Matt Mullenweg created the open source blogging platform to let anyone share their story on the Internet.
Sometimes the most generous acts come out of offering your work and yourself up to others. That's exactly what Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress and founder of Automattic, did with WordPress, a blogging tool and content management system. What may very well be his greatest achievement is available for anyone to use and benefit from for free.
"I was much more concerned with getting something out in the world that I thought the world needed," Mullenweg says of his blogging site, which recently celebrated it's 10th anniversary.
While creating his own website, Mullenweg discovered open-source software that makes source code available for anyone to study, change, and distribute at no cost and for any purpose. Without Mullenweg's ability to build upon what came before him through open source, WordPress may not exist today.
"It just seemed like good karma to make WordPress also open source, even though that doesn't necessarily lend itself to business models, investing, and stuff like that," Mullenweg says. "We're all laying down bricks on the path for whatever comes afterward."