Longreads provides a breath of fresh air for readers, acting as a centralized source for quality-content stories on the web. For 5 years, Longreads has cultivated a strong community of writers, readers, and publishers. It has provided a global haven for publishers and writers to share in-depth stories, naturally establishing itself as trusted source for stories of 1500 characters and longer.
Yesterday, Automattic announced their acquisition of Longreads. A practical reason for the acquisition could be the complementary nature of Automattic (and WordPress.com) and Longreads.
In a recent blog post, founder of Longreads Mark Armstrong discussed his deep respect for the principles and goals of Matt Mullenweg and his company. Armstrong went on to highlight the compatibility in core values:
For us it is to serve readers the best storytelling in the world, and for Automattic it’s to power a world where publishers and writers have the freedom and independence to own and control their own space on the internet, and to then produce their best work using those tools.
So what does this mean for Longreads? Armstrong reassured the Longreads community that it will be business as usual, and that the acquisition will facilitate growth and opportunity to delve deeper into their mission. Longreads team of 4 is set to join the editorial staff of WordPress.com, where they will continue to provide rich-content stories to readers around the world.
For Automattic, the addition to the WordPress.com team is aligned with their mission to empower writers. In the announcement post on WordPress.com, Raanan Bar-Cohen said:
We are entering a new era for independent writers and publishers to embrace depth and quality, and WordPress.com is committed to empowering these creators . . . We are excited to have the Longreads team work on these challenges and opportunities as a part of the Automattic family.
This is exciting news for the WordPress blogging community because Longreads could provide a channel to expose quality, in-depth stories from WordPress blogs to a larger range of readers. Tapping into the vast pool of high-quality WordPress blogs will not only provide new stories for readers, but also provide more publicity for bloggers.
We’re looking forward to seeing good things to come from this exciting acquisition.
How do you think this will impact the WordPress community?
Marie Dodson is an editorial assistant at Torque. She graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Biology and Society. She enjoys wine, good books, and travel.
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