I'm Glad You Asked!

A newsletter from Allie Nimmons

            Hi! Welcome to issue #15 of my newsletter. I hope you don't mind, but I changed up the design a little bit! What do you think?

            I designed this newsletter to provide a healthy mix of WordPress news and links and resources, along with some additional stuff from me personally.

            If that's what you'd like to read - let's go!
          

🔗 My Favorite Links

            Here are some of my favorite links from the past few weeks. Hopefully there's something cool in here you can use! This edition, the links are pretty WordPress heavy but there's been a lot going on!

Watch my chaotic review of the new Full Site Editor. Should I make another video like this?
Some really interesting numbers about WordPress 5.9 contributions.
Morten understands the internet in ways I never will, but will always admire.
Hiring and getting hired in WordPress is challenging - WP Career Summit aims to help!
This Open Source contribution guide is one of the best pieces of documentation I think I have ever seen.
An incredible database of Black founded companies in tech hiring right now!
All major WordPress releases are named after jazz musicians. Here's a playlist I made of all the Black ones!
WordPress.com has been ignoring an important request for a very long time and it feeds more and more into a lot of ideas I have about a8c.
Some cool ideas on how WordPress multisite needs to grow and change.

            It's the truth.(source)

🔥 Necessary Trouble

            Welcome to a new section of my newsletter where I'm going to complain/bitch/explain something that has really been bothering me lately. Think of it as a rant, but with (slightly) less cussing and finger pointing and more trying to get to the bottom of an issue.

            I got in a bit of hot water this past month for ranting. As a result, I'm trying to be more intentional with my rants and complaints these days.

            Next issue I'll prepare a nice juicy one for y'all. But this month, in place of a rant, here's some resources about Ukraine.

            A thread about what you should and SHOULD NOT do to help Ukraine.

            Donate here.

            Follow these Ukrainian WordPressers, listen to them and learn from them. Ihor, Andrey, and Sabrina.

👩🏾‍💻 Newest From Me

            My YouTube channel has stalled a bit as I get some new projects on my plate. But I'm curious what kind of content you may want to hear from me in the future! Please reply and let me know.

            I was recently approached by the new team at MasterWP to write a piece about my recent criticisms of WordPress event diversity. A lot of podcasts and newsletters have written about what happened. And I appreciate that - I love the conversations that took place. But it was incredibly meaningful for someone to ask ME to have a voice in those conversations.

            Very exciting news - Yoast SEO has sponsored me to spend more time working on Underrepresented in Tech. This is a tool that I co-created with Michelle Frechette. In the coming months, we will be redesigning the website, updating the database functionality, adding new sections to the site, and starting a newsletter! Please follow us on Twitter to hear more about these updates!

            This week I'll be speaking at WordFest Live! I could not be more excited. If you haven't registered yet, please do so! I'll be talking about how I use Admin Day (which is tomorrow for me) to manage stress as a freelancer.

            Things I discovered/enjoyed recently:

            📺 Sailor Moon! I never watched it as a kid, but I've started binging it. It's the most comforting of comfort shows. And hopefully will help me get into more anime.

            🎮 While I was sick with COVID a few weeks ago I got the new Pokemon game. It's the first Pokemon literally ever that I have enjoyed. And of course, we just picked up Elden Ring and it's transcendent.

            📙 Poirot's Last Case! I'm a lowkey huge Agatha Christie fan and I just read her last Hercule Poirot story. It actually made me cry! (PS Please do not see the Poirot movies with Kenneth Branagh they are ridiculous)

            🎶 New Coheed and Cambria! I've loved this band since high school and I love that they are still putting out flawless music.

            🍲 Olive oil rosemary bread. Hear me out. Go to your nearest Target and go to the bakery section and pick up some of this stuff. It is so magical.
          

            Enjoying this newsletter? Help me fuel it by supporting my caffeine addition - uhh, habit. No, no, requirement. Interest? 
          

            I've been hard at work writing and refining and now recording my next LinkedIn Learning course! This time, it's the new and updated WordPress Essentials course. Here's a selfie of me recording some test movies today!
          

💌 A Challenge

            This is the part of the newsletter where I provide a mindset challenge for you to focus on.

            Black History Month is over tomorrow. My challenge to you is to make a plan to do SOMETHING in March to continue to support and uplift black voices. "OH, I'll retweet stuff on Twitter that Black activists say," is not enough. That's not a plan or a strategy or a commitment.

            Start a recurring donation to a Black charity.
          

            Take a DEI workshop.
          

            Switch one of your regular purchases to a black owned business.
          

            Subscribe to some Black-hosted podcasts.
          

            Buy your kid or young family members a book about the Black experience.
          

            Read some allyship resources.

            I recently received a lot of hate for wanting to see more black people. While I understand where that disconnect happened, I will never stop wanting people who look like me in my spaces.

            We love you, Trayvon.
          

            xoxo Allie

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