In The Loop: A WordPress Podcast by Blackbird Digital

Blackbird Digital

A podcast from the developers at Blackbird Digital about WordPress and the web. We discuss agency life, tools of the trade, and also interview members of the WordPress community. We recommend starting with the most recent episode, or find a recent topic or interview that intrigues you! Send your questions and fan mail to podcast@blackbird.digital, follow us on Twitter as @InTheLoop_WP, and visit https://blackbird.digital for our marketing, design, and development services. read less
TechnologyTechnology

Episodes

28: Writing Block Themes with Justin Tadlock
Sep 13 2023
28: Writing Block Themes with Justin Tadlock
Cory is joined by Justin Tadlock of Automattic to talk about his series of articles on the WordPress developer blog about adding custom controls to core blocks, theme scaffolding, and workflow scripts. If you have questions about WordPress website development, contributing, or anything else web-related that you’d like to hear us discuss, send an email to podcast@blackbird.digital. You can also find us on Instagram, Threads, Twitter, and TikTok as @InTheLoop_WP, and we’re on LinkedIn too. Blackbird Digital is a web and app development agency that specializes in WordPress, creating on-screen experiences that connect, teach, communicate, and inspire. Visit blackbird.digital for more information. Transcript: https://blackbird.digital/podcast/28-writing-block-themes-with-justin-tadlock/ ## Links (02:07) Justin on Ryan Welcher's Thursday Twitch Streams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d6tqqlBVvo (04:50) Archived version of themehybrid.com: https://web.archive.org/web/20191101014914/https://themehybrid.com/ (05:23) Justin's writing for the WP Tavern: https://wptavern.com/author/justintadlock (08:34) WP Tavern's first redesign: https://wptavern.com/wp-taverns-new-design-no-more-wood-grain (14:50) Beyond Block Styles part 1: https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/07/beyond-block-styles-part-1-using-the-wordpress-scripts-package-with-themes/ (15:01) Beyond Block Styles part 2: https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/07/beyond-block-styles-part-2-building-a-custom-style-for-the-separator-block/ (15:15) Beyond Block Styles part 3: https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/08/beyond-block-styles-part-3-building-custom-design-tools/ (27:03) Interactivity API Proposal: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/03/30/proposal-the-interactivity-api-a-better-developer-experience-in-building-interactive-blocks/ (30:03) @wordpress/scripts reference: https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/reference-guides/packages/packages-scripts/ (34:08) First Draft theme scaffold: https://github.com/justintadlock/first-draft/ (41:59) x3p0-ideas theme: https://github.com/x3p0-dev/x3p0-ideas/ (58:54) Theme Handbook Overhaul GitHub issue: https://github.com/WordPress/Documentation-Issue-Tracker/issues/816 (59:56) Theme Handbook Overhaul Proposal: https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2023/04/04/theme-handbook-overhaul-proposal/ (1:00:08) Theme Handbook Overhaul Phase 2: https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2023/05/17/theme-handbook-overhaul-phase-2-creating-content/ (1:02:08) Justin's Blog: https://justintadlock.com/
26: AI-Generated Episode
May 17 2023
26: AI-Generated Episode
Cory, Phil, and Jack talk about the recent explosion of machine learning algorithms, how they will affect what we do as developers and designers, and how we do it—if we still have jobs at all. If you have questions about WordPress website development, contributing, or anything else web-related that you’d like to hear us discuss, send an email to podcast@blackbird.digital. You can also find us on Twitter as @InTheLoop_WP. Blackbird Digital is a web and app development agency that specializes in WordPress, creating on-screen experiences that connect, teach, communicate, and inspire. Visit blackbird.digital for more information. Transcript:​​ https://blackbird.digital/podcast/26-ai-generated-episode/ ## Links (06:19) Scientific journals update policies regarding AI-generated text: https://factor.niehs.nih.gov/2023/3/feature/2-artificial-intelligence-ethics (06:30) Clarkesworld literary