WordPress: The Warp Core of the Internet

The college student in me was in love with Star Trek: The Next Generation.  The professional in me is in love with WordPress. Because of this, whenever anyone talks about the WordPress “core”, my mind always jumps back to episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

I’m not at all a science geek, but I so loved this show. I know part of this love was due to the idealism illustrated by creator Gene Roddenberry.  The show presented a future life where disease was limited, food effortlessly replicated, and technology plentiful. Ok out everything I just listed, it was the technology that stole my heart. After all, they were using iPads in 1987.

Respect for the Core

Everything in TNG seemed to revolve around the warp core and it was to be protected at all costs. Warp drive, a hypothetical faster-than-light propulsion system, took the Starship Enterprise to new places and did so at warp speed. Sound familiar? A bit like a little CMS package we call WordPress? WordPress, a free software package, that can whip up a small business website in a matter of a few hours. A tool that can quickly propel a company into the world of internet marketing, while still looking professional and being completely SEO friendly. Well it’s no wonder I love WordPress as much as I do.

Yep, I’m a nerd. But honestly, these are the types of things that run through my head. My mind just can’t help but venture back to TNG at mentions of the WordPress core. Think I’m crazy? There are lots of parallels that I can think of when comparing WordPress to Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Six Reasons Why Star Trek: The Next Generation Reminds Me of WordPress

• Gene Roddenberry + Matt Mullenweg – Both men are idealist and both have stolen my heart at one point in my life. Both created something magical.
• The Federation + the WordPress Community – The United Federation of Planets is our worldwide WordPress community. This utopian society of people, from all walks of life, that come together with a common set of values and a singular goal of exploration.
• Warp Core + the WordPress Core – Protect the core at all costs. This goes for the both WordPress and TNG. A breach of the core means life, as we know it, is coming to an end. Both cores tend to propel us to new lands of opportunities.
• The Starship Enterprise + WordPress Freelancers – Technology savvy, self sufficient, and capable of producing great things.  Part of a greater community, yet still completely capable of existing in solitude for great periods of time. All while continuing the mission, building the future, and following the directive.
• The Bridge + the WordPress Admin Panel – Both are the ecosystem and central hub of activity. The Starships’ bridge was filled with stations that had an amazing ability to control the ship’s features and functions, while also defending it from unknown creatures. Reminds me a bit of our WordPress plugins.
• The Borg + Hackers – Both are infestations. The Borg’s drones quietly sneak in and take over all aspects of what is good. The Borg were the 80’s version of cyber pests. Our current day cyber pests or malware, quietly hijack outdated and unsuspecting WordPress websites when they are left unloved and unattended.  In the 80’s the Borg perplexed me.  Today’s hackers and their overpowering desire to create malware now baffle me.

The New Frontier

Go back to 1987 and listen to Captain Jean-Luc Picard recite these words in your head. They are from the opening of TNG episodes.

Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.

And now the WordPress version:

WordPress: the technology frontier. These are the adventures of the savvy marketing professionals. Their continuing mission: to explore online business, to seek out new prospects and new sales, to boldly go where no traditional marketer has gone before. 

Let the Idealists Prevail

I am an idealist and I dream of a utopian society filled with peace and technology.  I think that is why I fell in love with the WordPress community and the common goal of changing the world with technology.

Thank you Gene Roddenberry and Matt Mullenweg. You’ve stretched our imaginations and you’ve inspired us to create great things.