Back in the late 2000s, a viral blog post (which I can't find now) asserted that Microsoft was irrelevant—that Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. wiped out MS as a market leader, if not in income, but in reputation.

Look at MS today. Not so irrelevant.

I do think the original post is right, that WordPress is plateauing and they're scrambling to maintain their hold on a zero-sum market. But, if they can figure out a new direction, they're also in a unique position to lead.

Getting there is not going to happen through dot releases and a squeaky new blog template named for the current year. It looks to me like they need some fresh leadership.

Automattic has been actively diversifying, with acquisitions like Tumblr, Day One, Gravatar, Beeper, Pocket Casts, and many more.

i mean microsoft do have a pretty terrible reputation except for with the typescript/vscode audience...

> Also, I hate the future where the web is powered by managed solutions .

Me too, but it makes launching startups easier and it seems that’s what tech is all about nowadays… maybe it always has been

Hah. Only if you're enthralled by what passes for reality in the Bay area. Outside that particular gravity well the rest of the world seems to be getting along just fine with pursuits rooted in providing actual value.

> rest of the world seems to be getting along just fine with pursuits rooted in providing actual value

Oh man don’t look too hard into the medical industry, auto industry, game industry, or appliance industry.

It really seems like they’re all looking for rent-seeking type opportunities, subscription services, and planned obsolescence.

I think Serif (makers of affinity photo) is the only software shops that come to mind that sells a useful product not tied to a subscription. EDIT: oh actually bitwig is too. I think a lot if DAWs don’t require a subscription.

I’m sure there are others, but they’re few and far between.

You aren't wrong there and what's really telling is how software has made aggressive inroads into those markets. Where software goes bullshit is sure to follow.

The point is that if you're well informed developer building something new, you're not going to use WordPress.

Yes, there are people who are stuck on the CMS, and people will get roped into building WP sites due to the sheer momentum. It will be around for a long time. But it's not the future.

I think the point is who thinks about IBM in the PC manufacturing space circa 2024, notwithstanding their other business lines.

IBM exited the PC space almost 20 years ago.

To Lenovo, who is very much still in it.

Eh… they’re just a consulting firm. Nobody does really care about them from the perspective of advancing the science. Does anyone bother what IBM or CapGemini or Accenture or Deloitte or whatever think?

> Does anyone bother what IBM or CapGemini or Accenture or Deloitte or whatever think?

Exactly those companies are literally pumping out "thought leadership" that people and companies with $$$ are lapping up.

> Eh… they’re just a consulting firm. Nobody does really care about them from the perspective of advancing the science.

Are you referring to IBM here?