The Tim Ferriss Show Ep 61: The Benevolent Dictator of the Internet, Matt Mullenweg
Open Source As A Strategic Advantage
- Open source is a software bill of rights giving users freedom to use, inspect, modify and redistribute code.
- That transparency and permissive community dynamics enabled WordPress to scale broadly and attract contributors.
How WordPress Began And Took Off
- Matt forked an abandoned project at 19, renamed it WordPress, and focused on standards and simple installation.
- The famous "five-minute install" became a competitive advantage that accelerated adoption.
Design For Long-Term Incentives
- Designing for openness removes incentives to withhold features for profit and fosters long-term community growth.
- Thinking years ahead about incentive consequences shaped WordPress's ecosystem and plugin economy.
Matt Mullenweg has been named one of PC World’s Top 50 People on the Web, Inc.com’s 30 under 30, and Business Week’s 25 Most Influential People on the Web. In this episode, I attempt to get him drunk on tequila and make him curse. Matt is most associated with a tool that powers more than 22% of the entire web: WordPress. Even if you aren't into tech, there are tons of "holy shit!" tips and resources in this episode. Matt is a phenom of hyper-productivity and does A LOT with very little. But how? This conversation shares his best tools and tricks. From polyphasic sleep to Dvorak and looping music for flow, there's something for everyone. Last but not least, Matt is also the CEO of Automattic, which is valued at $1-billion+ and has a fully distributed team of 300+ employees around the world.But he started off as a BBQ-chomping Texas boy. So, how did it all happen? Just listen and find out. It's one hell of a story. All links and show notes can be found at: fourhourworkweek.com/podcast
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