Is CSS Tricks back?
There are signs that CSS Tricks is being revived after being dormant for over a year. Last year, I spoke of the decline of CSS Tricks following the acquistion by Digital Ocean. The post-acquistion stewardship by Digital Ocean was absymal.
Digital Ocean had other priorities. They have seen a raft of personnel changes in recent years, with layoffs and leadership changes. I believe that here has been three CEOs in the past 5 years. The company has vacillated in its direction in that time.
Chris Coyier aired his views on it in a blog post on Feb 28th. He said he tried to get it back at one stage. He had received an email from a guy who became the VP of Content & Community at Digital Ocean who came over from another acquisition. He wanted a “return on investment” and asked for advice from Chris. Chris pitched the idea of transferring ownership back to him.
At the same time, the current CEO of Digital Ocean, Paddy Srinivasan, said the following in a series of tweets on March 1st:
@chriscoyier, original founder of CSS-Tricks, and I connected today and we had a very constructive conversation on the current and future state of CSS-Tricks. We are both determined to find a path forward to bring CSS-Tricks back in service of the community. Thread 1/2
As the CEO of DigitalOcean, I agree that we haven’t lived up to our responsibility as the stewards of the site and it has gone ignored for too long but we are committed to finding a solution which hopefully includes Chris Coyier in some capacity. Stay tuned… Thread 2/2
On March 21st, Paddy Srinivasan announced in a tweet that they were looking for a new CSS-Tricks Site Editor.
Former editor of CSS-Tricks, Geoff Graham, expressed his conflicting feelings on the job posting in a personal blog post the following day. Geoff was laid off from the position the previous year. He said he was open to reprising the position if offered.
If I’m being completely honest — and boy am I trying to be — it’s hard for me to imagine a scenario where I’m back at CSS-Tricks in any official capacity, though many of you have reached out saying that’s what you’d like to see. Not because it’s impossible but, well, I’m too close to the whole thing and I’m far-sighted.
I’d still jump at the opportunity to help, though. I said it earlier and will do so again: CSS-Tricks can’t come back fast enough. I’m just as (and maybe even more) eager as anyone to have it back. I’m absolutely willing and able to do anything that helps make that happen.
Then in late May, there was a trickle of new content on CSS-Tricks. Most of it authored by Geoff Graham! I assume Geoff has got his old job back! I wish him the best if that is the case. Though, there has been no formal announcement!
I guess we will have to wait and see if CSS-Tricks starts publishing content at a regular clip again. What will the reception be? Can positive vibes and reader loyalty be restored?
I am not sure what to think. Generally I find the trifecta of commerce, community, and content in the tech world to be discombobulating. I’m not sure the center can hold where all three are concerned.
Time to ask Chat GPT what it thinks…😜