If you’ve been around the WordPress journalism / blogosphere / whatever-you-want-to-call-it enough, then you’ve likely seen the rise and fall of several news sites. Some of them were great and then went completely dark; others have been slowly going on the up and up.

Right now, I can definitively say that my two favorite journalism sites for WordPress are WP Tavern and Post Status. I’ve gotta give props to the Tavern because they’ve been around for quite a while, and just before we thought they were going to have to close their doors, they ended up receiving corporate backing.

The WordPress Tavern

Good news for us, right? One thing that makes me a little skeptical about that is that it can occasionally influence how stories are written but, to be fair, that doesn’t seem to be the case with The Tavern.

But then this past week, Brian Krogsgard introduced the new premium subscription service for Post Status. I’m a fan and I think this is something that many of us need to think critically about before joining.

Why I’ve Backed Post Status

First off, to be clear, I see Post Status and WP Tavern as frenemies and I borrow this phrase directly from Jeffro, Sarah, and Brian as I see them talking. I don’t want one to “win” any more than I want the other to win. That’s not with this post is about, so don’t read it with that slant because it’s not there.

Anyway, for the past few years, we’ve watched Brian run Post Status from a relatively simple news site. In fact, for those who have been around long enough, we remember hearing he and Ryan chat on the WP Candy Podcast and we also remember some of the editorial work that he when writing for WP Candy.

Then we remember when WP Candy was no more, and Post Status started up. Great idea, right? A site that aimed to keep the pulse on the news of what was going on in WordPress and that was doing a great job. In fact, it cost us nothing because it was partnered with some larger companies.

Information for us at no expense. Love that, right?

But not, the next iteration of Post Status is available and I think it’s time that not only it, but we, level up, as well.

Post Status

 

So you can read the article in its entirety, but there are some cool things coming from the membership club which you can read about on its respective page.

Some of these include:

  • Written, Video, and Audio Content
  • Post Status Notes
  • Members Only Resources and Discounts
  • WordPress Developer, Designer, and Business Person Directory
  • …and more

I know – I sound like a salesmen for something in which I have absolutely nothing to gain. But here’s the deal: I’ve been around the WordPress economy long enough to see (and experience) the rise and fall of a number of journalistic web sites.

This particular model is unique and I think it can work, but it’s going to take more than people saying things like:

  • “Great job! Glad to see how far you’ve come!”
  • “Keep up the good work!”
  • “I’m eager to see where this goes!”

All of that sounds great and the sentiment behind it is great, but it’s also a little bit of lips service if I’m being honest. $99 for 365 days of isn’t a bad deal for something that we’ve yet to see like this in the WordPress community.

Just from paying attention to Twitter, it’s clear the WordPress economy wants something like this and I’d love nothing more than to see this not only succeed but to begin reaching outside the standard community of WordPress designers and developers and to see it reach bloggers and those who use WordPress but are more on the periphery of what many of us do for living.

So get in on this. I think it will be well worth it and it’ll be fun for all of us to hang out on the site a bit.