A upright bass, piano, banjo and horn ensemble you can dance to? Inspiration from Shakespeare, Steinbeck, and Springsteen? A drummer that can lead four-part harmony? Impossible? Nope. What is impossible is staying in your seat while these guys play.
Welcome, Tiger Global
I’m happy to welcome new investor Tiger Global to the Automattic / WordPress.com family. From Matt’s blog:
…there has been a large secondary transaction in Automattic stock, about $50M worth. “Secondary” means that it’s existing stockholders, like the earliest investors or employees, selling stock to another investor versus money going into the company (“primary”). It was led by Lee Fixel at Tiger Global, one of the behind-the-scenes quiet geniuses that has previously invested in SurveyMonkey, Facebook, LinkedIn, Palantir, Square, Warby Parker… Automattic is healthy, generating cash, and already growing as fast as it can so there’s no need for the company to raise money directly — we’re not capital constrained. The minority of stockholders that elected to participate are holding on to the vast majority of their shares. We’re building an independent company that’s going to be a growing part of the fabric of the web for many years to come, so allowing early investors to lock in some returns releases any short-term pressure there might be on the company for a liquidity event and allows us to focus fully on the long road ahead.
Wikimedia Foundation Exec Dir search
At WordPress, Happiness is Automattic
On the first of May, I started a new job at Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com. I was hired as a “Code Wrangler,” but to date I have not written a lick of code. This is because for the first three weeks new employees must participate in a customer support rotation. I know what you are thinking: “Let the software engineers communicate directly with customers?
Cool observations from new Automattic employee Jason Munro.
Best David Bowie cover ever
Wow. I thought I had the coolest job.
Best. Craigslist. Ad. Ever.
Pretty amazing.
(posting below in case the ad comes down soon).
Grab a paper bag, breathe into it and calm your ass down. You're hyperventilating because you ain't never seen a deal like this before. Now collect yourself, then keep reading this incredible description that barely serves to do justice to my 2010 Felt Gridlock 3 speed fixed gear bike. Yes 3 SPEED FIXED GEAR.
Import-ant News for Google Reader Users
The big news on the internet the last couple of days has been that seminal RSS reader Google Reader will be shutting down on July 1, 2013. Google Reader had lots of fans, including many of us here at Automattic, but it's time to move on.
Speaking of moving on from Google Reader, did you know that you can import your subscriptions directly from Google Reader into…
Matt Mullenweg about to go on with Kara Swisher at SXSW (can you tell they’re in Texas?)
Brisket, pulled pork, and Shiner at Green Mesquite in Austin
Headed to SxSW this week? So are we -- don't be a stranger!
South by Southwest Interactive kicks off this Friday, March 8, and you know Automattic will be there! Whether you need some help with your site, want to learn about the future of blogging, or just want to boogie down with a beer and some barbeque, we've got you covered -- come say hello, because we'd love to put a face to your blog.
I'll be there Friday to Sunday.
