Hi <<First Name>>—
Years ago, my friend Josh Strebel gave a talk titled "Cooperation over Competition" and it resonated deeply with me.
In fact, some of my first and best friends in WordPress were my "competitors." (Hey Brian and Jason!)
I'm very thankful that connection, cooperation and collaboration is already happening every day here in Slack, through DMs, in public, private channels and beyond. It's what drew Lindsey and I to become partners initially, then full owners of this business.
But I want to ask you, as the Business of WordPress community, to go further ... and take another step forward to what Josh said years ago ... to the magic of cooperation and collaboration.
The world needs more of it. I've benefited from it exponentially. And it starts here with us, supporting each other, truly being that community, finding those ways that can "raise all tides" and just ... make things better for all of us, and those we serve.
Sometimes, though, I think our mindsets around competition get in the way, and we forget how much we have in common to talk about. How many issues, challenges and problems we share that we can cooperate and even collaborate on.
A PROMPT TO KICKSTART COOPERATION
Here's a prompt to get through that .... ask yourself: What are my key and ongoing struggles, issues, challenges as a [insert your title here]?
Then take a moment and think about people doing the same or similar thing as you. Bet you there's some overlap to get the conversation started.
I'll go first.
I know how tough it is to keep up with all the happenings in WP land and try to cover, curate and comment on it. ... alongside running a community. So a couple of weeks ago, I invited several friends of fellow WP media outlets to a private channel. Within a couple of days of open conversation, we found we have a LOT in common, with the potential for cooperation and collaboration. But if anything, I know I'm not alone. And also ... I'm connected to them when something comes up.
By the way, our essential role at Post Status is to CONNECT. To offer the resources — the space, the platform, the community -- to do just that. But we can't do it by ourselves. We'll need you to get in and take the initiative.
So if the right channel for your topic/role doesn't exist already, let us know. In fact, a group of members asked for a private channel last week and we created it for a them.
CONVERSATIONS I HOPE BLOSSOM HERE
In addition to the vibrant conversations already going on in #club and other channels, here are a couple of groups I hope take this and get rolling here:
- Agency Owners — this already exists and is growing. But a great start to conversation there is Nathan Ingram's 4P's of client work as topics, "Profit, Process, Productivity, Promotion" I think there's also partnering on projects and referral opportunities here.
- Agency Enterprise Leaders -- the sense I get from my conversations with enterprise leaders is that WordPress is strong and growing in this market, with so much more potential to go. The commonalities I hear start with technical aspects but all the way to marketing WP better. I'm mulling some ideas around this currently.
- Product Founders/Leaders — WP Product Talk is already highlighting some of these issues on Twitter Spaces. But as a former product founder for over a decade, I know there's plenty to talk about, as I mentioned in the last newsletter.
- [Insert Your Role, Common Challenges, Issues, Problems for Collaboration] — Don't be limited by my imagination. Think on it and again let us know if we can help!
HOW TO DO IT /
In my experience with groups like this, four key things stand out for these kinds of conversations to happen, then truly blossom .... and they are core to Lindsey and I and by extension Post Status:
- Start and End with Mutual Respect — Think, believe and act like we are peers, equals, no matter the size of your wallet or P&L, size of your company, distinguished record of doing it since the dawn of civilization, your trophy shelf, or status. Start there always. We're all on the same level here. We love WP. We do it for a living. No one is trying to one up someone else, or beat their chest. Make it your first checkbox as you come in.
- Go First — Someone has to go first. Someone has to be willing and vulnerable enough to say, "Hey, this is an issue we're dealing with." Or to post the first question. In every group I've been a part of, I knew my ante was to open up, and sometimes go first.
- Step Up — Someone needs to keep the fire lit. Sometimes that's the person willing to go first. Other times, it's someone just recognizing the value of the conversation and connection and being consistent to keep it going.
- Share Experiences, Over Advice — this is one of the most impactful tools I've learned in my life. You get paid well in your business to share your expertise or advice to your clients. (And maybe someone may ask directly for advice.) But here, when someone shares or asks a questions, being vulnerable and open, FIRST think if you have an actual experience that is parallel to theirs and then share YOUR experience. It could go like this: "I had something similar issue in [season, year, etc], here's what it was, here's what happened, this is what I/we did, and this was the result." It is respectful, it is vulnerable and the others can take their own truth and apply it to their own context.
ONE LAST THING
Support us as we support and connect you, the Business of WordPress.
Join Post Status today. Or check in on your membership in case it's lapsed.