magazine closes submissions due to AI: http://neil-clarke.com/a-concerning-trend/ (06:38) DALL-E 2 generated image wins photography contest: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-my-ai-image-won-a-major-photography-competition/ (06:47) Midjourney-generated image wins Colorado State Fair competition: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/technology/ai-artificial-intelligence-artists.html (07:06) Stack Overflow bans AI-generated responses: https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/421831/temporary-policy-chatgpt-is-banned (07:59) The Great Catspy generated movie trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITq-mG67qiE (08:16) Pandas at a salon on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@greenskulltok/video/7225287120343026971 (11:20) Ryan Welcher livestream integrating OpenAI into the Block Editor: https://youtu.be/88c6z1XEvG0 (12:34) How Diffusion Models Work (video): https://www.isikdogan.com/blog/how-diffusion-models-work.html (14:08) Nvidia real-time up-res: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/03/nvidias-new-ai-upscaling-tech-makes-low-res-videos-look-sharper-in-chrome-edge/ (15:12) Adobe Sensei: https://www.adobe.com/sensei.html (16:11) Adobe Firefly: https://www.adobe.com/sensei/generative-ai/firefly.html (16:56) Content Authenticity Initiative: https://contentauthenticity.org/ (17:03) Glaze: https://glaze.cs.uchicago.edu/ (26:50) Hilarious Twitter thread overconfident about code from ChatGPT: https://twitter.com/rachel_l_woods/status/1649790435533922307 (33:39) Mastodon poll about creating an In The Loop brand account: https://mastodon.social/@cr0ybot/109870145158979704
24: Enterprise Blocks with Fränk Klein
Mar 15 2023
24: Enterprise Blocks with Fränk Klein
Cory and Phil interview Fränk Klein, founder of and educator at WPDevelopment.courses and Principal Engineer at Human Made. We talk about some considerations for WordPress at scale and how that affects architectural choices, how WordPress as a project is or is not keeping up with modern industry standards, and why you might consider using the site editor for your next enterprise client. If you have questions about WordPress website development, contributing, or anything else web-related that you’d like to hear us discuss, send an email to podcast@blackbird.digital. You can also find us on Twitter as @InTheLoop_WP. Blackbird Digital is a web and app development agency that specializes in WordPress, creating on-screen experiences that connect, teach, communicate, and inspire. Visit blackbird.digital for more information. Transcript: https://blackbird.digital/podcast/24-enterprise-blocks-with-frank-klein/ ## Links (06:39) Block-Based Bosco theme: https://wordpress.org/themes/block-based-bosco/ (24:38) Aino Blocks: https://ainoblocks.io/ (26:14) WordPress dev blog about intrinsic design: https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/02/intrinsic-design-theming-and-rethinking-how-to-design-with-wordpress/ (39:27) Human Made collaborative editing: https://twitter.com/humanmadeltd/status/1626171278423109633?s=20 (47:44) WordPress 6.1 contributor stats: https://jeanbaptisteaudras.com/en/2022/11/contribution-stats-for-wordpress-6-1-misha/ (54:29) WPDevelopment.courses website: https://jeanbaptisteaudras.com/en/2022/11/contribution-stats-for-wordpress-6-1-misha/ (56:34) Block Theme Academy course (affiliate link): https://wpdevelopment.courses/a/blackbird-digital
22: Season 2 Retrospective
Dec 21 2022
22: Season 2 Retrospective
It’s an In The Loop holiday special! Cory and Phil listen back to clips from every episode this season and judge themselves harshly. If you haven’t listened to all of the season 2 episodes yet, or if you’re curious about our thoughts since the episodes aired, you won’t want to miss this. Thank you to all of our season 2 guests, and to all of the new and returning listeners! If you have questions about WordPress website development, contributing, or anything else web-related that you’d like to hear us discuss, send an email to podcast@blackbird.digital. You can also find us on Twitter as @InTheLoop_WP. Blackbird Digital is a web and app development agency that specializes in WordPress, creating on-screen experiences that connect, teach, communicate, and inspire. Visit