Some cool news today — Automattic is acquiring Intense Debate. You can read more on Jon’s blog on Intense Debate, or on Toni’s blog, or on VC Mike’s blog.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the product, Intense Debate supercharges the comment section of WordPress blogs and other sites with cool features like threading, reply by email, voting, reputation, and global profiles. There are a few companies tackling this space right now, but I was impressed with how much ID (Intense Debate) has been able to do with a small team, and happy to find that their common platform (PHP and MySQL) would make integration a lot easier.
Going forward, the plan is to keep Intense Debate available as a platform-agnostic independent service, much like Akismet. We’ll start to integrate its features into WordPress core, WordPress.com, and Gravatar as appropriate. For example, comment threading is going to be in WordPress 2.7, but reply by email is a lot easier to implement on a hosted service like WordPress.com. We’re also going to be able to lend our expertise in scaling to the ID team to make sure their users enjoy the same hassle-free speed and bulletproof availability as users of other Automattic services.
Long-term, I think that comments are the most crucial interaction point for blogs, and an area that deserves a lot of investment and innovation. Comments really haven’t changed in a decade, and it’s time to spice things up a little.
We were early in the space with investing in Akismet to solve the spam problem, but now I think the real growth opportunities are in the user interaction and social features across comments. There is a huge opportunity to increase the traffic and engagement of blogs significantly. WordPress.com alone already gets about three legitimate comments every second — more than a quarter of a million every day. I’m excited to see what the Intense Debate team can do to make things more interesting.
118 replies on “Intense Debate Goes Automattic”
[…] more details on the product and our plans, check out my blog, Toni’s blog, and Jon’s blog at Intense […]
Brilliant!
This is a great piece of news indeed. from my point of view!
I’m still hesitating in “outsourcing” my comments to an outside service, mainly because those services are often anglo-centric and having a french-speaking website, well, integration is a pain.
But I am following ID quite closely, since it seems the most conscious of the needs of international users.
I really hope that with the power of Automattic behind it, now ID will also be able (amon other things) to tackle internationalisation (give a holler if you need any help! 🙂
All the best to both teams, anyway.
Yes! Good pick up. I can’t wait to see the implementation of this.
[…] all the details check out Matt’s blog, Toni’s blog, Jon’s blog at Intense Debate, and the techmeme coverage. ▶▼ […]
Since Intense Debate will be rolled into the WordPress core, the first thing I did after reading this was sign up for the ID beta to get started with it now. 🙂
Extremely smart acquisition Matt — not only with their platform being so fantastic but more importantly a few more excellent team members 🙂
Kudos, looking forward to seeing what comes of it!
This is great, and I am really looking forward to see how this gets integrated with WordPress!
I think you picked a perfect product 🙂
Aw, man, now I have more stuff to worry about theming!
Just kidding. I’ve been impressed with how Gravatar was integrated with the WordPress core and I’m sure this will only help make things more interesting. Cheers.
[…] Matt Mullenwegs blogg: Intense Debate Goes Automattic […]
All the very best Akismet and ID.
[…] Intense Debate Goes Automattic — Matt Mullenweg […]
Awesome! Cant wait to see how this evolves into WP!
This is great news. I’ve been looking forward to the threaded comments in WordPress 2.7. It will be great to see more innovation coming in that area, too.
[…] and it makes no sense, unless you are really stubborn, to stick with anything else. In fact Matt specifically states that integration is coming on his […]
Great! Congrats to Automattic and ID.
I’m excited to see you guys jump on ID. I’ve implemented for a number of clients and love their app – a great fit for Automattic!
Looking forward to seeing comment threading enabled in WP 2.7, it’s going to make theme development a lot more fun!
[…] it can push the IntenseDebate system. Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress, writes as much in a blog post of his own: “There is a huge opportunity to increase the traffic and engagement of blogs […]
Hi Matt:
THanks for the update!
On Livejournal, I loved the threaded comments. Fabulous and you are rights, it helps the interaction and creates a tight community of users and readers.
Looking forward to that feature.
Arun
Great. Now, if only you’d integrate bbPress into the wordpress.com hosted blogs.
