So yeh. This is the third (and final) post in the There Is No Host series. The first post argued that hosting creates unnecessary friction. The second post explored how permissioned infrastructure has been essential to unlocking software value, but concluded that freedom must be translated into meaningful products and experiences to drive growth. This […]
Category: Product Strategy
There Is No Host: On Software and Freedom
So yeh. This is the second post in the There Is No Host series. The first post argued that hosting creates unnecessary friction that hinders WordPress growth. This post digs into something deeper: open source is fundamentally about freedom, but that freedom isn’t currently delivering competitive advantage. I want to explore how software and freedom […]
Digital Wallets and Digital Assets in E-commerce
So yeh. Digital wallets have evolved from simple cryptocurrency storage to comprehensive platforms managing identity, payments, and digital assets. For e-commerce merchants, understanding digital wallets is becoming essential. Understanding Digital Wallets Digital wallets are software tools that store digital equivalents of physical wallet contents—from cryptocurrencies to identity documents. They come in two primary forms: Custodial […]
There Is No Host: Why WordPress Needs to Hide the Plumbing
So yeh. Here’s a thought experiment about WordPress, hosting, and user experience that’s been rattling around in my head. The thesis: WordPress’s emphasis on hosting creates unnecessary friction that prevents mainstream adoption. This isn’t about whether hosting exists—obviously infrastructure is real. It’s about whether users should have to think about it, understand it, or make […]
Future Now: Where Technology & Business Are Heading
Back in April 2021, I gave a talk for the PACE series called “Future Now” – exploring where technology and business were heading after the massive disruption of 2020-2021. This was a weird moment in time. We were about a year into the pandemic. Remote work had gone from niche to default overnight. E-commerce had […]
A New Digital Economy: Strategy, Purpose, and the Existential Challenge Facing Agencies
So yeh. In May 2018, I sat down for a video interview with Velocitize about where digital agencies and marketing strategy were heading. I was running Pragmatic at the time, watching the industry transform around us, and trying to articulate what that transformation meant. The conversation covered the convergence of marketing and business strategy, brand […]