AI has made building software cheaper and faster. Twenty years after Getting Real, the harder problem is deciding what deserves to exist and whether its complexity is worth carrying.

AI can turn product judgment into working software faster than ever. The real question is what happens when that taste meets review, context, and the responsibility to care.

About 12 years ago, right after we launched GiveWP, we did what a lot of WordPress builders do when something starts to work. We got distracted. We had GiveWP gaining traction, but we also shipped another product around the same time called “Maps Builder Pro”. On the surface, it made sense. It was a solid...

2025 was one of those years that leaves a real mark. I turned 40, married the love of my life, made huge career moves, and kept pushing forward in every corner of my life. It wasn’t always smooth, but the highlights easily outweighed the hard moments, and I came out of the year feeling more...

My first two months at Automattic have been a mix of learning, observing, and starting to shape where Jetpack goes next. It has been energizing, challenging, and eye-opening in all the right ways. I came in ready to help define Jetpack’s future, and these early weeks have given me a clearer view of the opportunities...

During the Automattic AI meetup in New York, a teammate from Bulgaria casually mentioned that there’s a bottled water brand back home called Devin. She even showed me the logo, and I had to laugh. I’ve seen my name on coffee cups, but never on a water label. What made it even more interesting is...

Custom keyword notifications are one of the most valuable yet underutilized features available on WordPress.org. For plugin and theme authors, these notifications can offer real-time insight. They show how users are discussing and recommending your products across the support forums. Why Keyword Notifications Matter Keyword notifications allow you to stay connected to the ongoing conversation...

If you haven’t heard or read, I recently joined Automattic. This made a decent splash in the WP community. I was a bit surprised by the reach of my Tweet: And also my LinkedIn post: I also got a cool write up on the Repository: Now, it’s time to get to work!

Imagine finding out from your donors that they gave money to a campaign that you don’t even know about, and in the process, they were upsold to tipping a company with which you have no affiliation. That’s exactly what GoFundMe is doing by creating ghost campaigns for non-profits they scrape from publicly available data. What...

A few months ago, I shared that I was closing a major chapter of my career. I had stepped away from Give and Stellar, teams and products that meant the world to me. Leaving something you helped build from the ground up is never easy. But I knew it was time for a new challenge...

We’re less than a week out from the reactivation of our San Diego WordPress meetup, and we are at full attendance with a waitlist of 9 folks. This is incredible attendance and it gives me optimism for the future of local WordPress meetups. I’m sure it’s a combination of: It can be popular in some...

I recently found a newer YouTube channel called Monkey Mind 101, thanks to YouTube’s algorithm, that is both funny and informative. Point and case: I am watching more useful and less mindless YouTube lately to live a happier and healthier life. More of Monkey Mind (and others) and less of divisive politics, police videos, and...