At Some Point, I’d Like to Write a Book

At some point, I’d like to write a book or an eBook about my journey to and inside the WordPress ecosystem and the struggles I’ve tried to overcome by being paid to write about the project full-time. One thing I’m struggling with is deciding when the right time is to write the book.

I want it to be raw, uncensored, where I’m free to express my emotions the way I see fit. Considering this, now is not the time. Perhaps when my WordPress journey is complete or I move onto the next stage of my life. The caveat to this is that my next stage of life might be death. How do I write a book if I’m dead?

I should start writing chapters while I’m alive and save them as drafts in case something happens to me. That way, someone, somewhere, I hope will publish them. It would be a shame not to be able to see and read people’s reactions to the text.

Advice for Those Entering the WordPress Community

My name is Jeff Chandler and I’ve written about and have covered the open source WordPress project for 7-8 years. There is little difference between myself and those who have just entered the WordPress community. Just like any community of people, there are unwritten rules, things you must do to become well-known throughout the rest of the community. That’s just the way it is.

Unlike a lot of other people you may meet, I’m forgiving and willing to listen to your pitch and discover why it is you’ve chosen this path. However, if you decide to enter the WordPress community with guns blazing, be prepared to suffer the consequences. Like many other communities, there’s an inner, middle, and outer circle of influential people. Those who are closest to the WordPress project I feel are most influential.

If you enter the WordPress community these days with guns blazing, chances are that you’ll fail. The recipe for success is pretty simple. Sit outside the ring and observe how the WordPress community interacts for at least a year. There are nuances that people will have to understand and abide by, that’s just the way it is.

If you think you’re going to enter the world of WordPress and change the rules, you’re mistaken. Kudos if you think you’ll be able to radically change the direction things are heading, but it doesn’t work that way.

Learn how the WordPress community speaks, acts, views various opinions, and observe as well as follow the rules put into place before you enter the WordPress community.

It might sound like I don’t like those who show up unannounced and expect the world to change around them. How can anyone appreciate someone like that? If you enter the WordPress community, do your research, don’t act like you’re god.

Respect the decisions and guidelines that have been set forth before your time. If you disagree with them, use the appropriate channels but try not to fuck up things for everyone else.

Creativity Through Intoxication

I’m in my 30s and have been intoxicated to the point of realizing that my creativity has no roadblocks. Intoxication is one of those things that affects people differently based on their brain and chemical structure. Some people get angry when they’re drunk, some people are hilarious, while others are more relaxed and end up with a state of mind that is more creative, freed of whatever common sense roadblocks are in the way,

When I’m intoxicated, I am relaxed and the creative parts of my brain explode. I may not make complete sense but more often than not, I do. I find it odd that intoxication has the effect that it does on me. It lowers barriers, creates opportunities to be creative, and overall, just be more of a thinker without boundaries.

If you’re not familiar with the popular XKCD comic that highlights the Ballmer peak, I highly encourage you to check it out. This particular comic helped me understand how certain levels of intoxication can generate high levels of creativity and productivity. At the very least, it opened my eyes to why I feel the way I do when intoxicated.

It’s not a way of life I recommend, but it’s important to recognize how alcohol effects you both psychologically and chemically. I’m thankful that I’m not the type of person who goes into a rage when drunk. Instead, I’m relaxed, laid back, and can’t wait to go to sleep. That reminds me, where’s that soft cushion I can pass out on?

The WordPress Planets Aligned For One Day

Yesterday, May 27th 2015, was WordPress’ 12th birthday. On this special day, I had the chance to celebrate with the co-creator of WordPress himself, Matt Mullenweg who was interviewed on WordPress Weekly.

I’ve interviewed a lot of talented, smart people in the WordPress ecosystem over the years but my favorite guest is Matt Mullenweg. He has a sense of humor, is intelligent, and knows more than I might ever know about the internals of Automattic and WordPress.

I enjoy interviewing him because it gives me the opportunity to ask questions no one else may know the answer too. For instance, status updates on projects that didn’t see the light of day. Or, acquisition announcements that didn’t produce the intended results.

