For a long time, the fact that I named WordPress was not something I talked about much. Matter of fact, I normally only mentioned it if I was in a situation where I needed to make it clear to another geek that I am, in fact, a geek.
For example, when I asked my friend Jonathan the day that we met what he was using to code the new version of a software I used. He said, “Not PHP.” I asked again. “Not PHP.” We may have gone a third round even before I finally threw down my geek card, “I named WordPress.”
His response was the same one everyone has. “Wait. WHAT??? Wait. REALLY? How did you name WordPress?!”
Yes. I really did. And I’ve been holding out on the story. (Well, at least the far more detailed story than what is on the WordPress site, or discussed in Wikipedia)
12+ years later, it felt like it was finally time to tell this story, along with some of the random trivia that goes along with it.
I’m on a mission to get entrepreneurs to use storytelling their blogs before social media to build their brands & their audience online so that they can dominate their market. On that note, it is time for for my own story to be told.
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96 replies on “Business, Brilliantly Episode 2 – How I Named WordPress, the Untold Story”
I remember when Ev Williams replied to my tweet how excited I was and then you were like…um…yeah. 😉
RT @christinebpc: Back in 2003, thanks to being friends with Matt Mullenweg, I named WordPress. My geek claim to fame. http://t.co/HYjUEsQH…
RT @christinebpc: Back in 2003, thanks to being friends with Matt Mullenweg, I named WordPress. My geek claim to fame. http://t.co/HYjUEsQH…
RT @christinebpc: Back in 2003, thanks to being friends with Matt Mullenweg, I named WordPress. My geek claim to fame. http://t.co/HYjUEsQH…
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Charlaine Williams when I commented that Ev Williams congratulated me on being a Blogger nominee at the SXSW web awards? 😉 He said that even though I didn’t win, he thought my site was the best. I almost passed out. (PS – THAT was a bigger deal to me than naming WordPress.)
Yeah, that is a teensy bit better than a tweet reply, lol. You are fairly fabulous 🙂
I get most of my fabulousness from my friends, like YOU!!!
Business, Brilliantly Episode 2 – How I Named WordPress, the Untold Story #catering #wedding http://t.co/qsMTUtPzwq
Jonathan LaCour I had to share the story about the time we met in this post — it is still one of my favorite “throw down the geek card” stories. Well, that and the time I did it to Vu Bui. Sometimes, you just have to put it out there to get past all the BS of proving that you know your stuff.
Jonathan LaCour although I should have added that I leveled up by telling you that I knew Mark Pilgrim too. 😉
lol, you leveled up just by saying you “leveled up”. 😉
*snort*
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I have some domain stories to share with you later.
#photography Business, Brilliantly Episode 2 – How I Named WordPress, the Untold Story: For a long time, the f… http://t.co/jnvNCWF0Ig
I may or may not have had a friend totally geeking over you and I threw the “I know her” card. It made my day to see her reaction.
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I seriously have td everyone who will listen that I know the awesome gal who named WordPress. I’m so happy you are shouting it from the rooftops. You truly rock! On soooooo many levels.
Ps- I need a name for my Tribe…just sayin
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I’m with Keri!! Eek!!! And my tribe needs a name too 🙂
How @WordPress got its name… | Business, Brilliantly #2 – How I Named WordPress, the Untold Story http://t.co/SYCVxu7Vff via @christinebpc
#geekcred
Business, Brilliantly Episode 2 – How I Named WordPress, the Untold Story | Chr… http://t.co/Y3IhykDyTm, see more http://t.co/kWkzNPDO6D
Pete Ark … ohhhhh… I totally want to hear this!
Kathy Greeley Campbell I’m cracking up. Throw that card down! Throw it DOWN!
Keri Vaca & April Amodeo … you ladies. <3 <3 <3 Also, my tribe needs a name too. Hmm. I should get on that, shouldn't I?
My favourite personal lore about this story is when I told that guy I was dating and he was all “Whatever, she did not.” and I was just like “google it!”
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First story is more of a tidbit. Back in 1996 I started working at EarthLink. This was when the Internet was still very much in its infancy. Back then there weren’t any dedicated web hosting companies. If you wanted a domain, you had to get it from an ISP like EarthLink. To get a basic domain name and website, EarthLink charged as $1295 one time setup fee and it was $200/month for the web hosting. And that was the norm at the time with all the ISPs that offered that service. As you can imagine the only ones that had domains at the time were big companies. Within 2 years the prices dropped pretty drastically and everyone and their brother started registering for domain names. ?
I totally remember those days! It was such a HUGE DEAL when I could afford a domain name! I used to do on-call tech support for an ISP in Houston. My web consulting job was with a web design shop where our strategic partner was PSI. Nowadays, no one knows PSI. Back then? The backbone of the internet! Hosting from PSI was $$$$!!!
Stephanie Ostermann that was the best! He was so insistent to you too, wasn’t he?
One of our biggest customers back then was HardRock Cafe. They had hardrock.com. Well one day I took a call (I worked in the web support dept) and it was an attorney from HardRock Hotel. He requested that we pull down the website immediately. He said they were in a legal battle with HardRock Cafe over the domain name. So weird. Despite being under the same parent company, they were independent entities. Then ended up going to court and the outcome was that HardRock.com would be a portal to HardRockCafe.com and HardRockHotel.com. ?
Do you remember when Amazon launched? I totally remember when Amazon launched. It was such a BIG DEAL.
I remember they were around for a year or so when I started at EarthLink. My first order with them was in 1998. Back then I was more of an online shopper of DVDs and CDs. I bought DVDs from buy.com and CDs from musicboulevard.com. I didn’t buy books much and at the time amazon was only a book store.
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I named the energy accounting program we used at Constellation Energy (Energy Settlements Tracking And Reconciliation, E-STaR), so I’m not sweating it either.
Shoulda sent him to LMGTFY …
How I Named #WordPress, the Untold Story | by @ChristineBPC | http://t.co/TrYWVLkvgu
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Business, Brilliantly Episode 2 – How I Named WordPress, the Untold Story http://t.co/qYXMuEkWYK
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I still have a magnet from an early Amazon book order. Definitely from college, not sure when. 1999?
Right? I threw it so hard my table broke. 😉
I just woke up. What now?
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I find it kinda depressing. Why do you need a geek card? Men don’t seem to. Just the “not PHP” answer implies a “don’t worry your pretty little head about the big boy coding” attitude.
I love your story. I was there for it. But you are SO MUCH MORE than a name.
Faith Kaminsky Cohen it definitely wasn’t a “pretty head” moment but a “you cute photographer, you…” because many photographers think they are more tech savvy than they really are.
Also, it is more to lend credibility to my expertise. It is an amazing conversation starter. I’ll take it as a geek claim to fame.
How I Named WordPress, the Untold Story http://t.co/RHBJmwt0yC – great story & awesome brand & blog tips @Christinebpc
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[…] turned to his friend Tremoulet, who recalls the details in her Business Brilliantly Podcast: “He pointed out that he really liked the idea of it being somehow related to the printing press, […]
[…] with the help of his developer friend Mike Little. Christine Tremoulet – Who is Matt’s friend, named this website creation tool, WordPress in 2003 which is the same year when the very first version was released. It was 27th May 2003 to be […]
Hi. I can’t play the Podcast.
It’s awesome to know you named WordPress and I can’t wait to hear the story!