The 2018 State of the Word has dropped. If you’re a WordPress fan and if you have some time, watch it. There’s some really valuable information about the future of WordPress, WordPress 5.0 and of course, Gutenberg.
More on Gutenberg here.
Hero
This is the face of bravery. My children and my children’s children and their children will know the name Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.
Matt Mullenweg on Recode Decode
My CEO, Matt Mullenweg, was recently a guest on Recode Decode with host Kara Swisher. I listened in full to the interview while biking across the Eastern Shore of Maryland this weekend and I really enjoyed their chat.
I thought Matt and Kara had a very thoughtful discussion – it wasn’t your typical Silicon Valley horserace (who’s up and who’s down) conversation, but rather, Matt guided the conversation (quite deftly) in a direction that opened up a broader discussion about technology, WordPress and what other leaders in tech need to be thinking about as we all traverse the choppy waters that are 2018.
I’ve worked for Automattic for 6+ years and I really enjoyed hearing Matt lay out the ground-game for WordPress (and Automattic) – what’s worked, what’s coming and why our company and products have succeeded, despite huge changes in the blogging/CMS ecosystem.
You can stream the interview below, via RadioPublic’s slick podcasting player.
Oh, and did I mention that Automattic is hiring? Job listings can be found here.
Hillary Was Right
Oy. I just rewatched this video from the 2016 campaign. Hillary Clinton was right. Oh, so right. Spot on. OY!
Two Legends Walk Into A Room…
This past weekend, my daughter Zoey met the great Allen Iverson. Two living legends!
They talked about practice…
Legacy Of A King
This TIME / Obama.org video is superb.
President Barack Obama and the legendary civil rights icon John Lewis sit down to discuss the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Today marks the 50th anniversary since his assassination. Kudos to my friend (and great reporter) Philip Elliot, whose byline appears on the story.
Some more powerful reads on the significance of this milestone anniversary.
NYT: The Power of Bobby Kennedy’s Eulogy for Martin Luther King [link]
NYT: The Last Year of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life, According to The Times [link]
Walter Cronkite’s broadcast announcing the assassination of Dr. King:
Extra Credit
My twin brother Matthew is a cool guy. And extremely handsome. He actually reminds me of myself, when I was younger.
Over the past year or so, Matthew has made an epic transition into filmmaking. His journey started at The New School where he received a Certificate in Documentary Media Studies and where he produced a fantastic short documentary entitled Extra Credit. The film was selected to be shown at DOC NYC in 2017 and he’s gotten many accolades for the work he did and the characters he introduced in his groundbreaking narrative.
To say that I’m proud of my brother would be an understatement. I’ve had a front row seat over the past year as he went from amateur to professional and every day he remains focused on honing his craft, finding new stories and hustling in this new and exciting medium.
Today, on my blog, I’m happy to share Extra Credit with you. If you enjoy, please share the link.
Matthew, congrats, I can’t wait wait for the next one!
Extra Credit from Matthew Slutsky on Vimeo. Music by the very talented Zac Selissen.
John Prine’s Tiny Desk Concert
It doesn’t get much better than this. The legendary John Prine on NPR’s Tiny Desk series.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Jr. would have been 89 today.
Bernice King, the youngest daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King put out a series of tweets to commemorate her father and his legacy.
Now more than ever, America needs courageous leaders and an engaged citizenry willing to take on bigotry and racism.
We, the super majority of Americans who are awake, must annihilate the bubbling undercurrent of America whose racist movement has put Donald Trump in the White House.
Donald Trump does not represent American values. He’s a sad, lonely man.
MLK’s words ring more true today than ever before. Let’s hope next year is better.
Onward!
Oprah Winfrey
Last night, the 75th Golden Globe Awards were held in Los Angeles, California. It was star-studded and the host, Seth Myers did a great job – his jokes, in my opinion, were perfect for the occasion.
The big focus of the evening was the #TIMESUP campaign, which was the centerpiece of the red carpet conversations, speeches and post-event hoopla. TIME’S UP is a Legal Defense Fund that will subsidize legal support for individuals who have experienced sexual harassment or related retaliation in the workplace. It’s backed by some of the most powerful celebrities in Hollywood
For me, the most heartening moment of the night came from Oprah Winfrey when she received the 2018 Cecil B. de Mille award. Her words were a rallying cry and a call to action. If you haven’t heard the speech yet, please watch it and share. If you have, please watch it again so that you can properly unpack and incorporate the words and the lessons from her riveting speech [full transcript].
I’ve loved Oprah since I was a wee lad. This past summer, I devoured WBEZ’s acclaimed podcast series, Making Oprah and I try to keep up with Super Soul Sunday, whenever possible. I also really enjoyed Oprah’s 2-part interview on Dear Sugars, one of my favorite podcasts. You can listed to those two episodes here:
I think it’s premature to to elevate Oprah to presidential candidate in 2020, but if she wants it, the door is certainly open. Well, at least according to Oprah’s longtime partner Stedman Graham, who was quoted last night to the Los Angeles Times saying, “It’s up to the people…she would absolutely do it.”
Thanks, Oprah!
Peter.blog 