Automattic snags Andy Pealting of BuddyPress

The part that caught my attention most in our pal Matt Mullenweg’s post about snarfing up BuddyPress is this bit here (emphasis added):

It’s clear that the future is social. Connections are key. WordPress MU is a platform which has shown itself to be able to operate at Internet-scale and with BuddyPress we can make it friendlier. Someday, perhaps, the world will have a truly Free and Open Source alternative to the walled gardens and open-only-in-API platforms that currently dominate our social landscape.

OK, so I quoted the whole last paragraph. But you needed the context.

For those of you who aren’t up on the news, Automattic is hiring Andy Pealting, the guy behind BuddyPress, which you might call the “Social Network Total Conversion” for WordPress MU. See it in action at ChickSpeak if you’re curious.

Not too long ago I blogged about FriendFeed opening up functionality to the web that has traditionally (can I really use that word when talking about social media?) been the property of closed social networks.

I’m glad that the newsfeed concept is jumping into the unfiltered internet. I think it is the core social concept that will allow the inherently disparate blogosphere to build real social connections.

I’m also glad that Matt is thinking about making WordPress more social. To date, WordPress has been the most useful, adaptable, and stable CMS I’ve worked with. Giving it the tools (BuddyPress) to act as a social network infrastructure opens up platform possibilities for smaller organizations that can’t afford to develop expensive, in-house systems.

In short, I’m excited to see how it integrates.

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