Skip to content
Matt Cromwell

Matt Cromwell

  • About
  • Blog
  • Subscribe
  • Podcast
  • Ask Matt
Matt Cromwell
Matt Cromwell

The Power and Responsibility of Privilege

Web development work can be hard sometimes. I can spend hours upon hours on a project only to find that…

April 1, 2013April 18, 2013 Last updated: April 18, 2013

first-world-problems

Web development work can be hard sometimes. I can spend hours upon hours on a project only to find that I started it all on the wrong foot, or occasionally, the client suddenly has different needs. A lot of the work I do is impacted by circumstances outside my immediate control.

But let’s not kid ourselves, these are “first world problems.” The flexibility, the fair compensation, the joy of using both sides of my brain in my work, being my own boss … I mean really, we web developers have it nice.

Click the image to read the full comic... it's hilarious!

This is an excerpt from “The Oatmeal.” Click here to read the full comic… it’s hilarious!

My wife is a nurse, which is also a job with benefits. But sometimes, my complaints about my work pale when she comes home and casually tells me she unsuccessfully attempted to resuscitate a patient that day.

Still, one trend I see in blogs for freelancers and startups is the ever illusive “10 Steps to Make Your Startup or Freelance Career Lucrative!” So it was extremely refreshing, and a major perspective reminder to read Anil Dash‘s “Ten Tips Guaranteed To Improve Your Startup Success“. Tip #1 already “tips” the hat to what he’s talking about:

Be raised with access to clean drinking water and sanitation. (Every tech billionaire I’ve ever spoken to has a toilet!)

I’ll let you read the rest. It’s a good reminder of how good we have it.

Leveraging your Privilege for Good

After reading the article though, you then have to ask what do we do with the knowledge of our own privilege. I don’t have it all together, but I’ll tell you that I’m doing my best now to use my business to benefit others besides myself. I specifically try to help orphans and refugees. You can read about how I do that here. My friend Adam McLane does something similar. He sponsors people in other countries through Kiva. Check out his page, it’s amazing to see all the folks who have benefited just because Adam does great websites for his clients.

How do you confront and/or challenge your privilege? How do you leverage it to benefit others? If you don’t yet, how will you start thinking about this and build in some?

I send one email a week with original content I don’t publish anywhere else. I read and reply to every response—so if you’re growing a WordPress product business, subscribe and let’s talk.

Subscribe

Processing

Congrats on subscribing, check your email for a personal message from me.

Avatar photo
Matt Cromwell

Senior Director of Customer Experience at StellarWP

I write about the freemium WordPress business with tips on marketing and customer experience. If you’d like to get my posts directly in your inbox, head here to subscribe.

Facebook X YouTube Linkedin Goodreads

Post navigation

Previous Previous
Chris Lema is Haunting me
NextContinue
Incorporating Our Randomly Gifted Aspects
  • Terms
  • Follow me on Social

© 2025 Matt Cromwell. All Rights Reserved. Proudly built with WordPress and KadenceWP.

Ready to dive in?

Start your free trial today.

  • About
  • Blog
  • Subscribe
  • Podcast
  • Ask Matt