The $25M non-profit, open source platform taking on WordPress | John O'Nolan (Ghost)
John O'Nolan worked as the Deputy Head of UX for WordPress for several years before he got fed up with the direction it was taking.
He decided to launch a non-profit, open source platform called Ghost in 2013, and the response was overwhelmingly positive.
With so much to unpack, there was a lot to discuss, including:
00:00 Intro
01:25 What it’s like to work for Wordpress
5:25 Launching a Wordpress competitor
10:37 Using non-profit and open source to create interest
12:06 Why Ghost is better than Wordpress
20:33 Using Recommendations and Web Mentions
30:01 Passive ways of acquiring an audience
39:40 How Ghost is different than Medium
45:16 The problem with Quora (and Medium)
53:06 Ghost’s major competitors and customer base
58:04 Ghost’s priorities for publishers
1:03:09 Journalists vs creators
1:08:56 The Fediverse/Activity Pub
1:31:21 The Fediverse vs media companies
1:37:07 How to become a top publisher
1:44:12 Marketing Ghost
1:47:33 Why a personal brand isn’t everything
1:53:04 Will Ghost ever go “for profit”?
We hope you enjoy our first in-person episode of Ahrefs Podcast! As always, be sure to like and subscribe (and tell a friend).
Where to find John:
X: @JohnONolan
LinkedIn: / johnonolan
Website: https://john.onolan.org/
Where to find Tim:
LinkedIn: / timsoulo
X: @timsoulo
Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/
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Referenced in the episode:
Fediverse/Activity Pub: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fediverse
Ev Williams: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Wi...)
MKBHD: / marquesbrownlee