Mike Little: the British co-founder of WordPress you’ve probably never heard of (but should)…

Nicol Wistreich @nic@25.netribution.co.uk

In the story of WordPress –the tool that powers 45% of the web, including 10s of 1000s of film sites– Mike Little is Steve Wozniak to Matt Mullenweg's Steve Jobs. Matt polished the interface, the marketing and curly quotes – while Mike added the blogroll, rebuilt the code, and added the one-click easy-upgrade that's been central to its success. But unlike Woz, Mike never had shares in Matt's $7bn business – or even a job there. He didn't know you could make a living from WordPress until he turned up at the first UK WordCamp. He hasn’t been knighted or hall-of-famed, and isn’t known outside of old WordPress developer circles. Is this because he’s a cheerful and easy-going northerner from Stockport? Because he didn’t have a degree? Because he’s black? I don’t know. All I know for sure, is this is someone who anyone in tech, or who uses WordPress, should know about.

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Nicol Wistreich @nicol@social.coop
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How many people know that was co-founded by a black man, Mike Little?

Or that he's from the north of England? A self-taught coder from , just south of ? Or that he never received so much as a share, cent or job offer from the $7bn+ valued Automattic after spending five months working exclusively with Matt Mullenweg on the B2 fork?

After @bevangelistJohn Bevan 🤔 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ✊ told me about @mikelittle I interviewed him for a documentary I never got round to making. Back then I was left with two certainties: he's Wozniak to Mullenweg's Jobs. Among other things he added the one-click upgrade that's been central to WP's bonkers 45%-of-the-web-success. And he's one of the nicest people I've ever interviewed, which is also bonkers given that he not only didn't share in WP's financial success, but that he's barely known.

But he should be - so, better late than never - please meet , perhaps the most-influential-least-known person in … 25.netribution.co.uk/nic/mike-

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