Ben Werdmuller :ben: :tardis:

CTO at The 19th, helping to build a more equitable news media.

I blog at https://werd.io. I'm also in the midst of writing a novel.

 Previously, I co-founded Elgg and Known, was Director of Investments at Matter, and built software at Medium.

#fedi22 #indieweb #opensource #journalism #writing #fiction #blogs #blogging #equality #equity #startups #openweb #web #elgg #withknown #fediverse #socialweb #ethics #product #writingcommunity #philadelphia #sanfrancisco

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npub1988zenmhu5tdfz5lhq0ph7u7gv8qpfykplmr4mjxa79kuaslnseqaeu2yx

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsznn3veam729k5320ms8smlw0yxrsq5jtqla36aerwlzmwwc0ecvsprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wdmksetjv5hxxmmdqy2hwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnddaehgu3wwp6ky27se5d

Publishing to

relay.noswhere.com

relay.mostr.pub

Author Public Key

npub1988zenmhu5tdfz5lhq0ph7u7gv8qpfykplmr4mjxa79kuaslnseqaeu2yx

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Last Notes

2024-09-10 19:23:23

What's the best non-Kindle e-reader these days? I'm looking for an e-ink screen, so an iPad or phone won't cut it.

2024-09-09 05:41:57

Finishing the weekend utterly overwhelmed. Trying to get it together to sleep. And then, all the things that follow.

2024-08-03 16:33:14

We think of Apple as a hardware company. But increasingly, its hardware is a vehicle for recurring revenue from its services business. #Technology https://werd.io/2024/existential-thoughts-about-apples-reliance-on-services-revenue

2024-08-02 04:52:45

Let's build.

2024-07-22 03:27:00

White House aides first learned Biden was dropping out on X. But aides should have learned that the President was dropping out of the election race on the fediverse. In this blog post I will

2024-07-22 02:15:08

I’d love to see a lot more people talking about JD Vance’s support for Curtis Yarvin, who believes in the reinstatement of slavery, in replacing the democratically elected government with a CEO king, and that Hitler was acting in self defense.

2024-07-15 16:22:58

I do sometimes wonder why I stay in this country. I wasn’t born here. I don’t need to. I’ve been a citizen all my life but I don’t feel like I need to live it. I have a young son to protect. This all feels like it’s going south very quickly.

2024-07-11 23:00:50

Coming to the conclusion that I want to run a media (un)conference around platform in particular: people who are building on the web, thinking about the fediverse, worrying about the technical and product sides of distribution, and so on. These conversations feel missing to me. In Silicon Valley they think in terms of inventing the future; it’s long past time that media thought the same way.

2024-07-05 02:16:33

What if power-intensive computing technologies like AI and blockchains were being underwritten by energy companies taking significant LP positions in venture firms

2024-07-04 23:56:00

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@npub1grx…uxfe Ah. I unfortunately can't view anything other than the first tweet. (No X account.) Sorry to ask this, but is there a ThreadReader version or similar?

2024-07-04 23:51:57

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@npub1grx…uxfe Link to thread?

2024-07-04 23:30:39

STRAIGHT INTO MY VEINS
https://cdn.masto.host/werdsocial/media_attachments/files/112/730/349/838/360/695/original/d4afb488e781ea31.png

2024-07-04 06:57:54

From Cloudflare: "To help preserve a safe Internet for content creators, we’ve just launched a brand new “easy button” to block all AI bots. It’s available for all customers, including those on our free tier." #AI https://werd.io/2024/declare-your-aindependence-block-ai-bots-scrapers-and-crawlers-with

2024-07-03 16:44:35

I have enormous FOMO from not working directly on building the fediverse, which I think is the single most exciting thing to happen to the web in decades. But at the same time, I’m really glad to be working to support a newsroom doing meaningful work at this point in history. (And it seems to me that they don’t need to be mutually exclusive.)

