Simon Pollard is a long-time WordPress developer and community organiser based in Bristol. He helped grow the Bristol WordPress Meetup from a handful of pub conversations into an active, officially backed group with regular talks, sponsorship-funded catering, and dozens of attendees. That momentum stalled with COVID-19. In this conversation Simon and Nathan Wrigley explore what changed, what’s come back, and how WordPress communities might adapt.
From pub chat to organised Meetup
The Bristol Meetup began informally: a few developers meeting in a pub to talk shop. As interest grew they experimented with talks and outreach. A project manager on the organising team introduced Trello and structure, and connections with people like Jenny Wong helped secure official WordPress backing and funds. Sponsorship covered food and venues, making monthly meetings sustainable. By late 2019 the group routinely attracted 30–40 people, had a bank account and a multi-person organising team.
COVID’s interruption and personal change
The pandemic ended in-person Meetups almost overnight. For Simon the pause was compounded by major life changes: the birth of a child and a subsequent lack of energy for running or attending events. He also found a new social outlet—playing in a band with local developer friends—which replaced some of the social function the Meetup used to provide. Attempts to hand the Meetup over to new organisers initially failed, and activity dwindled.
Slow revival and the problem of rediscovery
In the past year original organisers like Janice, Michael and Rob began reactivating the group. Talks from known figures, including Ross Wintle, drew Simon back to in-person events and reminded him of the warm atmosphere that made speaking and attending enjoyable. Yet the revived Meetups are smaller, and the community feels fragmented compared with pre-pandemic numbers.
A major barrier Simon highlights is how social networking fractured during the pandemic. Twitter had been the natural “town square” for meetup promotion and personal outreach; its decline and the proliferation of divergent platforms left no single place for organisers to reach their networks. People scattered across LinkedIn, Facebook groups, niche apps, or abandoned social media entirely. Organisers now struggle to answer a basic question: how do we keep the conversation going between events?
The unique value of in-person connection
Both Simon and Nathan emphasise that in-person Meetups deliver irreplaceable value: easy hallway conversations, the ability to talk through problems with peers, unexpected learning from talks outside one’s niche, and a welcoming culture that reduces friction for newcomers. Bristol’s Meetup intentionally had greeters, name badges and people who connected newcomers to others based on role or interest—small rituals that made the community feel accessible. These human touches encouraged attendance more than the talks alone.
Community, attribution and AI
Simon also draws a line between community participation and knowledge exchange. Historically developers relied on forums and sites like Stack Overflow for answers, and many felt a social obligation to “give back” by answering questions. Now, AI tools can supply solutions without revealing human authorship, reducing opportunities for personal contact and the social credit that draws people to communities. That shift risks weakening the relational fabric that sustained WordPress contribution and collaboration.
Who’s missing and why rebuild matters
A core concern is the lost cohort of people who used to attend—those who built relationships, recruited contributors, shared solutions and helped WordPress thrive. If Meetups and WordCamps shrink permanently, the project could lose the informal networks that accelerate problem solving, onboarding and cross-pollination. Younger developers who entered the profession during the pandemic may never have experienced in-person Meetups and so lack awareness of what they offer.
Reimagining events for the new normal
Simon and Nathan discuss ways to make events compelling in an era of abundant online entertainment and fractured social platforms. Ideas include:
– Broader programming that mixes WordPress talks with creative, soft-skill or local-interest content to attract a wider audience. Non-WordPress topics—animation, design, music—can draw people who then discover WordPress connections.
– Emphasising the social: debriefs, post-talk socials, live music or performances by community members to make attendance feel special and memorable.
– Smaller, more relaxed formats with welcoming greeters and matchmaking to help newcomers connect.
– Hybrid approaches that combine in-person warmth with remote accessibility, while preserving the intangible benefits of being together.
WordCamp scale and the future
Large events like WordCamps may need to adapt too. Pre-pandemic WordCamps with multiple tracks and large crowds may no longer be feasible everywhere; organisers might opt for smaller, single-track events or hybrid weekends that integrate social and technical programming. The appetite for large conferences appears uneven across regions, so local organisers will need to assess community demand and experiment with formats.
Where to from here?
Simon is reconnecting with former contacts, exploring how to reach people on today’s platforms (he currently leans on LinkedIn), and considering ways to blend music and tech community activities. He urges others to share ideas for rebuilding engagement. The community exists, but it’s quieter and more fragmented. Rebuilding will require deliberate outreach, creative programming, and renewed efforts to re-establish the in-between channels that once kept Meetups alive.
Find Simon
Simon is at Illustrate Digital and reachable via LinkedIn. For links and episode details, see the WP Tavern podcast show notes.
