- \n
- GoDaddy throws down a cool half-million in support of the WordPress community. \ud83e\udd11<\/li>\n
- Post Status is turning into a Dutch nonprofit and folks are pretty happy about it. <\/li>\n
- The internet has finally decided on the correct pronunciation of GIF.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Hot Off The Presses: What\u2019s New?<\/h2>\n
Hope you\u2019re all having a lovely January 76th! This meme pretty much sums it up: <\/p>\n
\n![\"Humorous](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/january.png\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nBut anyway, here\u2019s what\u2019s been happening so far this year:<\/p>\nWoah Daddy! \ud83e\udd11<\/h3>\n
GoDaddy (or maybe we should say SugarDaddy) recently announced that they\u2019ve donated $520,000 to support the WP Community Collective, an initiative that focuses on funding and empowering WordPress contributors. <\/p>\n
According to the GoDaddy press release<\/a>, the donation will help finance the collective\u2019s \u201cprograms and partnerships that strengthen open-source communities, drive innovation and promote collaboration.\u201d <\/p>\n
GoDaddy employs two full-time developers, Kira Schroder<\/a> and George Mamadashvili<\/a>, who work exclusively on WordPress core development. They also support 46 contributors, dedicating 255 hours per week to WordPress across 17 teams. <\/p>\n
WPCC President S\u00e9 Reed said the significant boost in funds will help them launch more sustainable paid Fellowship opportunities, which means more folks can dedicate their time and expertise to building WordPress. This is exactly along the lines of what Ryan McCue suggested in his blog post back in October, \u201cA Stronger Foundation for the Ecosystem<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n
If you wanna join in and donate to the collective too, you can sign up here<\/a>. (Don\u2019t worry, memberships start at $5 in case you don\u2019t have an extra half-a-mill lying around. \ud83d\ude09)<\/p>\n
New Core Interface, Who Dis?<\/h3>\n
As you may have already noticed, the WordPress.com user interface went through a bit of a switcheroo last week. <\/p>\n
We\u2019re all familiar with the custom \u201cCalypso\u201d interface for logged-in WordPress.com users, but according to the blog post about the change<\/a>, having two different interfaces between .org and .com was becoming \u201cincreasingly challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, all WordPress.com users were transitioned to the standard wp-admin .org interface, with the promise that they\u2019ll \u201cenjoy a consistent and intuitive experience no matter where you WordPress.\u201d<\/p>\n
The feedback? It\u2019s uh\u2026 not been entirely enthusiastic. Some were onboard with the change, but in the post comments, many complained about the abrupt shift and said they had found Calypso more efficient and easier to use.<\/p>\n
The phrase, \u201cif it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it\u201d was used more than once. \ud83d\ude2c<\/p>\n
What do you think about the change? Do you like it? Or do you think it only makes things easier for the WordPress team without taking into account the needs of the users? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!<\/p>\n
Post Status Gets a Status Update<\/h3>\n
Yoast SEO Founders Joost de Valk and Marieke van de Rakt have announced that they\u2019ve acquired Post Status<\/a>, the popular WordPress business community. They\u2019ll be turning it into a Dutch nonprofit foundation, which means it\u2019ll be covered by the country\u2019s robust privacy protections and legal system. <\/p>\n
With a Slack channel over 1700 members strong, an active job board and a weekly newsletter, Post Status has grown to become an important part of the WordPress ecosystem since it was founded in 2013 by Brian Krogsgard. <\/p>\n
Joost de Valk announced on the Slack channel that the membership fee would be reduced, taking advantage of Slack\u2019s 85% discount to nonprofits.
\nTia Wood, Founder of TheWPGirls.com<\/a>, writes, \u201cSo happy the de Valks have purchased Post Status and are turning it into a nonprofit. You guys are awesome Joost & Marieke. Congratulations to everyone involved.\u201d <\/p>\nDeveloper and consultant Carrie Dils also celebrated the purchase<\/a>, saying, \u201cI remember Post Status\u2019 visionary era with @Krogsgard<\/a>, the shepherding under @LindseyMillerWP<\/a> & @corymiller303<\/a>, and look forward to its future as a safe place to gather and talk shop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mind Bloggling Facts & Stats<\/h3>\n
- \n
- According to the State of Enterprise WordPress 2024, 61% of enterprise organizations contribute to the WordPress project. That\u2019s a massive increase from 38% in 2023! (Source<\/a>)<\/li>\n
- The 2024 Annual Spam Report by OOPSpam has been released. Can you believe that the USA and China are responsible for nearly 58% of global spam? Yikes! (Source<\/a>)<\/li>\n
- Plus, nearly 69% of spam targets websites that use WordPress, which is no surprise due to its popularity. Make sure your site is secure and up-to-date, folks! (Source<\/a>) <\/li>\n
- Based on this survey, 84% of people are correct in thinking it\u2019s pronounced GIF (as in gift) and not JIF (as in giraffe). The other 16% of people are wrong. #fightme (Source<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Blogs & Resources You Shouldn\u2019t Miss<\/h3>\n
Is your 2025 goal to finally get your workflows more organized this year? Abby Wood\u2019s in-depth round-up on project management tools<\/a> you\u2019ll actually use might help. | Wondering whether or not you should take on that professional opportunity? This simple test gives you the answer<\/a>. | That client on the other side of the world wants to schedule a call? This is probably the best visualizer we\u2019ve seen<\/a> for figuring out a time that works for both of you. | The deadline for nominations for Core Team Reps for 2025 is January 31st, so head here<\/a> to nominate folks (or yourself!) <\/p>\n
Coffee Break Distractions<\/h3>\n
Got young ones and wanna teach em\u2019 to code? Scratch is a pretty amazing kids coding resource.<\/a><\/p>\n
You might think you\u2019re speedy on the keys, but how fast CAN you type? Get your WPM here.<\/a><\/p>\n
Not happy with your typing speed? This is a pretty cool touch-typing teacher that\u2019ll help you improve.<\/a><\/p>\n
You\u2019ve got the popcorn ready, you\u2019re curled up under the fuzzy blanket, but no idea what to watch? Movielens will give you personalized movie recommendations based on your past IMDB ratings.<\/a><\/p>\n
- The 2024 Annual Spam Report by OOPSpam has been released. Can you believe that the USA and China are responsible for nearly 58% of global spam? Yikes! (Source<\/a>)<\/li>\n
- According to the State of Enterprise WordPress 2024, 61% of enterprise organizations contribute to the WordPress project. That\u2019s a massive increase from 38% in 2023! (Source<\/a>)<\/li>\n