the full interview below. For more fascinating interviews with entrepreneurs, investors and industry leaders check out the PandoDaily events page.