In today’s MainWP Roundup, we look at WP Speakers recently launched by Michelle Frechette.
We also look at an option that Twitter may roll out to let us read individual articles behind paywalls with an easy on-click payment.
Are you ready? Let’s ride.
WP Speakers help you find a speaker for your WordPress meetings.
In the lounge at the Atarim Web Agency Summit, I bumped into Michelle Frechette. She had just released her new project, WP Speakers.
She told the story of how, as an organizer of a WordPress meetup, she struggled to get speakers outside of the group.
She wanted to open up her group to other listeners and realized this could be done using tools such as Zoom. This was especially true during the pandemic.
She used her connections to get speakers to speak virtually.
A few years ago, I did the same thing when I was invited to speak at a meetup group from Tulsa. I presented using Zoom from my office in Arkansas.
I know how important it can be to help meetup groups.
There is another purpose.
Imagine trying to break in to speaking at WordPress events and not having any connections?
WP Speakers set out to solve this problem.
Frechette said in a press release,
“It’s important to me that the ability to belong on the site as well as be able to search for speakers always remains free. That way no one is denied from being able to participate. A resource like this should be available to all.”
To date, the project has been sponsored by several WordPress companies.
As of this writing, there are over 200 speakers in the database, each with their own unique areas of expertise and even various languages.
“Over time, you almost exhaust your bubble of people. Bringing in outside speakers sometimes keeps your group connected to the larger community and also brings in topics that your local group might not have an expert for.” Michelle Frechette.
I ran a WordPress meetup for a while and I would have loved to have a tool like this.
Another option for this database is to use it for a subject matter experts for an article.
So, if you run a WordPress meetup, a WordCamp, or just want to start speaking in WordPress groups, look at WP Speakers.
You will find something or someone who can help!
Read the write up in WP Tavern
Media publishers to charge users on a per article basis on Twitter
Have you ever scrolled through social media and see an article you are interested in reading, then click the link to be blocked by a publication gate?
Yeah, me too?
Over the past 25 years, the media has struggled to keep up with the changes, especially as it relates to the internet.
Many, especially big media publications, have decided to use a paywall. After all, the bills aren’t paid with clicks and likes.
I agree.
Some have gone to a hybrid model, where some are behind a paywall and some are not.
One of my favorite sports bloggers will put in parentheses (FREE) if the article is free and (VIP) for articles behind the paywall. I really, really appreciate that.
I will also articles behind paywalls without a disclosure in search engines. That is super frustrating!
I never have a problem with publishers making money and using a paywall. The problem I have is what a user has to do when they encounter this issue.
They have to decide, “Do I go look for another article with the same information that I can read for free?” or “Do I actually pay a subscription to a new vendor to read one article?”
Enter Elon Musk.
The man who creates controversy for breakfast might have a solution.
Here is the tweet:
Rolling out next month, this platform will allow media publishers to charge users on a per article basis with one click.
This enables users who would not sign up for a monthly subscription to pay a higher per article price for when they want to read an occasional article.…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 29, 2023
The idea we can pay for an article with one click through Twitter for a reasonable amount, read the article, and be on our way is very intriguing to me.
Of course, the publisher will have to opt in, so it will be interesting to see if they do.
Now, the next time you go to read a NY Times article, maybe you won’t get the “you have reached your free article limit” notice.
Of course, I know there are ways to get around paywalls, but the option to actually pay the publisher for an article is good.
Options are good.
I would love to see other social media platforms consider a similar option. Who knows, perhaps a solution to provide this service for publishers will exist for third party platforms. Time will tell.
What are your thoughts?
Wrapping it up
The fun thing about digging into the MainWP Roundup is finding new projects, checking out what others are doing, and keeping up with what’s going on.
For example, check out this Plugin Periodic Table. If you are a science nerd, you will appreciate it.
Also, developer Igor Benić has a new project called NewsletterGate. It looks interesting but I haven’t had a chance to dive into it more.
You can see more here in this tweet.
How do you keep up with what’s going on in our industry? Let us know in the MainWP Users Facebook group.
