Business Roundup Week Ending September 27

The Tragedy of the Common (People)

People I trust tell me that this is nothing new, that it’s happened before. Sure, I’ve seen #WPdrama in the past, but I’ve never experienced anything like the aftermath of Matt’s “spicy” talk that ended last week’s WordCamp US.

I’ve been using WordPress since 2010, and the community has changed my life. It started with WordCamp Birmingham 2012 where I was invited to speak for the first time. 63 WordCamps later, I’ve had the opportunity to speak across the USA and in a few other countries. And everywhere I’ve been, I’ve met amazing, interesting, caring people who are passionate about WordPress and love the community.

Meeting these diverse people has affected me deeply. They have broadened my view on life and made me a better person. I would not be who I am today as a human being without having experienced the WordPress community.

This is the WordPress I know. And this is the WordPress that’s being impacted.

Like you, I’ve watched with a heavy heart as wars on the other side of the world between powerful people with big agendas have destroyed the lives of common people – people who just want to live their lives in peace.

For the last 10 years, I’ve been coaching WordPress solopreneurs and microagency owners who just want to create businesses that support the lifestyle they choose for themselves and for their families.

Yesterday, I talked to someone I’ve coached, a long-time WordPress agency owner in Florida, who said this: “None of my websites show available updates for WP or for plugins. We’re on the edge of a hurricane, and my entire business life is crumbling.”

I don’t know a lot about the “Tragedy of the Commons,” but I do know a little about the tragedy of the common person. And that’s who these latest WordPress battles hurt the most.

For better or worse, many agencies have built their hosting processes around WP Engine – some for more than a decade. These agencies are made up of WordPress people, our people, who are on the front lines of advocating for WordPress with the public. They are people who convince their clients that WordPress is the best way to build a website.

We agency people are likely responsible for a significant portion of the 43.5% market share WordPress currently enjoys. Yet, we agencies are routinely forgotten by WordPress leadership (or it often seems that way).

It’s happened for years, as core development resources are poured into new features that we don’t really want. And we see it now as many of our agency friends are caught in the crossfire of a war they didn’t ask for.

On Wednesday at around 5:00 central time (after work hours for many agencies), WordPress.org blocked connections from WP Engine so that sites could no longer receive theme and plugin updates.

This attack may have been aimed at WP Engine, but it hurts agencies. It creates uncertainty about systems that many have worked a long time to build. It impacts agency owners like my friend who is now having to deal with the fallout of WPdrama while preparing for a dangerous hurricane.

This isn’t “spicy,” it’s harmful.

It may be easier than ever to migrate a WordPress site – Matt said in his talk that you could do it in a day. But when you’re an agency with 100 or 1000 sites, it’s a little more complicated. And you never change hosts on a whim. It takes a significant investment of time and resources to make that kind of change and serve your clients well.

I don’t host on WP Engine, and Matt may be right about them in the end. And he may even be right about the Tragedy of the Commons.

Just please don’t forget about the common people, us agency owners, who are caught in the middle.

I’ll be back with our regular summaries of top news for agencies next week.