I take a lot of pride in every opportunity I get to interview Matt. While he appears on several different podcasts and shows throughout the course of a year, I think my show is one of the few, if not the only that gets deep into WordPress specific conversations.

I have no problem holding Matt accountable for things that were said that didn’t materialize. There are reasons for why it didn’t and I see my questions as opportunities for him to explain why. He knows what he’s getting into when he comes on my show and I can’t remember the last time or if he ever explicitly didn’t want to answer a question.

I appreciate learning new things when he’s on my show and he doesn’t disappoint. Depending on the show, interviewer, etc. his interviews about WordPress can vary widely. I take pride in the fact that I ask him questions that the community is asking and also call him out on certain things when I feel it’s necessary.

All of this to say that I hope you listen to my latest interview with Matt to learn about WooCommerce, WordPress, the REST API, and a variety of other topics. If you know someone else who routinely interviews Matt about WordPress and gets more information out of him than I do, please share it with me in the comments.

Just When You Think You Know Someone

Earlier this week, Rebecca Gill, a friend of mine in the WordPress community, shared her personal story of how being diagnosed with LADA: a 1.5 diabetic who isn’t quite type 1 or type 2 changed her life for the better.

If I ever question myself, I am reminded quickly of the gifts diabetes has given me. I see my healthy son, I feel his bear hug, or I hear his words of pride and praise when he tells someone new that his mom is a diabetic who takes good care of herself.

The day I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, I chose my son and his survival. The day I was diagnosed as a LADA, I chose to be a survivor.

It’s an inspirational post, but out of all the times I’ve talked to her, she never mentioned that she had LADA. It’s none of my business and I didn’t ask, but it reminded me that there are a lot of things I don’t know about the people I interact with on a daily basis in the WordPress community. Without her post, I might never have known this about her. Rebecca says it best:

I’ve known some people in the WordPress community for more than 6 years and yet, there is so much I don’t know about these people. Sure, I could follow them on Facebook, Twitter, etc and learn things based on what they share to the public, but without a good reason to do so, I feel like that’s akin to stalking. Just when you think you know someone, you realize you don’t know them at all.

I use my Facebook account and this site to let people know that I’m not as obsessed with WordPress as people might think. I have other interests such as good food, bird watching, trains, military aircraft, meteorology, astrology, the 90s, and more. Using these mediums, I specifically choose what I let people know about me. I feel like I’m a public person, but I do keep a lot of things to myself or to those who I consider personal friends.

Do I even want to know more about the personal lives of the people I interact with on a weekly basis? Yes and no. Yes, because it provides a foundation for a story because it adds context. No, because there are things I might find out that I can’t say which may really add to a story. Also, I have a big mouth and would rather not be entrusted with anyone’s personal secrets. I don’t want that burden anyways, so don’t give it to me!

Why am I in a Hurry to do Everything?

In the last two years, I’ve developed a bad habit of skimming articles instead of taking my time to comprehend them. I think this habit is partly the reason for my reading comprehension being at an all time low. The question is, why do I feel like I’m always in a rush whether it’s reading an article or trying to get a task done?

It doesn’t matter how long the article is, if I can’t read it in the same time I can read a Tweet, it’s too long and I lose interest fast. This sounds like symptoms of attention deficit disorder or ADD to me. Even if no one is forcing me to move fast, it feels like there’s someone pushing me or a voice in my head saying “I ain’t got time for that“.

I feel like my lack of reading comprehension skills has significantly affected my ability to write. Have I unknowingly become part of the TL;DR movement? It’s ridiculous that TL;DR exists at all, but I can see why it’s a legitimate thing.

I need to slow down and read articles from beginning to end. I need to stop letting notifications take my attention away from whatever it is I’m doing. Responding to Twitter, then Facebook, then email, then back to Twitter creates an endless cycle of interruptions and lack of productivity. I need to increase my comprehension skills before I don’t have any left.