If you’re looking for a reason to write a WordPress plugin, here’s a good cause and a competition you might be interested in. The Change The World Challenge is a contest that asks developers all around the world to come up with a plugin, widget, website or other device using the Social Actions API. The WordPress blog encourages developers to go down the WordPress plugin route in this way:

Basically, the contest is to create a plugin, widget, mash up, hack, or other variety of web application that helps people find and share opportunities to take action. The grand prize is 50 benjis, and the best WordPress plugin will also be featured in the Plugin Directory. But the real prize is spreading a little more love in the world.

The main challenge, in my opinion, is to come up with a great idea; the coding is usually the easy part. It’s not just a matter of walking to a shop and buying the door hardware you need, it’s the process of imaging what it can be used for that’s the hard part. So if you come up with an idea, just let me know.