2024-07-02 23:21:37

My employer just released a full, unedited interview with President Biden, so you can make your mind up about how he performs in an unscripted situation. It’s just a data point, but hopefully it helps. https://www.propublica.org/article/biden-interview-unedited-september-2023

2024-07-02 15:35:40

The things people are rightly worried about Trump doing domestically are often things that the US has done internationally to other countries under every President.
Everyone is right to be worried. I am too. But one day I’d love it if everyone could be worried about what we do to other countries, too.

2024-06-28 04:48:45

Let me join the chorus of people saying: we are fucked.
Now: how can we change that?

2024-06-28 03:35:28

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Democrats: your goal must be to prevent a fascist theocracy, not defend the institutional status quo.

2024-06-28 03:33:23

There are a bunch of old-school Democrat advisors who need to be fired. Let them go off into the sunset. Hire the people who understand what media looks like today, stop using phone polls, and understand the cultural landscape you're actually in. You can't run an election like it's 2008. It's simply not.

2024-06-28 03:19:18

Uh, I would feel considerably better if Biden was performing better in this debate. This is terrifying.

2024-06-27 15:17:04

Who is doing the best investigative journalism that covers America's (and Europe's) actions overseas and its impact? I'm craving a more critical eye, but not one that's hyperbolic or prone to polemics.

2024-06-25 17:35:23

I truly wish there was a way to search for a URL across Mastodon instances and total how often it had been shared publicly and who did the posting. Would be a game-changer for promoting the fediverse within news.

2024-06-25 16:50:58

"The Associated Press announced today it will create a sister organization to fundraise for and support state and local journalism." Fascinating! And much needed. #Media https://werd.io/2024/ap-to-launch-sister-organization-to-fundraise-for-state-local

2024-06-22 18:13:18

In 2024, in the midst of war, climate change, and the global rise of fascism, the need for critical thinking, independent thought, and democratic action is stronger than ever before. Some thoughts: https://werd.io/2024/dont-let-them-tell-you-what-to-think
#democracy #media #journalism

2024-06-21 15:29:23

#AI
https://cdn.masto.host/werdsocial/media_attachments/files/112/654/846/041/796/373/original/bc29117619c4a4af.jpeg

2024-06-21 15:23:54

I really wish being a nationalist and being pro-war were minority positions.

2024-06-20 16:24:52

"This entire class of person is, to put it simply, abhorrent to right-thinking people. They're an embarrassment to people that are actually making advances in the field, a disgrace to people that know how to sensibly use technology to improve the world, and are also a bunch of tedious know-nothing bastards that should be thrown into Thought Leader Jail until they've learned their lesson, a prison I'm fundraising for." I enjoyed this. #AI https://werd.io/2024/i-will-piledrive-you-if-you-mention-ai-again

2024-06-18 17:19:54

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@npub1ks4…x88p Given the internationality of it all (which is good!) that would probably need to be something like Brave's blockchain-based approach, which I've got to admit I'm not very excited by.

2024-06-18 16:49:52

"Earning a decent, reliable income as a social-media creator is a slog—and it’s getting harder. Platforms are doling out less money for popular posts and brands are being pickier about what they want out of sponsorship deals." #Culture https://werd.io/2024/social-media-influencers-arent-getting-richtheyre-barely-getting-by

2024-06-16 16:07:26

The FTC on AI: "Don’t misrepresent what these services are or can do. Your therapy bots aren’t licensed psychologists, your AI girlfriends are neither girls nor friends, your griefbots have no soul, and your AI copilots are not gods." #AI https://werd.io/2024/succor-borne-every-minute

2024-06-16 14:58:43

I love this NASA Progress Flag: https://www.tumblr.com/andrewducker/753382998479683584?source=share

2024-06-15 00:57:32

"The U.S. military launched a clandestine program amid the COVID crisis to discredit China’s Sinovac inoculation. Health experts say the gambit was indefensible and put innocent lives at risk." #Health https://werd.io/2024/pentagon-ran-secret-anti-vax-campaign-to-incite-fear-of-china