[…] La nouvelle du jour dans la WordPress-sphère: Automattic a racheté Intense Debate. […]
[…]
Congrats on the acquisition. As soon as I heard this news, I was a little bit terrified at how this would be put into WP. Until I read this blog post of yours. Personally, Intense Debate and similar services that host comments, haven’t been my best friends. I like the WP comment engine for its customization (form design, form layout, and so on), and am extremely glad that ID will be an extra, like Akismet. I’m sure it’ll grow on me over time, though. 🙂
I can’t wait to meet you at WordCamp Toronto in October. 🙂
[…] Mullenweg announced today that Automattic (the maker of WordPress) is acquiring Intense Debate, a blog commenting system […]
[…] Begeisterung von WordPress-Gründer Matt ist verständlich, ebenso die Euphorie der Macher von Intense Debate. Automattic hat mittlerweile […]
This is great news. keep it up!
[…] says that InteseDebate will stay as an independent service, much like Akismet Automattic’s other […]
I though I would start this Intense Debate by posting this comment. The news sounds really good though and I think that this type of approach will encourage more people to enter into discussions as opposed to just “commenting.” Though it should be interesting how we manage our time with all the extra debate going on around the blogosphere!
Is using Intense Debate with self-hosted WordPress going to be mandatory? I strongly dislike the idea of shipping all my comments out to yet another service, as opposed to keeping them with my WordPress installation and data. Nor do I particularly care about ‘social features across comments’.
[…] ist klar warum. Matt Mullenweg hat es in seinem Blog verkündet: Automattic kauft das Startup aus Boulder (Colorado). Schon mit dem Update auf WordPress 2.7 (für […]
[…] https://ma.tt/2008/09/intense-debate-goes-automattic/ […]
[…] ver o Intense Debate em funcionamento, tem mais informações no blog do Matt, do Toni e no blog do Jon no Intense […]
Does that mean the intense debate team will become part of Automattic?
Sounds great, i look forward to seeing the features integrated into the wordpress core 😀
[…] Mashable and VentureBeat. Toni has a post on his blog about this, as does Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg. You can also read Intense Debate founder Jon Fox’s post, or the Intense Debate blog […]
Congratulations
[…] all the details here: ID Blog, Founder Jon Fox’s Blog, WordPress Founder Matt Mullenweg, WordPress’s CEO, not about the deal at all, but Ninja Cat is awesome, TechCrunch is in on […]
I don’t know what’s so fancy about “comment threading” – I like the old fashioned way “first comment first, last comment last”. But if it helps to keep WordPress free it’s okay with me. 😉
*Impressive… Most impressive*
Really, nicely done. I agree that the comment aspect is a huge component of blogs, and working on enhancing that can only be a good thing.
Congratulations on the acquisition! It will be cool to see how you guys push this out there.
Thanks Matt and thank you all. I (like many others, I guess) have often thought that one important thing missing at WordPress is the option to subscribe to comment threads by email. Blogger (am I allowed to use that word here?) do it — now with ID in the family, well, we have to be onto a winner, don’t we? Excellent!
Good show!
When do we get post by email? 🙂
[…] für andere Blogsysteme zur Verfügung stehen. Mehr dazu: offizielles Blog von IntenseDebate, Matt Mullenwegs Blog (Automattic), erste Einschätzung von TechCrunch. […]
[…] and TechCrunch, and the TechStars Blog, and Andrew Hyde’s Blog, and Mashable, and Matt Mullenwegs blog, and Toni Schneider’s blog (CEO Automattic), and IntenseDebate’s own blog post about […]
[…] such as Blogger and Movable Type. Similar points come from the Automattic side of the deal, from Matt and from Toni. ID will remain a stand-alone service that can be used with WordPress as well as many […]
I’m not much of a 2.0 / social web / comments-are-king guy, but I’m beginning to understand that there’s little percentage in having a blog and not having it be open. The good of the readers and all that. Sigh. Resistance is futile, I guess.
As for the business decision itself: A game-changer, and smart, very smart for both Automattic and IntenseDebate – especially as ID will still be available for other platforms.
[…] https://ma.tt/2008/09/intense-debate-goes-automattic/ […]
Very cool Matt, Was hoping to have voting functionality and comment threading is a major leap forward..
Miro
PS appreciate your commentary to my “Greed is Good” blogpost
[…] WordPress (which powers this blog) acquired Intense Debate for an undisclosed sum. Offical news here, here and […]
Really great acquisition for automattic.
We love intense debate, you should really install it here!
