title: WordPress Makes Me Happy
author: Justin Ball
layout: post
permalink: "/2008/02/11/wordpress-makes-me-happy/"
tags:
  - "Programming"
  - "Wordpress"
date: '2008-02-11T07:00:00Z'
templateKey: blog-post
path: "/wordpress-makes-me-happy"
description: ''
---

I have used WordPress for years. Not long after I started using it I went to the Web 2.0 Summit in San Fransisco. While there I engaged in the requisite schmoozing even though I am a developer and not especially great in social situations. At one of the CEO of a small startup that developed blogging software. The first thought in my head was, "great another stupid startup that thinks they can compete in a crowded space." I almost said, "have you heard of WordPress? Why not just use them?" Then he handed me his card. [Toni Schneider][1] is the CEO of automattic, the guys that make WordPress. I still have that card and will now keep it next to [Matt Mullenweg's][2].

 [1]: http://toni.schneidersf.com/
 [2]: http://ma.tt/

I learned a couple of things by meeting these guys.

*   The WordPress guys are really nice guys who deserve the [29 million they just got.][3]
*   WordPress is a great platform for building more than just blogs
*   A really great platform can persuade me to learn PHP even though I am a ruby/python zealot.

 [3]: http://mashable.com/2008/01/22/automattic-funded/