2024-06-14 13:54:19

"Our lives are consumed with the consumption of content, but we no longer know the truth when we see it. And when we don’t know how to weigh different truths, or to coordinate among different real-world experiences to look behind the veil, there is either cacophony or a single victor: a loudest voice that wins." #AI https://werd.io/2024/the-encyclopedia-project-or-how-to-know-in-the-age

2024-06-13 14:14:54

"[Microsoft] dismissed warnings about a critical flaw because it feared losing government business. Russian hackers later used the weakness to breach the National Nuclear Security Administration." #Technology https://werd.io/2024/microsoft-refused-to-fix-flaw-years-before-solarwinds-hack

2024-06-13 13:03:27

This is a damning story: Microsoft knowingly chose its own profits over fixing a major SSO vulnerability that allowed the SolarWinds hack to take place. #technology #security https://www.propublica.org/article/microsoft-solarwinds-golden-saml-data-breach-russian-hackers

2024-06-12 18:57:55

Being an elder carer is a privilege, and also, unfortunately, sometimes a terrifying experience. Today has been one of those days. No need to reply, but all warm, healing thoughts appreciated.

2024-06-12 15:10:08

I am having a hell of a day in the midst of a hell of a week, but I wanted to say: I love the fediverse and I love being here with all of you.

2024-06-12 14:40:08

"We updated our “Supreme Connections” database on Wednesday with new entries from recently released financial disclosures from Supreme Court justices, as well as five filings from 2003 to 2007 we had previously been missing." Check it out: https://www.propublica.org/article/supreme-connections-database-updated-scotus-disclosures

2024-06-12 04:08:15

The last time I asked for donations here, the fediverse delivered. So many more people care about investigating abuses of trust in the public interest on Mastodon than on any other social network. If you have the ability, please consider donating to ProPublica today: https://give.propublica.org/give/346423/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=ben-mastodon
#fediverse #journalism #news

2024-06-11 16:39:25

Which newsrooms are embracing the fediverse most completely?
#fediverse #journalism #news

2024-06-11 16:11:01

I have a solution to the twin problems of public school funding and teacher pay the militarization of the police and police reform
I'm proud to announce TANKS FOR SCHOOLS
Does your school need a tank
How about a cadre of drones
Perchance a microwave weapon
All your school needs to do is register itself as a police department
Petty crimes will now be investigated by 8 year olds, but teachers will earn six figures (win-win)
Warrantless surveillance tech is educational too
Go bears

2024-06-10 17:46:19

Switching to standing at my desk by default. It’s a mess, but it’s mine.
https://cdn.masto.host/werdsocial/media_attachments/files/112/593/100/744/653/321/original/84389ca5e444a11c.jpeg

2024-06-09 20:56:12

My back hurts. It's time to do something about getting older. https://werd.io/2024/its-time-to-get-real-im-not-25-anymore

2024-06-09 17:08:34

I live in a swing state today, and I’m pleased to be able to vote in this year’s election from that position.
I’ll tell you, though, that if a certain someone wins, living in the most liberal state possible will make a huge difference to me and my kid. Living under this kind of conservatism is untenable.

2024-06-08 17:10:09

"Chamber of Progress, a tech industry coalition whose members include Amazon, Apple and Meta, is launching a campaign to defend the legality of using copyrighted works to train artificial intelligence systems." #AI https://werd.io/2024/ai-lobbying-group-launches-campaign-defending-tech

2024-06-07 17:22:44

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@npub16gl…syzj No, that's not it - I'll see if I can find something. Here's a Wired article that describes how it stood in 2014: https://www.wired.com/2014/09/known/

2024-06-07 17:16:28

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@npub16gl…syzj I'm enthusiastic and following closely!
I publish using Known (my own CMS) and write in iA Writer across platforms.

2024-06-07 15:31:59

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@npub16gl…syzj The funny thing is, this was also the explicit goal of Ghost when it was launched. Which has got some of the way there and is now pushing independent journalism forward in particular. I'm with you. We need more!

