Who knew the WordPress world could be this chaotic? Apparently, every decade or so, Matt Mullenweg takes center stage in what can only be described as a legendary meltdown.

When I first started using WP Engine, it was an independent, forward-thinking hosting provider, not yet tainted by the influence of a larger corporate overlord. Back then, it felt like they were genuinely committed to performance, innovation, and supporting developers like me. But as time went on, things changed, and let’s just say… not for the better. Still, I stuck around because the alternative was being completely engulfed by Automattic’s ecosystem.

That said, WP Engine remains a solid choice. Even though their parent company (whose name escapes me at the moment) has a reputation for prioritizing profit over open-source ideals, WP Engine itself still delivers excellent hosting and performance. They haven’t completely lost their edge, and I appreciate that they continue to provide a strong alternative to the monopolization creeping into the WordPress ecosystem.

Missing out on the drama once is enough for me. Next time, I want a front-row seat.

Why This Exists

WordPress is powerful, but sometimes it feels like everything is held together with plugins and duct tape.

Let’s explore why that’s both its greatest strength and its biggest challenge!

As WordPress continues to grow and evolve, so does the drama surrounding it. With every update, plugin release, and community conversation, things get a little more unpredictable. So, we decided to have a little fun and create a dashboard widget that tracks Matt Mullenweg’s “insanity level” and provides a satirical view of his latest WordPress-related drama.

Welcome to the Matt Mullenweg Insane-O-Meter Plugin

Anyone who has spent time in the WordPress ecosystem knows that it can be a bit of a roller coaster ride. From endless debates over new features to the latest WordPress drama, there’s never a dull moment. And who better to personify this drama than Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress and the driving force behind Automattic?

We created the Matt Mullenweg Insane-O-Meter to give a lighthearted, satirical take on the WordPress ecosystem. This plugin tracks his latest news, provides a real-time insanity level based on random events, and shows Matt’s latest tweets directly in your WordPress dashboard.

How It Works

The Matt Mullenweg Insane-O-Meter is a fun little dashboard widget that provides:

  • Insanity Level: A progress bar that visually represents Matt’s current “insanity” status. Whether it’s “Calm,” “Mildly Unhinged,” “Questionable Decisions,” or “Full Meltdown,” the bar fills up based on random selections. The color and width of the bar change accordingly, adding a touch of humor to the daily grind of WordPress development.
  • Latest Drama: A curated list of the most recent WordPress-related drama, straight from the news. We handpicked a few stories that encapsulate the spirit of the WordPress community, including some of the juiciest debates, lawsuits, and corporate shenanigans.
  • Recent Tweets: The plugin fetches tweets from Matt Mullenweg’s X (formerly Twitter) account, keeping you up to date with his thoughts, rants, and updates. It’s all embedded directly in your dashboard, thanks to the Twitter widget integration.


Preview

Insane-O-Meter Screenshot

As you can see, the insanity level is represented with a colored progress bar, showing how “calm” or “unhinged” things are at any given moment. The tweets pull directly from Matt’s X account, and the latest drama keeps you informed about what’s happening in the WordPress world.

Try the Plugin

Head over to my GitHub repository to download the Matt Mullenweg Insane-O-Meter plugin. It’s free to use under the GPL license—just my way of giving back to a community that has given so much to so many.

If you have any feedback, or if you think the insanity level needs to be more or less crazy, feel free to contribute!

If you have any further adjustments or additions, feel free to let me know!