5 ms·

"Unfortunately", because Matt did a lot of good for the internet over the past two decades. WordCamp is (or was) really amazing, the community he built is reall

"Unfortunately", because Matt did a lot of good for the internet over the past two decades. WordCamp is (or was) really amazing, the community he built is really great, the Automattic Lounge was cool, he's donated millions of dollars to good causes, and WordPress powers a large portion of the Internet.

solarkraft 7d ago
Automattic also bought Tumblr and Pocket Casts, publishing the code of the latter. I used to have a subscription just to support them.
- dofm 7d ago
  And Simplenote.
  - joelanman 7d ago
    Which is no longer in active development https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47195093 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47195093
    - dofm 6d ago
      That is sad but not surprising. I think they always had a bit more trouble with its sync system than they would have wanted. I loved Simplenote for the longest time but ultimately simple pragmatism switched me to Apple Notes after dalliances with several task management apps.
    - kjksf 6d ago
      They clearly changed their mind. That "no longer developed" note is from September 2025. They made a bunch of non-trivial improvements in 2026: https://simplenote.com/blog/ https://simplenote.com/blog/
      - dofm 6d ago
        These appear to be a sort of AI-driven re-evaluation. I am a sort of engaged cynic about AI but I am happy to chalk this one up as a straightforward win for the machines. (I'm also quite intrigued about the other blog post regarding an MCP for Simplenote — I love the idea of an LLM's knowledge-base being accessible in such an instantaneous way)
- technion 7d ago
  The purchase of Tumblr was basically Elon purchasing Twitter without the political gain. I'm amazed the purchase decision was ever made, and more amazed that it still exists after the hit to the user base.
  - piperswe 6d ago
    And unlike the Twitter acquisition, Tumblr users basically universally hate its new owner. Twitter has plenty of Elon boosters, but I've never seen someone on Tumblr actually _like_ photomatt.
- burkaman 6d ago
  Wow I had no idea Pocket Casts was open source now. I still have a subscription because it's a perfect app I use every day.
Gualdrapo 7d ago
Huh. I still remember back in the Gutenberg launch era and all the drama around it (2018) the internet saying he was the devil for profiting from WP.
antonvs 7d ago
> WordPress powers a large portion of the Internet. Unfortunately.

solarkraft 7d ago

Automattic also bought Tumblr and Pocket Casts, publishing the code of the latter. I used to have a subscription just to support them.

dofm 7d ago
And Simplenote.
- joelanman 7d ago
  Which is no longer in active development https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47195093 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47195093
  - dofm 6d ago
    That is sad but not surprising. I think they always had a bit more trouble with its sync system than they would have wanted. I loved Simplenote for the longest time but ultimately simple pragmatism switched me to Apple Notes after dalliances with several task management apps.
  - kjksf 6d ago
    They clearly changed their mind. That "no longer developed" note is from September 2025. They made a bunch of non-trivial improvements in 2026: https://simplenote.com/blog/ https://simplenote.com/blog/
    - dofm 6d ago
      These appear to be a sort of AI-driven re-evaluation. I am a sort of engaged cynic about AI but I am happy to chalk this one up as a straightforward win for the machines. (I'm also quite intrigued about the other blog post regarding an MCP for Simplenote — I love the idea of an LLM's knowledge-base being accessible in such an instantaneous way)
technion 7d ago
The purchase of Tumblr was basically Elon purchasing Twitter without the political gain. I'm amazed the purchase decision was ever made, and more amazed that it still exists after the hit to the user base.
- piperswe 6d ago
  And unlike the Twitter acquisition, Tumblr users basically universally hate its new owner. Twitter has plenty of Elon boosters, but I've never seen someone on Tumblr actually _like_ photomatt.
burkaman 6d ago
Wow I had no idea Pocket Casts was open source now. I still have a subscription because it's a perfect app I use every day.

Gualdrapo 7d ago

Huh. I still remember back in the Gutenberg launch era and all the drama around it (2018) the internet saying he was the devil for profiting from WP.

antonvs 7d ago

> WordPress powers a large portion of the Internet. Unfortunately.