Sharing is Caring
Now, I have never inhaled. I've never been high. But I know the rule: when you have something good, you share.
There's something special about the WordPress community. It's partly because the core product that everything else revolves around is open source. But that's not the whole story. It can't be because other open source communities don't look like this one.
There's something special about the folks that create products in this community. They produce these products to generate revenue. To earn a living. To grow their businesses, hire employees and take care of them and their families.
But they don't play the game the same way as others. They share.
They share tips, tricks, customers, and more.
The Proof is in the Examples
It's hard to believe it, but I've seen it first hand. I've seen Pippin Williamson recommend an e-commerce solution that he didn't write, even though he has one of his own. I've seen Mark Forrester (co-founder of WooThemes) offer a hearty welcome to Cory Miller, as he enters the e-commerce space as well.
Competitors who treat each other with respect because they understand that the culture of the community they're in doesn't do competition the way other communities do it.
You may know that I'm the producer of a web video show called WPwatercooler. It's growing and doing everything we hoped it would when Jason Tucker and I first started talking about the concept. But I've been a guest on, and did the opening monologue this weekend for, the DradCast – the best evening web show on WordPress in our community.
What it Means for Me and You
Here's what's awesome about the community and what it means for me and you – it means greater competition with greater options of more people bringing their A game.
Today we saw three product launches:
WP101 announced that it was releasing a Spanish version of its training videos at es.WP101.com – I'd heard from Shawn about his plans and it thrilled me to no end that he was going to launch a language-specific WordPress training solution. Even as others are starting to do more education in the WordPress world, he's pushing his own boundaries to do more.
DreamHost announced today that they were moving into the managed WordPress hosting space. Even though there are several players in the space, it's only better to see more competition and watch to see how users benefit from the sharing these guys do. I personally know these guys talk with other (especially when security issues break out) and it's great to know Mike and the folks at DreamHost will be part of the dialogue now that DreamPress is launching.
Finally, in the already existing e-commerce for WordPress space, Cory Miller (a guy who can't stop innovating) announced a new e-commerce solution that was entering beta soon.
In other communities, these guys would have walked away from these opportunities because others were already doing things. But this isn't a zero sum game. There's room for all of them to add their own take to their spaces.
And that's what I love about the WordPress community.