I’ve been meeting a lot of people in the WordPress and WooCommerce space over several years. For WordPress, it started in 2006. WooCommerce started at its inception in 2011. And in every nook and cranny of both those ecosystems, I found some amazing stories with some very smart people. In fact, not just some, but a lot of them.
Raising the voices and their stories
From the inception of Do the Woo here, our major goal was s to raise the voices of the builder community, but the undertone of stories has always been there as well. I’m the first to admit there’s nothing new about telling your story. In fact, historically, storytelling this goes way, way, way back in time. Yet storytelling has found its way into everything. When it’s all said and done, you can learn so much from a conversation around a story. When you compare that to interviews and tutorials and other means of educating yourself, in the end, with all of these different pieces of content and different ways that we educate each other, they all have their place.
Smart voices and insightful stories are not always the vocal influencers.
Personally, when I look for guests, I don’t seek out those who have the most followers or the most influence. I know podcasts that do this and they have their reason Numbers and growing the listening audience. And that is their primary goal, that’s cool, if that’s their end goal and strategy.
Now, on Do the Woo, by nature, some of those in the WooCommerce and WordPress space are considered influencers. And they’ll make their way as a guest on our show because they’re simply part of the smart people who have a story. They just fit in at that particular time. But on the other hand, I’ve been fortunate enough to find many individuals that are less heard of, less known, and some of them don’t even have the desire to be known.
But the thing is, they do creative stuff. They are building really cool products, really cool sites, and yes, and they’re smart. They have a story. And I’ve found that when given the chance, they discover that they really want to tell it.
Once someone, a long, long time ago, told Judy and I, everyone has “story to tell”. Well, now that was probably 20 years or more ago, but that’s the truth and still is. Also everyone has experience, insights, perspectives, and knowledge to share, that are entertwined in their stories.
Connecting with the true storytellers
When you’re looking to connect with that next person in the space, don’t just gravitate towards those who are the groovy peeps, the popular voices, or those who strive to be the biggest and the best. When you share content or thoughts via social, don’t always kiss up to the influencers or stick with your own little peer group where you scratch each other’s back.
Now you can do that as there is nothing wrong with it. Just don’t make that all you do. Of course you want to talk to the people that are in your peer group. You do want to talk to the influencers, but keep your mind open and be diverse with your connections and conversations. And lastly, take the time to have some conversations with those you don’t know, those who are finding their way in the space. Trust me, from experience I can tell you that those connections are not only helpful for them, but will make you richer and wiser.
A smart group of co-hosts with their own stories
Now on the same track, when I’m talking about smart voices, great stories, I’m extremely lucky here to have a very talented and smart group of co-hosts.
And you know what? They volunteer their time to help me grow this builder community.
This makes the podcast unique in the sense that it does not only bring new and veteran people from the space to tell their story and expertise. But with this mix of cohosts, it also elevates a bit of diversity and knowledge and in human interaction into the mix. When I decided to step back and elevate other voices and stories, I had no idea of what it would bring to the podcast. Maybe I had a premonition.
If I was into permutations, I cannot guess the number of combinations we have had with the mix of guests and co-hosts. Each one brings their own individuality, knowledge, perspective, and insights into each single show. They also bring their voice, intelligence and stories.
So why did I share this all with you?
Well, first of all, I just felt I needed to share it with you.
Secondly, as I unveil more about what is happening here at Do the Woo over the next few months, you’ll realize just how much of a bigger part of the Do the Woo continues to be centered on storytelling and elevating voices.
And lastly, with both our cohosts and our guests, we are committed to build out the diversity. Not only as individuals, but as communities who are underrepresented globally. It is really all about connecting and supporting versus reinventing the wheel.
So honestly, I’m really proud of this community. But also I hope you take heed, even though some nowadays question what the WordPress way is. I think one of the ways of WordPress is to raise a voice of the ecosystem. Find your groove, do your own small part. I did. I am. And with the help of a lot of people, moving forward we aim to do even a bigger part.
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