Hello!

My name is John-Michael, but you can call me JM!

I'm a (new) solo entrepreneur and software engineer living in Greenville, South Carolina with my wife, Angélique, and our 3 absolutely wild sons: Wilder, Ransom, and Banner.

When we're not trying our hands at shepherding sheep or breeding chickens, we're probably traveling or planning to travel!

Now that you know a little bit about me, let's get to the real news:

I Bought a Zoo Plugin!

I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I purchased the Create WordPress plugin from Mediavine!

If you're not familiar with my history with Create, I was part of the original team that built it from the ground up, starting in 2018 and continuing until it was put in maintenance mode back in 2021. I think I speak for everyone when I say that Create is in desperate need of fresh attention, and I couldn't be more excited to give it just that.

Why This Matters

Since 2018, Create has been an essential tool for thousands of publishers, helping you create beautiful recipe cards, DIY guides, and other structured content that your readers love. But for the past four years, the plugin has been dwindling into obscurity with no new features, no innovation, just keeping the lights on.

I'd like to change that.

Why Me?

Mediavine chose to sell Create to me specifically for several reasons:

1. Very few people have as much context with Create as a product as I do
2. Seven years working directly with Mediavine and publishers has given me a solid understanding of your work, the problems you face, and the concerns you have
3. I believe passionately in Creator Independence (hey, that's me now!) and providing you with tools to help your business grow
4. My long tenure at Mediavine demonstrates genuine dedication to this community, and the resilience to navigate industry volatility

Additionally, we all agree that Create deserves renewed energy and focus.

You've been incredibly patient, but it's time to give you better!

The Elephant in the Room

I know ownership transitions can be unsettling. When a product we rely on changes hands, it's natural to worry about whether priorities will shift or if the experience we've come to trust will change (looking at you, Twitter!).

The good news in this case is that a "priority shift" simply means that Create is a priority once again.

That said, I will do everything in my power to hear your concerns and be cognizant of them as we move forward with Create.

There will be changes, of course, and I will approach each one carefully. If something changes in a way that doesn't work for you–or something breaks 🙈–I humbly ask for your patience and communication as we work together to resolve it!

What's Coming in Create 2.0

In the coming weeks, I am beyond excited to be releasing Create 2.0!

I'm working tirelessly on exciting new features, bug fixes, and enhancements that will make Create more powerful and enjoyable to use–including:

• Interactive Mode: A never-before-seen, immersive, full-screen experience for recipes and DIY projects that guides users step-by-step. Think of it as your card's moment in the spotlight
• Review responses (finally!): Engage directly with your readers where it matters most
• Servings adjustments: Let readers scale recipes up or down with automatic recalculation
• New card themes: Additional modern and elegant themes for your card content
• Speed improvements: Faster, more efficient performance under the hood

And this is just the beginning! After that, we'll see importer improvements, enhanced workflows, and additional features based on your feedback. Isn't this fun?!

Keeping Create Free

As independent content creators, you are familiar with the need to support yourself or your family while providing high-value content for your readers at no cost. I see Create as the same situation: you shouldn't have to pay for "premium" features like user ratings and nutrition calculation. At the same time, I have three growing boys to feed! 😂

That's why I have spent countless hours brainstorming, talking with publishers and friends, and losing sleep trying to figure out the best ways to accomplish both.

And, while I'm not quite ready to share all the details of the monetization plan today, I'm so excited to unveil the plan that will always provide an option allowing content creators to utilize the full suite of features at no direct cost.

More details coming very soon!

Let's Build This Together

In the meantime, while I'm busily wrapping up the upcoming 2.0 release, I'm here to listen, learn, and build something great with your input. Create's future will be shaped by the Create-ers who use it every day–including you!

I think this is a very exciting new chapter for Create, and I'm honored to be the one leading it. Thank you for your patience, your trust, and your support. I promise to earn it every single day.

— JM

P.S. Check out Mediavine's announcement!