Automattic’s Matt Mullenweg on facing exclusion in design with actions

AutomatticMIT Center for Civic Media and my company, The Mash-Up Americans, have been working together to have honest dialogues, build empathy and help make the world a more inclusive and compassionate place with technology and design. So far, we’ve laid out the problem, explored our assumptions, and talked about how we engage with one another online. In this, our fourth Design and Exclusion conversation, it’s time to get to work and talk about how we can effect positive change with our actions.

Amplifying voices and encouraging leadership from the margins is one of the ways that we are tackling the problem of exclusion. But there are many more strategies for the fight, including broadening our perspectives, changing our language and engaging with people who challenge us. And of course, one of the most effective weapons for fighting exclusion is inclusive design.

In this segment, I’m joined by Matt Mullenweg, CEO and founder of Automattic, and Aaron Walter, VP of Design Education at InVision, for a candid conversation about our challenges and solutions.

Before we start the dialogue with Matt and Aaron, you’ll hear from the community on how we get out of our own bubbles and start building empathy. As you listen, I invite all of you to ask a few questions: Who is invited to my circles now and who can I invite? How can I widen my perspective to build empathy? How can I, with whatever power and position I have, punch up against systems that create exclusion? (full transcript)