https://blackbird.digital for more information. ## Season 2 Episode Links (4:18) Pajamas & Burnout: https://anchor.fm/blackbird-digital/episodes/12-Pajamas--Burnout-e1e2mhq (10:28) Accessibility by Default with Bet Hannon: https://anchor.fm/blackbird-digital/episodes/13-Accessibility-by-Default-with-Bet-Hannon-e1fornp (16:20) All the Web's a Stage with Allie Nimmons: https://anchor.fm/blackbird-digital/episodes/14-All-the-Webs-a-Stage-with-Allie-Nimmons-e1h1rgo (28:07) Number Goes Up: https://anchor.fm/blackbird-digital/episodes/15-Number-Goes-Up-e1ikm16 (47:25) Just Build It with Aurooba Ahmed: https://anchor.fm/blackbird-digital/episodes/16-Just-Build-It-with-Aurooba-Ahmed-e1jui2f (1:00:54) Build Your Product Muscles with Lesley Sim: https://anchor.fm/blackbird-digital/episodes/17-Build-Your-Product-Muscles-with-Lesley-Sim-e1l3dri (1:14:05) We Like Gutenberg, We Swear!: https://anchor.fm/blackbird-digital/episodes/18-We-Like-Gutenberg--We-Swear-e1mhn78 (1:18:30) All-In on Gutenberg with Ryan Welcher: https://anchor.fm/blackbird-digital/episodes/19-All-In-on-Gutenberg-with-Ryan-Welcher-e1noamk (1:26:32) Equal Access with Amber Hinds: https://anchor.fm/blackbird-digital/episodes/20-Equal-Access-with-Amber-Hinds-e1p2v09 (1:30:41) Mastering Theme Development with Brian Coords: https://anchor.fm/blackbird-digital/episodes/21-Mastering-Theme-Development-with-Brian-Coords-e1qonaa ## Other Links (3:04) Season 1 Highlights: https://anchor.fm/blackbird-digital/episodes/11-Season-1-Highlights-e1c2cgs (25:51) Why Wordpress: https://anchor.fm/blackbird-digital/episodes/1-Why-WordPress-eaontu
21: Mastering Theme Development with Brian Coords
Nov 16 2022
21: Mastering Theme Development with Brian Coords
Cory and Phil interview Brian Coords of Howard Development & Consulting and Editor at Master WP. We talk about connecting with the wider WordPress community as an agency, how we’ve been experimenting with Gutenberg for client sites and how it’s affected our entire process, theme scaffolding and Understrap, and why it still makes sense for us to build “hybrid” themes even though we like Gutenberg. Brian is writing a companion article to this episode that you can find on Master WP.Please give it a read! https://masterwp.com/intheloop If you have questions about WordPress website development, contributing, or anything else web-related that you’d like to hear us discuss, send an email to podcast@blackbird.digital. You can also find us on Twitter as @InTheLoop_WP. Blackbird Digital is a web and app development agency that specializes in WordPress, creating on-screen experiences that connect, teach, communicate, and inspire. Visit blackbird.digital for more information. ## Links (5:15) Master WP: https://masterwp.com/ (12:29) Allie Nimmons interview: https://anchor.fm/blackbird-digital/episodes/14-All-the-Webs-a-Stage-with-Allie-Nimmons-e1h1rgo (15:35) Ryan Welcher interview: https://anchor.fm/blackbird-digital/episodes/19-All-In-on-Gutenberg-with-Ryan-Welcher-e1noamk (24:08) Block Template Parts in classic themes: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/04/block-based-template-parts-in-traditional-themes/ (24:57) Understrap: https://understrap.com/ (27:28) Understrap on GitHub: https://github.com/understrap/understrap (33:04) Blackbird's Theme Scaffold: https://github.com/BlackbirdDigital/wp-theme-scaffold (53:25) Matt's comments about dot-org using a block theme: https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2022/08/01/developing-the-redesigned-home-and-download-pages/#comment-9362 (1:04:44) ACF-style native blocks with Ryan Welcher: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1604490468 (1:05:12) 10up Gutenberg Best Practices: https://gutenberg.10up.com/ Brian's website: https://www.briancoords.com/ Brian's Twitter: https://twitter.com/briancoords Brain on Master WP: https://masterwp.com/author/brian-coords/ Master WP companion article: https://masterwp.com/intheloop
20: Equal Access with Amber Hinds
Oct 12 2022
20: Equal Access with Amber Hinds
