Here’s the problem I have with Clubhouse: I’m deaf. I cannot use Clubhouse at all.
1/14

On the one hand, I don’t expect every product to always include captions or the like from day one. Many products still don’t, and as someone with hearing loss, it sucks.
2/14

Take podcasts: there’s a lot of quality content that I can’t consume because it isn’t transcribed. Video calls are improving, but still suck.
3/14

On the other hand, unlike podcasts or video calls, Clubhouse’s goal is to create a community. It’s literally a social network based on voice.
4/14

Marginalized members of the broader design and tech community already struggle with inclusion. It affects every part of our professional lives.
5/14

When the design and tech community embraces Clubhouse and says through their actions that “This is where our community is,” that community looks back at a part of itself and says, “You do not belong to our community.”
6/14

That's exclusion. And, in turn, raises a much tougher challenge. What do we do about it?
7/14

This isn’t about just about accessibility. It’s about the broader social impact that products and design decisions can have and our ethical obligations when we work in this industry.
8/14

I think there’s a mistaken belief that products have to get it right and perfect for everyone from the beginning.
9/14

Inclusive design principles don’t tell us to “make products for everyone:” they tell us that if we solve the needs of those with disabilities, then it inherently benefits everyone.
10/14

Clubhouse is interesting because it’s specifically an audio-driven social network. Inclusive design here means recognizing a social network based on voice would exclude those who can’t hear.
11/14

Finding ways to include those people would benefit many more: those whose audio is broken, those who have loud construction on the street, those who have an ear infection. There are many possible solutions. Voice-based doesn’t mean voice only.
12/14

The problem I have with Clubhouse is that it’s designed to exclude.

Whether or not it was designed that way on purpose is beside the point.
13/14

We as a community should not support that—and we should use it as motivation to take a fresh look at our own work and ask, "Who are we excluding?"
14/14