Fascinating discussion as usual, what I come to expect here. :D

Teaching the first WordPress-only college course at Clark College, and revamping two degree programs around WordPress as the fundamental core, it's fascinating and well-timed that you are having this discussion. I face this challenge daily on multiple levels.

First, WordPress is a tool. It is a tool used for web publishing, or as I like to say, helping you have your say on the web beyond social soap boxes.

There are two issues here: WordPress and Publishing.

As a tool, WordPress is brilliant for publishing. That's its core purpose. It does it better than most stuff out there. No doubt, no question.

Publishing is easier with WordPress, but using WordPress doesn't resolve the natural attrition and abandonment issues. If the tool isn't interfering with the publishing process, it doesn't matter whether or not they use WordPress. They will abandon at the time and place they naturally abandon anything. Think about all those diaries and journals you started since childhood. Still rocking with that? LOL? Use the same research on Blogger, Joomla, etc., and you will find eager starters that never get out of the starting gate. Attrition is just part of everything, especially self-generated content.

How do you separate natural abandonment with tool abandonment?

In the first WordPress college course at Clark, I spent the first three weeks of class fighting with a student about blogging. "I'm not into this blogging crap. I'm here for web design only." I told him to do it anyway because he needed to learn how to do it in order to train clients. "What about something you know and enjoy talking about. I don't care what. Just do it." Big stick swinging teacher. :D

He came to me a couple months ago to tell me that he not only stuck with his site, he's sold two comic book series and was negotiating an anime movie deal. His site won some top awards at VidCon and his life had completely changed because of me forcing him to blog as part of the WordPress Intro course.

He's the exception to the rule, but it addresses the issue of having passion and commitment for your subject matter. Would he have gotten the same rewards from being on Blogger or Joomla? Sure. It's the content that dictates the storyline and success. He turned homework into a new career because he cared about what he was sharing, not what he was publishing on.

Without a clear picture of your journey, you will not take the second step. A research project by SCORE recently published listed the 4 secret success characteristics of entrepreneurs and a business plan was number 2. You have to see the big picture, know the end game, and visualize the journey or you won't move forward. The more vested the interest, the more passion, the more likely they are to continue forward.

I talk to students and clients about content strategies, social media integration, automation, editorial calendars, long before we touch WordPress.

Getting back to your original introduction, Jeff, the key to describing WordPress is to not address the abandonment issues, installation, FTP, and the technical stuff. That's later, in a technical presentation not a "why you need WordPress in your life" presentation.

You have to address the reasons why someone should choose WordPress.

Companies and individuals choose WordPress because it has an interactive and vibrant community around it dedicated to its survival. There is constant development with people from around the world working together to improve WordPress, ensuring it is the most stable, state-of-the-art, and secure environment for publishing.

WordPress.com is a valuable part of that echo system, allowing WordPress to be tested thoroughly by millions of users around the globe using every time of Internet access device known, and such testing ensures confidence in releases and updates. While there may be small issues, typically Theme and Plugin conflicts, for the most part the bugs are worked out long before it reaches WordPress.org. Not many companies can vouch for such a stable and solid platform. Look at Microsoft and Apple's recent boo boos.

This is why the NY Times was one of the earliest investors, as well as Om Malik and others. They saw the activity in and around the community and knew that this was something magic. It went beyond Open Source. Talking years ago to Om Malik and John Dvorak, they told me they just felt the "WordPress magic" and they wanted on board. The magic is still there.

To keep people from abandoning WordPress, work on the interface, but never forget that the motivation to continue has nothing to do with WordPress. Look at how many times you've stopped and started this beautiful tavern of yours, Jeff. The reasons you continue have nothing directly to do with the tool that is WordPress. It's the people of WordPress, the energy, the magic, if you will, of the WordPress Community, that keeps you plowing forward with this project, doesn't it?

People want to be around (and do the same things as) people filled with positive and creative energy. That's the magic of WordPress, a community-driven tool that thrives on community.

Thanks for bringing up this important topic.