Nathan Wrigley welcomes Topher DeRosia to the Jukebox Podcast from WP Tavern to discuss how working in public and contributing to open source can shape careers in WordPress. Topher is a web developer with over 30 years of experience and 15 years in the WordPress community. He’s attended nearly 80 WordCamps, contributed to projects like HeroPress, and emphasizes the value of open source and remote work.

Topher’s WordPress journey began when a colleague suggested doing a WordCamp. He quickly became immersed, attending events worldwide and building community ties that include his wife and children speaking at WordCamp US. WordPress has provided global relationships and a kind of extended family that offers practical and emotional support.

Nathan and Topher reflect on what makes communities like WordPress special. Topher argues the people are central—those who found WordPress at the right time created a culture of support. He notes similar dynamics in other open source communities and smaller CMS ecosystems: passion for the software and the community atmosphere are consistent, whether the project is large or niche. Open source combined with remote work enables people everywhere to access opportunities and compete more equally.

They discuss why people give back. Topher believes many contributors enjoy making others more successful and appreciate gratitude. Stories of people learning WordPress from tutorials and then supporting their families resonate deeply with him. Those moments of thanks confirm that contributions matter and motivate ongoing generosity.

Nathan asks whether this ethic of giving is an early trait. Topher says his college interest in motivations led him to appreciate how gratitude encourages helpful behavior. He connects this to research suggesting happiness is linked to giving and deep friendships—both abundant in the WordPress community through volunteer work and events.

On working publicly, Topher explains that much of his visibility was accidental rather than deliberate. Creating videos, blogging, making small plugins, and contributing photos built a body of work people noticed over time. Those public artifacts—videos, essays, plugins—led to opportunities later: contract offers, sponsorship, and clients from across the globe. He built topher.how to aggregate his work so people can see his projects across decades. The theme: doing work in public creates a record that can open doors later, even if that wasn’t the original intent.

Nathan and Topher discuss “community-known” status versus fame. Topher prefers being recognized within the community for tangible contributions rather than pursuing fame for its own sake. Being “community-known” comes from consistent, helpful output—speaking, blogging, making tools—not self-promotion. That reputation leads to real connections and opportunities, like a client from Bangladesh hiring Topher for on-camera videos because they already knew his work.

They examine commercial pressure in the WordPress ecosystem. As companies grow, they face business realities—hiring, payroll, difficult decisions when revenue dips. These pressures can conflict with the philanthropic spirit of open source and sometimes lead to painful outcomes like layoffs. While WordPress has a strong culture and is often ahead of other tech communities on inclusivity and collaboration, it’s not immune to commercial tensions. Topher stresses the importance of not resting on laurels and continuing to work on community issues.

Despite changes—Gutenberg, AI, business growth—Topher believes WordPress will continue to matter because new people will discover it and change their lives. He wants to be there for the next young person who finds WordPress and uses it to build a future.

On whether he’d do things differently today given influencer culture and monetization possibilities, Topher says he’d still prioritize free resources. He feels a responsibility to keep basic help available for beginners who can’t afford paywalls. He recounts a recent pivot: planning a paid beginner course, he accepted a sponsorship to publish short instructional videos on YouTube instead. The sponsor agreed to fund the work and pay once certain subscriber goals are met, but Topher insisted the content remain freely available on his channel so it can reach those in need. He began posting videos three times a week and is building an audience slowly—an example of the long-game approach.

Topher’s creative rule for documentation—if a question is asked more than three times, make documentation—drives his work. Over time, small, consistent efforts compound: HeroPress grew by accumulating essays, and his other projects added up into a meaningful portfolio. He sees the same slow, steady pattern in his current video work and believes consistent public contribution will lead to impact over years.

Nathan shares parallels from podcasting: starting small, consistently producing content, and seeing unexpected opportunities arise over time. Both agree that while people must handle immediate financial needs, carving out time for public contributions can produce long-term professional and personal rewards.

Topher’s current projects include HeroPress and a YouTube channel for WordPress tutorials, plus topher.how, which aggregates his work. He can be found at topher.how, topher1kenobi.com, and by searching Topher1Kenobi online.

The conversation closes with a reminder that doing things in public—helpful, consistent contributions—creates community value, opens opportunities, and supports the next generation of WordPress users and creators.

[00:00:19] Nathan Wrigley: Welcome to the Jukebox Podcast from WP Tavern. Jukebox covers WordPress — the people, events, plugins, blocks, themes, and in this episode, how public contributions shape careers. Subscribe at wptavern.com/feed/podcast. Today’s guest is Topher DeRosia, a web developer with 30 years’ experience and 15 years deep in the WordPress community. He’s attended nearly 80 WordCamps, contributed to projects like HeroPress, and champions open source and remote work. We discuss the value of working in public and how sharing your work can create unexpected opportunities.

[00:03:19] Topher DeRosia: Hello.

[00:03:20] Nathan: Thanks for joining at short notice. You wanted to talk about the value of doing things in public and how it can boost careers or guide the community. First, give us a WordPress-related bio.

[00:04:30] Topher: I’m a web developer for 30 years, got into WordPress about 15 years ago. I didn’t know the community at first—Brian Richards urged us to do a WordCamp, and that changed everything. I’ve been all in since: nearly 80 WordCamps worldwide, building projects, meeting people.