Cory and Phil interview Amber Hinds of Equalize Digital, an agency and plugin company that specializes in accessibility. We talk about their Accessibility Checker plugin, how it can be useful for agencies and their clients, and the journey of building it, as well as Amber’s involvement as Lead Organizer of this year’s WordPress Accessibility Day happening November 2, 2022. If you have questions about WordPress website development, contributing, or anything else web-related that you’d like to hear us discuss, send an email to podcast@blackbird.digital. You can also find us on Twitter as @InTheLoop_WP. Blackbird Digital is a web and app development agency that specializes in WordPress, creating on-screen experiences that connect, teach, communicate, and inspire. Visit https://blackbird.digital for more information. ## Links Equalize Digital: https://equalizedigital.com (12:35) WP Conference Schedule plugin: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-conference-schedule/ (19:11) Accessibility Checker free version: https://wordpress.org/plugins/accessibility-checker/ (21:30) Accessibility Checker Pro: https://equalizedigital.com/accessibility-checker/ (46:11) WordPress Accessibility Meetup: https://equalizedigital.com/wordpress-accessibility-meetup/ (47:19) WordPress Accessibility Day virtual conference: https://wpaccessibility.day/ (53:24) Conference schedule: https://wpaccessibility.day/schedule/ (56:55) Amber on Twitter: https://twitter.com/heyamberhinds (56:58) Equalize Digital on Twitter: https://twitter.com/EqualizeDigital ## Upcoming WP Events WordPress Accessibility Day, Nov 2–3, 2022: https://wpaccessibility.day/ WordFest Live, Nov 18: https://www.wordfest.live/
19: All-In on Gutenberg with Ryan Welcher
Sep 14 2022
19: All-In on Gutenberg with Ryan Welcher
Cory interviews Ryan Welcher, a Developer Advocate at Automattic focusing on the Gutenberg Project, as a special follow-up to our last episode, titled “We Like Gutenberg, We Swear!”. We talk about his WCUS talk, being a Developer Advocate, how to write to post meta with custom blocks, scaffolding with the @wordpress/create-block package, the convenience of ACF fields, and more. ## Links Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ryanwelchercodes YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RyanWelcherCodes Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanwelcher Website: https://ryanwelcher.com Discord: https://discord.gg/RYtFaYbMRM (03:34) WCUS 2022 Extending WordPress with SlotFill: https://youtu.be/ql4hhXWcdik?t=27235 (08:34) Twitch repo: https://github.com/ryanwelcher/twitch (30:28) HTML Walker proposal: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/19/a-new-system-for-simply-and-reliably-updating-html-attributes/ (33:34) @wordpress/create-block package: https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/reference-guides/packages/packages-create-block/ (1:03:50) Query Block variations PR: https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/43632 (1:04:55) Twitch Code Repo for custom field block: https://github.com/ryanwelcher/twitch/tree/trunk/plugins/custom-field-block/src (1:05:09) Integrating a custom post type into Gutenberg and Full Site Editing: https://youtu.be/vr3wgD9IZRA ## Upcoming WP Events WordPress Accessibility Day, Nov 2-3: https://wpaccessibility.day/ WordFest Live, Nov 18: https://www.wordfest.live/
17: Build Your Product Muscles with Lesley Sim
Jul 13 2022
17: Build Your Product Muscles with Lesley Sim
Cory and Phil interview Lesley Sim of Newsletter Glue, a WordPress plugin that lets you write your newsletter in WordPress and connects to several different email services. We talk about the journey from digital agency to WordPress plugin company and whether it’s feasible to be both, Newsletter Glue’s Gutenberg-based features, different plugin business models and how contributing factors in, and a new YouTube series called Glam That Plugin. If you’re an agency interested in partnering with Newsletter Glue to help your clients make the best newsletter possible, visit https://newsletterglue.com/implementation-services/. If you have questions about WordPress website development, contributing, or anything else web-related that you’d like to hear us discuss, send an email to podcast@blackbird.digital. You can also find us on Twitter as @InTheLoop_WP. ## Links Follow Lesley on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lesley_pizza Newsletter Glue website: https://newsletterglue.com (16:34) Clients abandoning WordPress: https://twitter.com/lesley_pizza/status/1531484172623450112 (20:46) 7-10 year plan: https://twitter.com/lesley_pizza/status/1531490814316396544 (25:16) WordPress Product Managers: https://twitter.com/lesley_pizza/status/1531531655428853760 (32:53) Newsletter Glue consulting: https://newsletterglue.com/implementation-services/ (55:27) GoDaddy on blast: https://wptavern.com/matt-mullenweg-identifies-godaddy-as-a-parasitic-company-and-an-existential-threat-to-wordpress-future (1:04:07) Glam That Plugin: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvI6qyQ9STRcHCrpHWJ2uMQ ## Upcoming WP Events WordCamp US 2022, Sept 9–11: https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/