[…] rozbudowany system komentarzy. O transakcji informuje m.in. cnet, a tak?e w?a?ciciel Automattic, Matt Mullenweg. Nikt nie pochwali? si? sum? jak? sfinalizowano transakcj? […]
[…] Mullenweg, criador do wordpress e dono da Automattic, afirma em seu blog que em breve o IntenseDebate será integrado nativamente ao sistema do wordpress. Até que essa […]
[…] Intense Debate for an undisclosed amount. You can read WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg’s thoughts about it, as well as those of Automattic CEO Toni Schneider and Intense Debate co-founder Jon Fox, and you […]
congratulations…………..from Veenezuela
Wooo Hooo!
Good decision.Blogging + Social commenting – the great trend.Additional intrigue: Intense Debate vs Disqus.I’m staking on Intense Debate (with WP!).:)
[…] ?????????? ? ??????? ?????????? ?????? ?????????. ??? ????? ? ????? ????? ???????????? WordPress ???? ?????????, […]
[…] Matt (Matthew Mullenweg, Automattic Founder): Intense Debate Goes Automattic […]
[…] stories IntenseDebate blog TechCrunch article Matt Mullenweg, Automattic’s CTO Toni Schneider, Automatic’s CEO VC Mike Tags: Business > Entrepreneurialism > […]
RIP Disqus.
Was hoping Disqus acquisition or partnership …
[…] WordCamp Philippines, I asked WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg what would happen if Disqus threaded comments couldn’t be imported into the upcoming […]
[…] Integracja ma by? podobna do tych, które mia?y miejsce w przesz?o?ci (czyli Akismet i Gravatar) i obj?? ma wszystkie rodzaje WordPressa (do samodzielnej instalacji, hostowan? i multiblogow?). […]
Well done. This will be interesting.
Just watched the following commentary by Larry Lessig on a “faux 2.0” site that doesn’t allow comments: (one that misrepresents him)
http://blip.tv/file/1243499
How could the site have been open to rebuttals without being open to moronflames / opinionspam or whatever you want to call it? That, I think, is the $64k Q. Innovation there is sorely needed!
[…] Automattic, la société derrière WordPress, a acheté Intense Debate, une société éditant un système de publication de commentaires bien intelligent. […]
[…] Going forward, the plan is to keep Intense Debate available as a platform-agnostic independent service, much like Akismet. We’ll start to integrate its features into WordPress core, WordPress.com [Matt’s blog] […]
[…] Matt Mullenweg’s Blog […]
[…] company acquiring IntenseDebate, makes a blog into a forum By tim I was glad to see on Matt Mullenweg’s blog that Automattic, the WordPress company, is acquiring IntenseDebate. I’m not actually familiar […]
That’s really a great news!!!very great!!!
What a pity that I did not show you my improvements to the commenting system. Anyway, I will contribute my works to the new version and I hope every wordpress blogger and benefit!
Oh .. seems a lot of wrong spellings and some grammar mistakes, haha. i am just too excited that you guys are acquiring intense debate 🙂
[…] WordPress 2.7 is supposed to have comment threading when it is released as well. Matt Mullenweg talked about the purpose of the acquisition: Long-term, I think that comments are the most crucial interaction point for […]
[…] Also: Automattic Acquires Intense Debate Intense debate goes automattic Automattic acquires intensedebate Share and […]
[…] Matt Mullenweg nos explica algunas funcionalidades en su blog. […]
good point on recognizing ‘comments’ playing a big part in blogosphere’s future. Go ID! Go WP!
Matt,
This is an awesome move by Automattic and IntenseDebate – looking forward to getting the invite for the private beta! Congrats to both companies!
[…] Mullenweg of Automattic noted that the service would remain independent of WordPress as a whole but that users could expect […]
[…] a statement, Automattic’s Matt Mullenweg said some of IntenseDebate’s features – such as threaded comments – will become part of the […]
[…] Automattic (the lovely people who bring us the WordPress.org and WordPress.com blogging products) are acquiring IntenseDebate, a comment system that enhances and encourages discussion on your blog or website. […]
Great news – both for my WP blog and my self-hosted one (also using WP). I have tried other systems and was leaning towards IntenseDebate for my self-hosted blog. I hope the integration will happen soon and it will work seamlessly. Great news, guys.
Excellent!!!!
I would install Intense Debate but can’t get in the beta. 😉
[…] Matt Mullenweg […]
Sounds fun…but, I was SO HOPING for email replies for .com…I hope it can happen! I forget to go back and check answers to my own comments so many times.
As a note, would LOVE to see ability to use Mr. Linky also. (Where Blogger gets WordPress right now for a lot of women.)
