matte

WordPress creator pulls in $29.5 million

Automattic, the company best-known for blog publishing software WordPress, has raked in $29.5 million in Series B funding. Originally reported on several blogs, the funding round was confirmed by Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg in his personal blog Tuesday evening.

The most notable of the investors is the New York Times Co., which joins existing Automattic investors Polaris Ventures, True Ventures, and Radar Ventures. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Automattic turned down an acquisition offer several months ago from a "larger Internet company." Mullenweg's only apparent reference to this in his blog post was his … Read more

Matt Cutts on how you can help Googlebot "see" your Flash content.

Over the past year, there has been a lot of talk about the best way to handle Flash on your site. I previously covered quite a few aspects about this heavily-debated topic in Flash Alternatives Blessed by Google and in Progressive Enhancement is Good for SEO. In my previous interview with Maile Ohye, Google's support engineer I had asked her about Google's view on Flash. Maile confirmed that Google looks at the content within "noscript" tags, but she advised to be careful to mirror accurately the Flash-based content you include within the noscript tags or it … Read more

The Register proves journalism still alive with Wikipedia story

Earlier this week I went to lunch with Ashlee and Cade from The Register and they were telling me about this giant story that had been in process for weeks. The story "Wikipedia black helicopters circle Utah's Traverse Mountain" is a wild-ride of Wikipedia editing, stock-shorting and false identities that is more like a bad Sandra Bullock movie than it is Web 2.0, but that's not my point.

My point is that for all the naysayers who say that journalism is dying thanks to blogs and social media there is still clearly room for real … Read more

The iPhone in basic black, for $2,000

Who needs gold and diamonds on a phone anyway? Don Corleone would have said such excesses were something for Tattaglia and his ilk--pimps.

Someone with true taste would opt for something much more classic, such as a black iPhone. This modified handset from Charles & Marie, called the "ccPhone," is one of only 50 limited-edition models finished in black matte and accompanied by an exclusive collection of music, videos, wallpaper and other software, according to Luxist.

But the privilege of owning this beauty--the phone's equivalent of a designer's little black dress--will cost $2,000. No one … Read more

YouTube star taps explorer in everyone

Hit the road.

That's the message that Matt Harding's feet tap out as he romps around in front of African elephants, lounging walrus and confused Buddhist monks in the video montage "Where the Hell Is Matt?" The clip, which features Harding doing a signature jig in exotic locations around the globe, became an online blockbuster after he posted it last year to YouTube.

The video has made Harding a source of inspiration to anyone with a desire to light out on their own world tour. He is now working on a sequel and visited San Francisco'… Read more

Lowering the bar to open-source sales

Over the weekend I was surprised to see my interview with Don Marti (now transcribed) hit Slashdot. I posted a link to the podcast a few weeks ago, but I guess more people are interested in reading what Don and I discussed than hearing us discuss it. (Not that I blame them - I'd do the same.)

As mentioned before, we talked about a range of things, but I most enjoyed talking about how open source changes the sales cycle. Until you've lived it, it's hard to comprehend just how powerful - and different - open source is in the software sales process.

In Alfresco's case, making our code available under the GPL has dramatically changed (for the better) the way we interact with our prospects and customers, as I note in the interview:… Read more

Off-topic: My problem

Our head of support said something that I found funny (and somewhat accurate) today about working with me. I apologized for sometimes exploding on issues related to customers (I really do take customer service very seriously). She responded,

Matt, you always have something to say worth listening to...the trick is finding it.

Talk about a back-handed compliment! I wish I could say that it was ill-founded, but I do tend to get overly passionate/angry about things quickly (and then cool off just as quickly), and I spew a lot of verbiage to get a simple message across.

But … Read more

Secrets of 'The Bourne Ultimatum' car chase scenes

A small group of automotive journalists gathered recently in Southern California to watch an unusual sight: A fully functional Volkswagen Touareg that could be controlled without anyone in the driver's seat.

The custom-made SUV was part of a special showcase hosted by Volkswagen, where a select few got a glimpse at some of the stunt driving skills used in the making of The Bourne Ultimatum, the third and newest installment of the Bourne films. The movie's stunt team developed a special cockpit attached to the top of the Touareg, complete with a seat, steering wheel, and pedals that … Read more

Underscores are now word separators, proclaims Google

I got to enjoy Matt Cutts live and in person on Saturday speaking to the WordPress bloggers and fans at WordCamp 2007. Matt was in top form, witty as ever. The session was blogged by numerous folks. The sessions were all recorded, so, we hope, we should see a video of Matt's session surface online pretty soon. Matt said he'd probably be posting his Powerpoint to his blog, assuming he gets approval from Google's PR department.

One key development that Matt shared with the audience was that underscores in URLs are now (or at least very soon … Read more