16: Just Build It with Aurooba Ahmed
Jun 15 2022
16: Just Build It with Aurooba Ahmed
Cory and Phil interview Aurooba Ahmed of Aurooba Makes, a full-stack WordPress developer, WordCamp speaker, and serial plugin, tool, and course author. We talk about developing for Gutenberg, goings on with ACF and whether it’s still a must-use plugin (pardon the pun), the myriad of free plugins and tools that Aurooba has built for the good of all, and a teaser of some resources about React for WordPress that she’ll be releasing soon. If you have questions about WordPress website development, contributing, or anything else web-related that you’d like to hear us discuss, send an email to podcast@blackbird.digital. You can also find us on Twitter as @InTheLoop_WP. ## Links Aurooba’s website: https://aurooba.com Auroobas Twitter: https://twitter.com/aurooba (09:53) WPEngine acquires ACF: https://wpengine.com/blog/wp-engine-acquires-delicious-brains-plugins-including-advanced-custom-fields/ (14:30) ACF blocks dev preview: https://github.com/AdvancedCustomFields/acf/issues/654 (17:15) Aurooba’s CPT composer package: https://github.com/aurooba/cpt (24:05) Super List Block plugin: https://wordpress.org/plugins/superlist-block/ (29:51) Replacing core block styles: https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/35848#issuecomment-1017606735 (31:16) QuickPost plugin: https://wordpress.org/plugins/quickpost/ (43:46) QuickPost plagiarized twitter thread: https://twitter.com/aurooba/status/1524113112110026752 (47:26) Plagiarism resolution twitter thread: https://twitter.com/aurooba/status/1521564150211629056 ## Upcoming WP Events WordCamp US 2022, Sept 9–11: https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/
12: Pajamas & Burnout
Feb 9 2022
12: Pajamas & Burnout
Welcome back to a new season of In The Loop! We have some excellent guests lined up this year, but we start off 2022 with a Dev Chat between Cory Hughart and Phil Hoyt about the recently released WordPress 5.9 and Full Site Editing, open source compensation, video games, and Valentine’s Day. On Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2022, take some time to show your most beloved plugins some love and leave a review! If you have questions about WordPress website development, contributing, or anything else web-related that you’d like to hear us discuss, find us on Twitter as @InTheLoop_WP or send an email to podcast@blackbird.digital. ## Links https://blackbird.digital/podcast/ (08:49) Crock of Time, Cory’s fermentation logbook: https://crockoftime.com (10:27) WPPodcasts: https://wppodcasts.com (14:57) Tendo, a block theme by Phil: https://wordpress.org/themes/tendo/ (18:08) Block locking: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/01/08/locking-blocks-in-wordpress-5-9/ (18:46) WordPress 5.9 field guide: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/01/10/wordpress-5-9-field-guide/ (20:17) 5.8 block style loading: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/07/01/block-styles-loading-enhancements-in-wordpress-5-8/ (23:46) Carolina Nymark on no-code themes: https://twitter.com/carolinapoena/status/1484174134284365826?s=20 (49:08) White House Open Source Security Summit: https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/white-house-hosts-open-source-security-summit-big-tech-a-18304 (52:42) #WPTalks Twitter space, “Get Contributors Paid & Attract People to Grow WordPress”: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1djxXPkkWVoxZ (1:01:01) XKCD Dependency: https://xkcd.com/2347/ (1:04:21) Hacktoberfest drama: https://joel.net/how-one-guy-ruined-hacktoberfest2020-drama ## Upcoming WP Events WordFest Live March 4, 2022: https://www.wordfest.live/2022/march/