Why has the Gray Lady assigned full-time reporters to communities in Brooklyn and New Jersey? Even a Times editor admits the paper will never make money on microjournalism. But they could market software to bloggers.

Northern California is an enlightened haven of multiculturalism, and globalization requires a diverse workforce. Unless you're a startup, in which case you're going to hire people who look like you. Take, for example, the workforce of Automattic, the maker of WordPress, a blogging program.The company, founded by white…

At the Start conference yesterday, Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg, creator of the popular WordPress blog software, startled the audience by claiming his company didn't have any employees. Instead, he said, they're all independent contractors. "Is that legal?" some audience members whispered. We're not employment…

Do not want fail? Why then, can has win, say the folks behind the curtains at Flickr, Digg, Media Temple, and StumbleUpon. Six of them showed up at a panel organized by Kevin Rose to explain how to make websites that stay online, more or less. Being a not very clever gossip, I just listened in for the quips. Oh, and…

Automattic, Matt Mullenweg's blog-tools startup, is readying an upgrade to its WordPress software this week. Anil Dash of Six Apart took the occasion to let WordPress users know they can upgrade to his company's Movable Type instead. It's a move straight out of Oracle's handbook. But Mullenweg freaked out, calling…

The "life change" Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg Twittered about? Not, as we suspected, a big-ticket purchase funded by his company's recent $29.5 million financing round, some of which reportedly went into the founder's pockets. Instead, he tells Valleywag, it was the purchase of ma.tt, his new domain name.…

Automattic has been tight-lipped about how much of the blog software maker's $29.5 million financing round went into the pockets of founder Matt Mullenweg. In November, TechCrunch said that "most" of a new round would go to buy out Mullenweg and other shareholders, in an effort to dissuade them from selling the…

Automattic, the maker of WordPress blog-publishing software, has raised $29.5 million from the New York Times Co. and existing ventures.Not all of the money went straight into the company's coffers, however: Some insiders with vested options sold shares in the round. This is perhaps the most notable example of a new…

Business advice, that is. Despite Paul Boutin's entreaties, I find I just can't leave Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg alone. Neither, apparently, can acquisitive buyers. TechCrunch reports that Automattic, maker of the popular WordPress blog software, just turned down a $200 million offer. Interesting timing,…

I'm not going to make one of those crying videos, but as Valleywag's Very Special Correspondent (read: over the hill) I need to stomp a heel down. Why are we reporting that two people I've never heard of were reportedly touching each other in public? I had to look up who Mullenweg is. I think we use his software.…

When David Hornik pitched VCs and entrepreneurs on his tropical funconference, The Lobby, part of the sell was that the whole affair was to be off the record. Ha! Good one, David. Turns out what happens in Hawaii only stays there long enough to launch itself toward our inbox. Take for example, what struck some…

Blogs are, fundamentally, about writing in the now, embracing the 24-hour news cycle, and keeping everything up to date, right? Wrong. Not, that is, when you can dredge up an incident in the past, dress it up as news, and pawn it off on your readers to score points. This week, both TechCrunch editor Michael…

Are you coming to this Thursday's Web Infinity Plus One SloshCon? Of course you are! It's free and there's an open bar!

No joke, we're holding a Web Infinity Plus One Conference at the House of Shields a week from today! The top room's reserved and the sponsors are ponying up for the bar tab. The deets:

"About" page for Matt Mullenweg's startup, Automattic for quite some time according to SiliconBeat):

As speculated, well, just before noon, Matt Mullenweg took funding for his startup, Automattic. The company owns Matt's blogging service, WordPress.com, as well as a spam filter and forum software.