Local Voices for WordCamp Asia, WooCommerce’s AI Future, and Tough Lessons Learned | WP More — Issue 29

From calls for more regional representation at WordCamp Asia to WooCommerce’s bold AI initiatives. Matt Mullenweg reflects on a turbulent year while WordPress creator shape the platform’s future.

Hello My WordPress Friends!

Welcome to this week’s WP More newsletter issue 29, many new events, and issues are arrived after I last wrote the previous issue.

Let’s dive in —

In this Issue:

• WordCamp Asia Needs More Local Voices
• WooCommerce Embraces the AI Shopping Revolution
• Matt Mullenweg Opens Up About Leadership and Lawsuits
• WordPress Community Faces Trust Challenge After Fund Misappropriation
• YouTube Creators Bridge WordPress to the Next Generation

Thanks for reading WPMore!! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This First Published Here — https://wpmore.substack.com/p/local-voices-for-wordcamp-asia-woocommerces

WordCamp Asia Needs More Local Voices

The WordPress community in Asia-Pacific is calling for change. Despite the region contributing 42% of WordPress core contributors and hosting nearly 40% of global WordCamps, local speaker representation at WordCamp Asia remains disappointingly low. WordCamp Asia 2024 featured only 29% APAC speakers, improving to 38% in 2025 — well short of the organizers’ 60% target and the WordPress Handbook’s recommended 80%.

The justification that Asia needs speakers from other regions doesn’t hold water when you consider that Asian speakers rarely appear at US or European WordCamps, and livestreams work perfectly well for accessing global content. With Mumbai hosting the 2026 event from April 9–11, organizers have an opportunity to showcase the stories, innovations, and experiences from a region that’s genuinely driving WordPress forward.

Read the full blog on wpapac.com here.

As the community pushes for better representation, attention turns to how WordPress itself is preparing for an AI-powered future.

WooCommerce Embraces the AI Shopping Revolution

WooCommerce is positioning itself at the forefront of “agentic commerce” — a future where AI assistants handle shopping tasks autonomously. Starting with WooCommerce 10.3 this month, store owners gain access to the new MCP (Model Context Protocol) that lets AI tools like Claude directly manage products and orders. This isn’t just about backend efficiency; it’s about preparing for customers who’ll never visit your actual website.

The vision extends beyond store management (The Repository). WooCommerce is testing solutions with Google and Stripe to enable AI agents to discover products and complete secure transactions on behalf of users. Built on WordPress’s open-source foundation and the new Abilities API, these tools ensure the entire ecosystem — not just WooCommerce — can adapt to AI-driven shopping behaviors.

Read the full blog on WooCommerce.com here.

While WooCommerce charts its AI course, the WordPress community continues processing the fallout from a challenging year.

Matt Mullenweg Opens Up About Leadership and Lawsuits

In a revealing Crossword interview, Matt Mullenweg addressed the elephant in the room: his controversial “WordPress.org belongs to me personally” comment and the WP Engine conflict that’s divided the community. When pressed about the stress his decisions placed on contributors, including fears of being banned, Mullenweg stood firm, calling it necessary pruning — though he did offer an apology to those caught in the crossfire.

His biggest takeaway from the year? The American legal system’s capacity to be “weaponized” through expensive discovery processes. While hosts Jonathan Wold and Luke Carbis hoped for deeper reflection on community impact, Mullenweg focused on litigation lessons and pointed to WordPress 6.9’s success as validation. He also surprised many by questioning whether the REST API should have been included in core, suggesting GraphQL might have been better.

Read the full report on The Repository here.

Speaking of community impact, recent events have tested the very foundation of trust that WordPress events are built upon.

WordPress Community Faces Trust Challenge After Fund Misappropriation

WordPress Community Support revealed that a 2024 WordCamp organizer misappropriated approximately $734 in surplus funds for personal use. The individual, who managed funds locally rather than through WPCS, failed to respond to multiple recovery attempts and repayment plan offers. As a result, they’ve been permanently banned from WordPress events and their .org account, with a legal report filed with local authorities.

In response, WPCS will now distribute Global Sponsorship Grants in smaller payments — initial deposits first, then additional funds as attendance numbers clarify. Matt Mullenweg pushed back on this change, urging the program not to “punish all organizers for one bad actor” and to maintain default trust. The incident highlights the delicate balance between trust and accountability in community-run events.

Read the full report on The Repository Here.

Other reports from The Repository you might like to read:

• WordPress 6.8.3 Security Release Patches Data Exposure and XSS Vulnerabilities
• Ollie’s Menu Designer Lands on WordPress.org, Praised as “Game Changer”
• Fidélitas University Hosts First WordPress Campus Connect in Latin America as Credits Program Expands

Don’t forget to subscribe & support them, they do some amazing hard-hitting WordPress journalism.

From financial accountability to creative influence, the WordPress ecosystem relies on diverse voices to thrive.

YouTube Creators Bridge WordPress to the Next Generation

At a recent “Campfire Chat,” prominent WordPress YouTubers discussed their crucial role in shaping the ecosystem’s future. With individual creators often reaching more viewers in a day than official WordPress channels manage in weeks, personalities like Jamie Marsen (180K subscribers) are becoming the primary educators for new users. The panel emphasized authenticity over corporate messaging — viewers connect with real people sharing genuine experiences, not polished brand content.

The creators see themselves as bridges between WordPress and the 5 billion people consuming video content online. Their mission? Sell the open-source vision to Gen Z by emphasizing data ownership and platform independence. They’re advocating for free training days at WordCamps and university outreach to capture younger users where they are — on video platforms, not in documentation.

On other WordPress News

→ What’s new in Gutenberg 21.7? (24 September) (make.wordpress.org)

→ The wpaccessibility.org Knowledge Base is ready to contribute (make.wordpress.org)

→ Nominations for Hosting Team Reps 2026 is open now (make.wordpress.org)

→ Introducing: Test Team Reps for 2025–2026 (make.wordpress.org)

→ The Test Handbook Overhaul (make.wordpress.org)

→ Shopify unviels their new WordPress plugin (Shopify.com)

From WordPress Community

→ Good Chaos: A WordPress Plugin Discovery Experiment (iconic.io)

→ “Wildly unethical” — Sam shared additional thoughts about Fueled’s latest round of layoffs and public statements (delta.blog)

→ The WP World Launches AI-Powered Multilingual Messaging for the WordPress Community (therepository.email)

→ changelogWP is now accepting premium plugins changelog, submit yours (changelogwp.com)

What’s Your Thought?

From community governance challenges to AI-powered commerce, WordPress continues evolving through both controversy and innovation.

What’s your take on these developments? Hit reply and share your thoughts, or forward this to someone who needs to stay in the loop.

—

Nishat, WP More

Follow → X.com | LinkedIn | BlueSky | Facebook

Join Our Community → Sub-Reddit | X Community

P.S. — If these stories resonated with you, forward this to someone who needs to hear them. And if you have a story about why you’re still here, hit reply and tell us. We read every one.

Originally published at https://wpmore.substack.com. <Subscribe if You Want Next Issue Arrives in Your Inbox!