I last used wordpress many moons ago, and remember it as a violently different creative experience, with a haphazard interface and a wide variety of themes that felt as unique and expressive as the people who used them.
Somehow in the intervening years, the “market” seems to have shifted into something I barely recognize. Where there once were brightly-colored, highly customizable themes meant for music fans, teenagers, parents, book lovers and people with all sorts of senses of personal style, there are now pages and pages of commerce-optimized themes and integrations… it’s clear a battle was fought (and lost) for the soul of the weblog as primarily a fun way for humans just to write and play.
Honestly it was really off-putting. It used to be fun to scroll through the assorted blog themes and plugin lists for different software. They were filled with goodies… shoutboxes, games to play, fun ways to find and collect sites from friends or on topics you enjoy, custom radio station plugins, quizlets, anything you wanted, tied up nicely in a bow.
Now even the interface feels like I’m meant to be plugging my most recent item for sale, well, you can’t have it! I’m not selling! 😛 make your own! If I try to sell you something I make, it’s going to be from the most virulently glittery, least streamlined site I can concoct. It’ll be like tripping over a pile of clothes thrown in the corner. It’ll be neon lights and plastic lawn flamingos and a hideous background that kinda works but makes you pull a face every time you see it because you’ve gotten so used to seeing “light theme” and “dark theme” that you completely forgot your monitor can do pumpkin orange and lime green and mouse cursor trails that drip stars all over the page. That is my pledge to you: I won’t try to sell you anything I make without making you regret it.
… wait crap that’s not how I meant to word that. Also this is meant to be a personal blog! Stop getting off-topic!
(edit: I’ve introduced the stars. You’re welcome!)