Recently, Matt Mullenweg, the founding developer of WordPress, and Chris Pearson, developer of the premium Thesis theme, have been at odds about whether or not Thesis needs to be released up the General Public License (GPL) like the open source WordPress program.  Matt claims that since themes use WordPress, they are derivative works and require that they be released up the GPL.  Chris, on the other hand, says that his Thesis theme is not subject to the GPL.

I’m not a lawyer, and quite frankly, I don’t care all that much about the legal nuances of the arguments on either side.  What I care about is keeping WordPress moving forward as smoothly as possible. And, as a user of Thesis, I prefer the support offered through the robust Thesis user community and have no problem whatsoever paying to purchase Thesis and its support.  I’ve found the folks on the forums at the Thesis user community to be extremely helpful in developing websites using WordPress and Thesis.

What I hope is that the arguments can be settled quickly and the status quo restored so I don’t have to worry about the Thesis community, or the WordPress community, being splintered into a number of different factions supporting one side or the other.  These types of disagreements are usually argued in the court of public opinion, with very little basis in law, and generally devolve into flame wars and name calling.

Whether Thesis is forced to go to a GPL or not, I’m still going to purchase my licenses for sites I develop using WordPress and Thesis because I like the comfort of the support community around Thesis, and I like the way Chris and his team have continually moved the Thesis theme forward, adding new features and functionality as the theme has matured.  I’m comfortable with Thesis, and a protracted litigation is non-productive for both Thesis and WordPress.

Let’s hope this gets resolved quickly so the WordPress community can move forward, knowing that premium theme developers can still make a living doing what they love – creating high-quality themes that enhance WordPress, the best content management system around.  I have the utmost respect for both Matt and Chris (although I don’t know them personally).  Now it’s time to put the “big boy” pants on and work this out.

Further reading about the brouhaha:

• Audio Interview with Matt Mullenweg and Chris Pearson on Mixergy.com
• WordPress, Thesis and the GPL
• Is Thesis for WordPress Legal?  Almost Certainly.
• The Great Thesis vs. WordPress Debate Rages On
• My Thoughts on the WordPress/Thesis Debate
• Themes Are GPL, 2.0 – Matt Mullenweg
• What Do Solutions Have to Do with Ideology? NOTHING! – Chris Pearson

Chris Brogan, being the generous person he is, has published “A Simple Blogging Formula” that we all can use to improve our blogs and deliver some true value to our readers.  As someone who is just starting out, it is not only inspiring to see Chris’ success, but also humbling to know that Chris is committed to blogging almost every single day.

As I catch up with some of my client’s work, I am going to take Chris’ words to heart and start blogging on a regular basis.  It may not be daily, but I will create a schedule and adhere to it rigidly.  It’s no secret that the people who blog most develop their audience quickest.  I would really like to become a resource for local businesses that want to take advantage of new marketing opportunities, and I can only do this if I publish great content on a regular basis.

Check out Chris’ blog post, and let me know what your favorite take is from the post.  Also, while you’re on Chris’ blog, SIGN UP FOR HIS EMAIL NEWSLETTER!  There’s always great tips for any business, and you’ll get a much better understanding of why I have a serious blog crush on Mr. Brogan!

David Mihm, provider of exceptional web design and SEO services, has completed Volume 2 of his Local Search Engine Rankings Factors guide, and there’s a ton of great info any local business can use.  With the help of a host of SEO experts, David has compiled a great report that contains expert opinions on how different on-page and off-page factors affect your business’ local search rankings in Google, Yahoo, and other search engines.

Spend some time getting to know the different factors, and then take as much of the advice as you can and implement it for your local business.  There’s a lot of info to cover in this report, but it’s well worth the time to read these experts’ opinions and to implement at least a few of the items.  For my money, the most important ideas are:

• Claim your local business listing
• Associate your local business with the proper categories
• Put your keywords in your local business description
• Put your keyword in your local business listing title (if possible)

Check out the guide, and let me know if you have any questions…

And thanks David and Contributors!

Chris Brogan posted some great tips on Marketing for Small Local Businesses on his blog yesterday. A friend of his runs a mobile massage business (where she takes her massage table to a client’s space), and was looking for advice on how to drum up new business.

Chris’ advice is designed to help this ultra-local business (most of her clients will be within a 30 minute drive) develop relationships within the community and foster loyalty and repeat customers.  This is the basics of business that our parents and grandparents understood, but younger generations seem to have forgotten.  Life Is Local folks, and if you’re looking to drive customers to your local business, it’s all about the community.

One extra tip that I included in the Comments section on Chris’ site is about finding the connectors in your community.  There are people in every community who know everyone, are networked to the max, and love to make new connections.  They enjoy meeting, helping, and connecting people because ultimately it helps them do business.  Find these folks and help them out, and you can really accelerate your business efforts.

Take a look at the article, and if you have any more suggestions, I’d love to hear them.  Just use the comments below.