2024-06-07 15:20:11

I found this post about the authenticated web via @npub1ahr…m294, but I'm being asked to subscribe at over $50/mo to read it, so I won't - which either reinforces the point made in the article or utterly contradicts it. I'll never know. https://digiday.com/media/wtf-is-the-authenticated-web/

2024-06-06 00:09:14

"An important step toward a more interoperable “fediverse” — the broader network of decentralized social media apps like Mastodon, Bluesky and others — has been achieved." Ryan's come to the rescue with Bridgy once again. #Fediverse https://werd.io/2024/bluesky-and-mastodon-users-can-now-talk-to-each-other

2024-06-05 15:58:32

I have a few thoughts about the upcoming British general election. None of them particularly polite. https://werd.io/2024/a-jab-back-at-brexit-or-a-kick-in-the

2024-06-05 14:57:21

"The pervasive nature of modern technology makes surveillance easier than ever before, while each successive generation of the public is accustomed to the privacy status quo of their youth." #Technology https://werd.io/2024/online-privacy-and-overfishing

2024-06-04 15:41:58

This is a lovely piece about Tony Stubblebine, who, as it rightly says, is doing an excellent job as the new CEO of Medium. #Technology https://werd.io/2024/how-tony-stubblebine-turned-medium-around-in-the-ai-era

2024-06-03 22:20:59

Love this. https://tinyawards.net/

2024-06-03 16:35:56

There's no good way to prevent AI models from being trained on art published on the fediverse. But there's work we can do to prevent it and protect the artists who post there. #fediverse https://werd.io/2024/protecting-artists-on-the-fediverse

2024-06-03 12:43:57

“Nine witnesses in the criminal cases against former President Donald Trump have received significant financial benefits, including large raises from his campaign, severance packages, new jobs, and a grant of shares and cash from Trump’s media company.” #democracy https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-criminal-cases-witnesses-financial-benefits

2024-05-31 21:14:43

"The key to effective engineering leadership lies in figuring out which scenarios are worth deliberately defying conventional logic, and when to simply follow the rules." Lots of food for thought here. #Technology https://werd.io/2024/unexpected-anti-patterns-for-engineering-leaders

2024-05-29 04:33:36

We’re being asked to align ourselves with some weird ideological lines. But the killing has to stop. Thoughts on Gaza: https://werd.io/2024/can-we-at-least-agree-that-killing-is-wrong

2024-05-27 20:20:32

On answering programming questions: "We found that 52 percent of ChatGPT answers contain misinformation, 77 percent of the answers are more verbose than human answers, and 78 percent of the answers suffer from different degrees of inconsistency to human answers." #AI https://werd.io/view/6654cee735684fb99a004842

2024-05-27 17:30:46

“Human-centered design for engineers”: a book for engineers on small teams who want to be more effective with fewer resources and solve real, unmet problems for the people they’re building for more quickly than they otherwise might.

2024-05-27 02:29:56

I see free speech like the free market. Without rules, the powerful will always benefit. Moderation enables new ideas and less powerful communities to truly be heard.

2024-05-25 20:53:41

"At least two digital media companies are exploring the fediverse as a way to take more control over their referral traffic and onsite audience engagement." The Verge and 404 Media will both support ActivityPub and the fediverse. #Fediverse https://werd.io/view/665233a622e6230d5c0d69d2

2024-05-24 17:09:32

"It’s simply too early to get into bed with the companies that trained their models on professional content without permission and have no compelling case for how they will help build the news business." #AI https://werd.io/view/6650ad27ca5e257d7d0600f2

2024-05-24 14:42:31

The biggest issue that’s turning up for me about AI is not the models, hallucinations, etc, but how leakily AI-enabled services share potentially sensitive data with third parties. Using AI to process or read aloud a confidential document? Guess what, a third party you have no control over has a copy of it now.

2024-05-23 16:21:12

I wrote up some thoughts about the things newsrooms need to do right now in order to survive the massive search engine and audience squeeze they're experiencing. TLDR: so much of it comes down to creating an open-minded culture of experimentation. #journalism #media https://werd.io/2024/dispatches-from-the-media-apocalypse

2024-05-21 13:47:27

Which newsrooms are doing a good job of in-house technical and product innovation? What makes them stand out in your mind?