If you can't afford a membership right now, ping us and we'll find a way to help out.
—Cory Miller
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COMMUNITY
State of the Word
For the second year, State of the Word (SOTW) will be a small in-person event at the Tumblr offices in New York City on the afternoon of December 15 (1pm local time). Matt Mullenweg will deliver the annual address to a small in-person crowd, and the event will be live streamed over WordPress’ official social media streams. Meetups and other WordPress groups (businesses, etc.) are encouraged to have watch parties for their groups.
I will be attending in person again this year. If you’ll be there, say hello and let’s get a selfie to post on whatever social media we’re using. I’ll be tweeting using #SOTW.
WordPress Credentialing
CertifyWP, a new organization, will soon launch a WordPress credentialing process. The organization, which is in the process of seeking non-profit/501(c)3 status in the US, will be the first of its kind for WordPress credentials.
“Part of developing a credential for WordPress is establishing a baseline of skills for those entering the WordPress job market, including the US Department of Defense, which requires a credential for entry,” says Talisha Lewallen, CEO of WPConnects, and founder of CertifyWP. “The beauty of a credential like this is that it can benefit any company that is hiring in WordPress. Along with the benefits it will bring for WordPress users and contractors.”
The next step for establishing such a credential is twofold: having a team begin working on a standardized exam for becoming credentialed, and gathering letters of endorsement from those hiring in WordPress and for WordPress roles within the community. Go here to contribute a letter of endorsement, where you can also view a sample letter and upload your completed endorsement.
(Full disclosure, I have joined the board of directors for this endeavor.)
Annual WordPress Survey
While there’s always a lot of conversation about WordPress and the future of WordPress, if you have an opinion about the open source project, here’s your annual opportunity to weigh in and have your opinion quantified with others.
It’s a great opportunity to have your experiences count!
Post Status Membership Deal
In the spirit of Black Friday/Cyber Monday, Post Status is offering $100 off any annual membership through December 31. Why? Because we love you! Membership gets you into our Slack community, too!
Use discount code BFCM for your best Post Status membership deal ever!
In the Spotlight
Post Status member, Nathan Ingram. Nathan is the creator of MonsterContracts, battle-tested contracts for WordPress client work.
Podcast Episodes Worth a Listen
Upcoming Events:
CURATED BY  MICHELLE FRECHETTE. Have community news to share? Get in touch.
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BUSINESS
Business Will Be Back Next Week
We're a bit short staffed currently, but we have a lot of Business content in the queue, particularly our Agency Journey and Product People interviews.
In the theme of cooperation and collaboration, we're looking for someone to help us follow, curate and comment on the Business of WP news. Particularly our business curation will increasingly be focused on Agency and Product work. If this interests you, ping Cory Miller to talk.
And yes, it's a paid yet part-time type gig.
Have business news to share? Get in touch.
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POST STATUS SPONSOR
 Cloudways is a managed cloud hosting platform that facilitates choice, simplicity, and performance for ecommerce, startups, agencies, and developers. Our customers have the choice of hosting their PHP powered applications on five leading IaaS providers – Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Engine, DigitalOcean, Linode, and Vultr. Check them out →
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MAKE WORDPRESS
CURATED BY COURTNEY ROBERTSON. Have Make WordPress news to share? Get in touch.
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★ POST STATUS MEMBER HUDDLES
Huddles make time and space for our community of peers to come together. They’re designed for camaraderie and connection for all WordPress Professionals, even if you’re not a member yet.
Check our Calendar or the #member-huddles channel for updates. Sign up for an upcoming Huddle today!
Europe
Fridays @ 07.00 CT (UTC-6/Chicago) / 14.00 CET (UTC+2/Paris)
Hosted by: Jason Rouet and Evangelia Pappa
Sign up →
North America
Wednesdays @ 11.00 CT (UTC-6/Chiacgo) / 18.00 CET (UTC+2/Paris)
Hosted by: Michelle Frechette and Cory Miller
Sign up → |
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A big thank you to our Sponsor Partners
Without our Sponsor Partners (and long-time members), Post Status wouldn’t be a feasible business. These great companies have continued to support us and work for you (say thanks when you can):
Pagely — supported us from the beginning
Gravity Forms — supported us from the beginning
GoDaddy Pro — second-year partner
WordPress VIP — first-year partner
A2 Hosting — first-year partner
StellarWP — first-year sponsor
Cloudways — first-year sponsor
Elementor — first-year sponsor
Pressable — first year sponsor
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