Topher DeRosia is a web developer with three decades of experience and about 15 years deeply involved in the WordPress community. He’s attended nearly 80 WordCamps worldwide, helped build projects like HeroPress, created instructional videos and small plugins, and advocates for open source and remote work. In a recent conversation with Nathan Wrigley on the Jukebox Podcast, Topher explained how working in public — sharing your work, telling stories, and contributing consistently — can shape careers and strengthen the community.
A community that becomes family
Topher describes the WordPress community as a global family. After getting involved through a local WordCamp, his entire family became part of it: his wife and children have even spoken at WordCamp US. Those personal connections create lasting support networks. Meeting people who credit your work for helping them or their families is a powerful motivator and reinforces the habit of contributing publicly.
Open source and remote work as enablers
Two things make WordPress’s community particularly resilient, Topher says: the people who found it, and the open-source, remote-friendly nature of the platform. Open source levels the field so someone in Malaysia can compete or collaborate with someone in New York. Remote work expands participation beyond local geographies. Together, these factors foster inclusivity and allow contributions from a wide range of backgrounds.
Gratitude, motivation, and happiness
Topher has long been interested in why people do things. He points to gratitude as a core motivator: when people are thanked for their contributions, they’re more likely to continue giving time and effort. Nathan adds that studies show giving your time and forming deep friendships are two strong predictors of happiness — both of which are central to WordPress events and community life.
How being public affected his career
Topher didn’t set out to build a public portfolio as a calculated career move. Instead, he produced videos and resources as part of paid work, and over time those materials became evidence of his skills and helped people trust him. Being visible led to work opportunities, including remote contracts and on-camera jobs from people he’d met in the community. Small, consistent contributions — a plugin here, a photo there, essays for HeroPress, a blog consolidated at topher.how — added up into a track record that opened doors.
Advice for newcomers: start small and be consistent
For those daunted by the “mountain” of work required to become well-known in the community, Topher stresses the value of small, steady actions. Pippin Williamson advised him not to chase fame but to do the work for the right reasons. Speak at local events, write short tutorials, make videos, and listen to others’ stories. Over time, this consistent output makes you “community known,” which matters far more inside the community than broad, external fame.
Commercial pressures and community tension
As WordCamps and the broader ecosystem grow, the presence of commercial interests increases. Topher observes that companies which start as community staples can face difficult business decisions as they scale — layoffs, restructuring, and other moves that make them look like any other business. That introduces tension between the philanthropic spirit of open source and the realities of running profitable companies. It isn’t necessarily malicious, but it can feel painful and disillusioning to community members.
Despite those tensions, both Topher and Nathan are optimistic that WordPress will continue to thrive. New people discover it each year, and projects like HeroPress exist to help bring those stories forward. Still, continuous work on inclusivity and community health is necessary — the ecosystem can always improve.
Choosing to keep work public and accessible
Topher often gets offers to monetize his content, but he prefers keeping resources accessible. He argues that putting tutorials and learning materials behind paywalls excludes people who can only afford small amounts or free resources. One example: he created a series of one-minute videos answering common WordPress admin questions. An initial plan for a paid course shifted when a sponsor offered support to publish the work freely on YouTube. With a modest upload schedule and slow subscriber growth so far, he’s still committed to building useful content in public.
The compounding value of doing work in public
Topher’s story is a reminder that public contributions have a long tail. A video, an essay, or a small plugin can become part of a portfolio that signals competence and trustworthiness. Opportunities often arrive serendipitously — a community connection can lead to a contract, a speaking gig, or collaborative work across borders. The key is patience and steady contribution: create useful things, make them visible, and keep at it.
Where to find Topher
Topher’s work and writing are available at topher.how and his blog at topher1kenobi.com. He’s also involved with HeroPress and can be found online under Topher1Kenobi.
Conclusion
Working in public is less about immediate rewards and more about building a foundation. Consistent, visible contributions create trust, open unexpected doors, and reinforce community health. For those building a career in WordPress or any open-source ecosystem, Topher’s advice is simple and practical: do the work, share it openly, be patient, and keep contributing for the right reasons.