2024-05-20 17:39:12

"I want the IndieWeb to be a viable alternative to social media, gradually widening the audience beyond tech-savvy folks by making the tools easier to use and more reliable." This is what we were trying for with Known. #Technology https://werd.io/view/664b6e260510a99fb30adb72

2024-05-18 03:52:28

This week’s #DoctorWho had a lot of good things to say and was gripping from start to finish. Really appreciated the anti-war, who-really-benefits message. Still the best show ever.

2024-05-17 18:58:52

A lovely blog post by Jon Hicks on his process for creating the ShareOpenly icon. Characteristically, lots of care and attention went into this. #Technology https://werd.io/view/66478c57e052fabafd0db252

2024-05-16 13:34:49

If Google makes its money through contextual ads on search results pages now, in an AI-driven world it’ll make its money through sponsored answers (or just contextual ads related to the answers). The way sites will continue to get traffic is through buying ads.

2024-05-15 15:58:27

“It’s all about destroying the trust with the citizens to the point where they would tolerate something like doing away with public schools.” #Education https://werd.io/view/6644bf224f7eb5ae2d0736c2

2024-05-13 17:17:03

"Aggregate Facebook traffic to a group of 792 news and media sites that have been tracked by Chartbeat since 2018 shows that referrals to the sites have plunged by 58%." Establish direct relationships with your audience. #Media https://werd.io/view/66422eae8d950c23e9030e32

2024-05-13 16:16:33

I'm really confused about these Philadelphia Inquirer ads. Seems like picking a fight for no reason. https://werd.io/2024/the-philedelphia-inquirer-is-here-to-fight

2024-05-12 19:28:44

"British newspaper groups have warned Apple that any move to impose a so-called "web eraser" tool to block advertisements would put the financial sustainability of journalism at risk, the Financial Times reported on Sunday." Counterpoint: block the ads. #Media https://werd.io/view/6640fbf0ac0a7b80eb0d7a02

2024-05-10 03:03:50

I'm not sure a deeply regressive libertarian magazine funded by millionaires counts as "pirate" or "wires".

2024-05-10 02:35:13

People can talk all they want about "freedom technology", but nobody is free until everybody is free.

2024-05-08 22:40:51

I could use some unfiltered advice about what I should be doing to make my blog and newsletter more useful or interesting. They’re both relative small scale. If I approach it from a public service perspective, what’s the most useful thing I could be doing? https://werd.io

2024-05-08 16:11:38

ShareOpenly now has a beautiful icon, designed by @npub13xq…r9us. The story behind it and an easy way to embed it on your own website to come. https://shareopenly.org/

2024-05-07 01:59:31

"Researchers have devised an attack against nearly all virtual private network applications that forces them to send and receive some or all traffic outside of the encrypted tunnel designed to protect it from snooping or tampering." #Technology https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/05/novel-attack-against-virtually-all-vpn-apps-neuters-their-entire-purpose/?utm_source=werd.io&utm_campaign=mastodon&utm_channel=mastodon

2024-05-06 22:22:55

God. The juxtaposition of Palestinians cheering at the news that Hamas agreed to Egypt's ceasefire terms and the news that Israel won't agree and will continue the operation in Rafah is heartbreaking.

2024-05-06 21:30:48

The newsroom I work for just won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service journalism. Neat! https://werd.io/2024/my-employer-won-a-pulitzer

2024-05-06 18:58:38

The folks at @npub1efg…sd7m are committed to covering voting rights in this very important election - as they should. It's worth your time to take a look. If you have the means, consider supporting their work. https://19thnews.org/2024/05/voting-rights-coverage-2024/

2024-05-06 04:08:31

What are you great at?

