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In this episode of The WP Minute Podcast, Eric Karkovack welcomes Zachary Hamed and Matthew Achariam, co-founders of Clay, a personal relationship management tool recently acquired by Automattic. They examine how Clay unifies fragmented contact data from various platforms, like Gmail, iMessage, Notion, Facebook, and ChatGPT, into a beautifully designed and user-owned system for managing relationships.

Zachary and Matthew discuss Clay’s origin story, their strong focus on design, data ownership, and privacy, and how AI features like Nexus are transforming personal outreach. They also share how their deep-rooted history with WordPress and open-source culture helped make the acquisition by Automattic feel like a natural evolution. Looking ahead, they tease potential WordPress integrations focused on people and relationships, and how Clay can amplify identity and CRM use cases across the Automattic ecosystem.

Key Takeaways:

• Clay is a personal relationship manager built around privacy, portability, and thoughtful design.
• The product consolidates contacts from fragmented platforms and enhances memory and outreach with AI tools.
• Automattic’s acquisition aligns with Clay’s mission to build human-centric, long-lasting software.
• Possible future integrations with WordPress include features centered around people and identity.
• Clay’s team will remain intact and continue development with increased velocity and support from Automattic.

Important Links:

• The WP Minute Podcast: thewpminute.com/subscribe
• Clay’s Website
• Acquisition coverage:
  – Accelerating Clay’s mission with Automattic
  – Automattic Welcomes Clay
  – Play With Clay
• Clay’s co-founders on LinkedIn:
  – Matthew Achariam
  – Zachary Hamed

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Thanks Pressable for supporting the podcast! What hosting should feel like...nothing! https://pressable.com/wpminute

It’s a tough time to be a WordPress freelancer. The entire ecosystem seems to be shifting beneath us, as we’ve witnessed legal battles and community drama. Not to mention a newfangled technology – artificial intelligence (AI) – taking over the planet.

None of this is good for stability or our confidence. It’s natural to wonder what it all means for the future of freelancing. Are we doomed or just in a time of transition?

I know my business has changed in the past year. Leads for new site builds have morphed into requests for maintenance. It feels like we’ll never get back to the way things were.

Perhaps that’s true. It doesn’t mean the future isn’t bright, though. There’s still value in what we do. Recognizing it is the first step to finding success in a new era.

So, consider this a pep talk for you, my fellow freelancer. Let’s have a collective mental reset to help us focus on what’s next.

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In this episode, I unpack the big announcement behind FAIR — the Federated and Independent Repository — a new package manager initiative under the Linux Foundation. Scooped by The Repository and launched during WordCamp Europe week, FAIR promises decentralized plugin and theme distribution for WordPress, reducing reliance on wordpress.org and introducing a new governance model for the ecosystem. On paper, that’s a huge shift.

But I’ve got more questions than answers. Why the Linux Foundation? Is this really just for WordPress? And what does “a replacement for the ecosystem” even mean? For freelancers, agency owners, and power users like you and me, the pitch feels abstract. FAIR might offer technical insurance, but what does it actually do to help us build faster, better, more sustainable sites today?

This episode is less about hot takes and more about critical thinking — exploring FAIR from the lens of a working professional in WordPress, not someone living in contributor Slack channels. I want to know how this changes our day-to-day, and whether FAIR will drive real innovation… or just become another layer of complexity.

Key Takeaways:

• “This isn’t a fork of WordPress — it’s a backend distribution layer, a replacement for the plugin update plumbing we all rely on.”
• “I have more questions than clarity: is this really just about stability, or is it something much bigger?”
• “Adoption is everything. Without host and agency support, FAIR is just another plugin.”
• “WordPress has a packaging problem. FAIR needs to solve that — not just technically, but with messaging that speaks to the average power user.”
• “We want open source to thrive. But we also want clarity, transparency, and solutions that actually make WordPress better for our clients.”

URLs Mentioned:

• FAIR press release from the Linux Foundation
• The Repository's FAIR coverage
• AspirePress
• WPCC
• Alt Ctrl Org livestream