[…] En fin, dejad un Spectrum a un mono y lo entendéris todo. Empecé por subscribirme a su blog (enlazado por ahí arriba) y darme cuenta del tiempo que te ahorras estando conectado directamente a la fuente original, si vives un poco de noche puedes disfrutar jactándote de muchos medios españoles que trasladan la noticia unas 10 horas después (y en internet mañana es ya mismo, dentro de unas horas empieza a sonar a pasado) y así decir: “Ja, listillos, ya lo había leído”. […]
[…] of WordPress announced in his blog that WordPress has acquired Intense Debate and its plugin thing which features comment threading […]
I am just a real life blogger, and i love to blog. I love the system you have created.
[…] WordPress ????????? Automattic ??? Matt ????Intense Debate Goes Automattic?Automattic ????? Intense Debate? ?? Matt ????????Automattic […]
[…] of WordPress announced in his blog that Automattic, provider of WordPress blogs, has acquired Intense Debate, a portfolio company […]
Just wonderful! ID will certainly make wordpress a better place! 🙂
Good luck WP! 😀
When will this be integrated with the wordpress.com blogs ? Or will it ever be integrated at all ?
Ive signed up. Can’t wait.
i’ve done my best with disqus and sending them feedback to help fix it. i’ll definitely plug in ‘intense debate’ when its good to go.
off-topic – WTH is up with your blog comments? when did you make the transition from superstar to megarstar?
So when are you putting ID on your blog, here, Matt?!
This is excellent new Matt. WordPress has great traction right now for it’s blogs. Key is to keep adding functionality that will help the blog community and enable more participation with the content. Participation with the content is the core of social media. Great move to make WordPress better!
This is what is called great news. 🙂
[…] ????? ?? ????? Matt […]
[…] de Matt al respecto: “En el futuro, el plan es mantener ID disponile como una plataforma independiente […]
Congratulations. I did notice that comments were a downfall in WordPress… One feature that I’d suggest is the ability to have other users mark comments as ‘spam’, (like YouTube), and notify users via email when their comment is approved.
[…] WordPress ????????????????????? Matt ????????Automattic ????? Intense Debate???????????? WordPress […]
[…] Intense Debate Goes Automattic The WordPress team now has some new partners: the people from IntenseDebate. The result? A more sophisticated comment system in the next release of WP! More info from the ID blog. […]
[…] David’s trip and experience at Blog World Expo 2008. Automattic Acquires IntenseDebate Bloggers insurance Program How To Avoid The Physical Hazards Of Blogging Discuss Davids link bait […]
[…] will be available for other platforms beside WordPress. Expect more news on this front very soon. Matt and Toni also talk about the acquisition. Share and […]
Does this mean that every WordPress user will automatically have an ID account, or will it just give your blog an ID comment system? Just curious. Personally, I wouldn’t mind having an ID account.
It’ll be an available plugin like Akismet.
[…] explained are subject to change as WordPress 2.7 nears release. Automattic Grabs Intense Debate: Matt Mullenweg announced that Automattic has purchased Intense Debate to help facilitate future versions of WordPress and […]
[…] Automattic acquires IntenseDebate […]
congratulations , great news .
This is great news Matt! I’ve been looking for a way to spice up the comments on my WordPress project for a while now.
[…] it can push the IntenseDebate system. Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress, writes as much in a blog post of his […]
[…] con intense debate, una empresa de encuestas para meter en páginas y muy ‘widgetera’. Para que la difusión multiplataforma y tomar el pulso a los lectores tiene futuro. Importación, valoración y gestión de comentarios […]
awesome….make it real!
[…] moving to a third-party commenting system, or what would happen to comments stored there. Recently, IntenseDebate was acquired by Automattic, the startup behind WordPress.com and the open source WordPress project, which of course powers […]
[…] The Healthcare Discussion section on Change.gov is powered with IntenseDebate, which was recently acquired by Automattic. […]
[…] been hearing a lot about IntenseDebate recently, in various blog posts and news sites (they were acquired by Automattic, the company behind WordPress, back in September). IntenseDebate is basically a set of tools that […]
[…] Intense Debate Goes Automattic […]
[…] the next level.” That’s the slogan right on the IntenseDebate front page. Since it was purchased by Automattic I figured I’d give it a good ol’ try when I posted my new theme a while […]
Still don’t have ID installed here, Matt?