2024-05-05 15:44:07

Living that chronically underslept adrenaline + cortisol + DayQuil dad life

2024-05-01 18:43:10

Substack says that active chat participants are 12% more likely to subscribe. It's a self-selecting group: people who are interested enough to sign up and build a relationship with you. That's why email subscribers are also more likely to donate or pay.
You don't need Substack. If people are interested in your community, they will also sign up on your own website. The key is to give them the opportunity to take an action to deepen your relationship with them, and for you to reach them directly.

2024-04-30 20:38:01

I love the trend of journalists starting up their own independent subscription newsletters / websites. I don't love that they're doing it on Substack.

2024-04-27 16:59:43

"The most pressing threats to our safety as Jewish students do not come from tents on campus. Instead, they come from the Columbia administration inviting police onto campus, certain faculty members, and third-party organizations that dox undergraduates." #Democracy https://zeteo.com/p/i-am-a-jewish-student-at-columbia?triggerShare=true?utm_source=werd.io&utm_campaign=mastodon&utm_channel=mastodon

2024-04-27 03:14:04

I wrote about the life experiences (mine and my family's) that led to my worldview, why I believe in an open, progressive world, and why I'm motivated to build an open social web. https://werd.io/2024/where-im-coming-from

2024-04-25 02:37:51

Some thoughts on America's ban on TikTok. It's as stupid today as it was when Trump first proposed it: https://werd.io/2024/the-xenophobic-un-american-tiktok-ban

2024-04-24 17:44:11

Buried here: "Vox Media’s technology news publication The Verge says it also has plans to federate its own site to have more ownership over its content and audience." #Media https://digiday.com/marketing/as-tiktok-ban-threatens-stability-in-social-media-ecosystem-some-brands-settle-into-the-fediverse/?utm_source=werd.io&utm_campaign=mastodon&utm_channel=mastodon

2024-04-24 04:22:57

Where are people live-posting about Eurovision this year?

2024-04-24 03:24:02

“The FTC’s final rule to ban noncompetes will ensure Americans have the freedom to pursue a new job, start a new business, or bring a new idea to market.” This is genuinely wonderful. #Business https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/04/ftc-announces-rule-banning-noncompetes?utm_source=werd.io&utm_campaign=mastodon&utm_channel=mastodon

2024-04-23 03:21:14

"This has long been the dream, and it seems like the platforms betting on it in various ways — Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, Flipboard, and others — are where all the energy is, while attempts to rebuild closed systems keep hitting the rocks." #Technology https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/22/24137296/ghost-newsletter-activitypub-fediverse-support?utm_source=werd.io&utm_campaign=mastodon&utm_channel=mastodon

2024-04-22 16:31:26

This. Is. Awesome. https://activitypub.ghost.org/

2024-04-22 15:41:46

"A recent MIT study indicated that “the cloud” now has a larger carbon footprint than the airline industry, and that “a single data center can consume the equivalent electricity of 50,000 homes.”" #Climate https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2024/04/the-internet-and-climate-change/?utm_source=werd.io&utm_campaign=mastodon&utm_channel=mastodon

2024-04-18 15:23:53

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@npub19lt…qfjk I LOVE THIS

2024-04-18 15:20:36

OK, real talk. I don't need any more side projects, but I also just renewed the domain name my.dad. I didn't use it last year and I'm telling myself that I have to do something good with it this year or I'll let it expire. What should I do with it?

2024-04-18 02:42:56

I am convinced that ActivityPub is going to change the entire web.

2024-04-18 00:36:18

What’s the best, most straightforward explanation of how ActivityPub actually works? I’m looking for how the data flows, what an inbox is, what happens when you post, etc, rather than how to implement the exact feed specs, which libraries to pick, or what Mastodon is.

2024-04-17 18:51:59

"I find my feelings about AI are actually pretty similar to my feelings about blockchains: they do a poor job of much of what people try to do with them, they can't do the things their creators claim they one day might, and many of the things they are well suited to do may not be altogether that beneficial." #Technology https://www.citationneeded.news/ai-isnt-useless/?utm_source=werd.io&utm_campaign=mastodon&utm_channel=mastodon