Nathan: 80 WordCamps is remarkable. The community has had a profound impact on your life.

Topher: Hugely. My wife and kids joined in—both kids have spoken at WordCamp US. The community gives you a global family; it’s comforting to know there are people worldwide who would help you or your family.

Nathan: I discovered WordPress around 2014 and, like you, didn’t know about the volunteer-driven community. Attending events changed my life too. Why does WordPress foster such a robust community?

Topher: Two thoughts. First, it’s about the people—right folks found WordPress at the right time. Second, open source plus remote work is the real enabler. Open source lets someone in Malaysia compete with someone in New York. WordPress benefits from a huge user base, which is both good and bad: more wonderful people but also more likelihood of bad actors.

Nathan: So open source is the “secret sauce” that binds communities—there’s a philanthropic, giving-back ethos rather than pure profit motive?

Topher: Exactly. People enjoy making others more successful. When contributors get thanked, it reinforces their motivation. I’ve had people tell me my videos helped them support their families—those moments are powerful motivators.

Nathan: Do you think that impulse to help others started early for you?

Topher: In college I got interested in motivation—why people do things. Gratitude is a powerful influencer: thanking people makes them want to continue. That ties to why people volunteer and contribute.

Nathan: I heard happiness studies point to two strong predictors: giving your time and deep friendships. Both are central to WordPress—people give freely and form meaningful connections.

Topher: Right. WordPress events surface the impact of your work—you meet people who benefitted directly. That feedback matters.

Nathan: You’ve done lots of public contributions. How has being public affected your career?

Topher: A lot of it wasn’t deliberate. I made videos for OS Training as paid work, not to teach the world, but later those videos gave others confidence in my abilities. Brin Wilson asked me to make videos because he’d seen my work. HeroPress grew gradually; I built a reputation by being visible. I have small plugins and photo contributions on wordpress.org—nothing huge, but being out there signals capability. I even consolidated my work at topher.how so people can see decades of output. I’ve gotten interviews, interest, and contracts because of that history.

Nathan: That long-tail legacy—videos, blogs, contributions—becomes a more meaningful résumé than a CV line item for many hiring decisions.

Topher: Exactly. It’s serendipitous. I recently got a client in Bangladesh who hired me for on-camera videos because we’d worked together in the community. Without that visible history, that opportunity wouldn’t have happened.

Nathan: For newcomers, the mountain of work to build that legacy can seem daunting. How did you approach it?

Topher: It wasn’t about seeking fame. Pippin Williamson told me not to seek to be known; do it for the right reasons. I did small, consistent things: spoke at WordCamps, blogged, made videos, listened to stories. Over time, that became “community known.” Fame outside the community isn’t the goal—being recognized within the community for what you actually do is.

Nathan: That “community known” concept fits—some people are famous within WordPress but anonymous elsewhere. It’s about a corpus of work, not fame for fame’s sake.

Topher: Right.

Nathan: I want to ask about commercial pressure in the community. WordCamps now often include more commercial presence—sponsors, companies selling products. Can the community cope with commercial vs philanthropic tensions?

Topher: It’s complicated. Companies that start small and grow can look like community icons until hard business decisions are needed—layoffs, restructuring—and then they look like “just another business.” Running a company means making hard choices that affect livelihoods; maintaining a WordPress-like culture at scale is difficult. That doesn’t mean it’s malicious, but it can feel painful to those affected.

Nathan: The tension between profit-driven businesses and the philanthropic bedrock of open source is a persistent, unresolved challenge. WordPress has endured over 20 years despite friction. Do you think it’ll carry on?

Topher: I do. Even if WordPress changes or faces crises, there will always be someone discovering it for the first time—a 17-year-old in a library—and starting a new life. That keeps me working on projects like HeroPress. We mustn’t rest on our laurels; we need ongoing work on inclusivity and community health.

Nathan: It’s hard to reconcile the wealth generated by WordPress with the foundational unpaid work that supports it. That cognitive dissonance is real.

Topher: It’s challenging and likely unsolvable fully—it’s a broader human problem. But compared to other tech communities, WordPress often fares better on inclusivity and openness. Still, continuous improvement is necessary.

Nathan: Last question: given the rise of monetized influencers and platforms like TikTok and YouTube, would you still choose the public, mostly free path if you could replay your life?

Topher: Yes. I get asked to monetize things all the time. But putting material behind paywalls excludes someone who might only afford a dollar a week. I want my work available for beginners everywhere. I began a project: short, one-minute videos answering common WordPress questions—simple admin tasks, links, images—stuff people forget. Originally I planned a paid course, but a sponsor asked me to publish on my own YouTube channel and offered support. So I pivoted: three videos a week on YouTube. I have 57 subscribers so far. It’s slow growth, but doing stuff in public builds a foundation for the future—HeroPress grew the same way: one essay at a time until there were hundreds.

Nathan: Your long-term, incremental approach mirrors my podcasting experience: keep producing, and over years unexpected opportunities appear. It’s about intention and gradual accumulation.

Topher: Exactly. Do the work now, build the foundation, and be patient.

[00:39:58] Nathan: Thanks, Topher. Where can people find you?

Topher: topher.how, my blog at topher1kenobi.com, HeroPress, and search for Topher1Kenobi online.

Nathan: I’ll put links in the show notes at wptavern.com. Thanks again for the conversation.

Topher: Thanks, I enjoyed it.