ben.werdmuller

ben.werdmuller, 1 day ago to random

I love seeing ShareOpenly in the wild! https://www.duncanmackenzie.net/blog/share-openly/

ben.werdmuller, 1 day ago to random

Following on from a great post by @hunterwalk that discussed a slightly flippant argument I made about stock options, I decided to go into more detail about how I feel about them. I still maintain: the great majority of startup employees should think very, very carefully before exercising their options. https://werd.io/2024/think-twice-before-exercising-your-stock-options

ben.werdmuller, 2 days ago to random

I'm really excited about these updates to ShareOpenly, my tool that lets you add a "share to social media" button to your website that understands the fediverse, Bluesky, and more: https://werd.io/2024/some-shareopenly-updates

ben.werdmuller, 3 days ago to random

On the eve of the broadcast of the new season of DoctorWho, here's what I would say to Russell T Davies if I could. https://werd.io/2024/a-letter-to-russell-t-davies

ben.werdmuller, 4 days ago to random

The rhetoric expressed by Palantir's CEO during its earnings call is incredibly regressive - it's really surprising to see these words expressed during a public company meeting. https://werd.io/2024/palantirs-earnings-call-rhetoric-is-terrifying

ben.werdmuller, 5 days ago to random

Something it’s taken me years to really understand:

A lot of the people with power in tech - investors and founders alike - already come from money. Both their networks and cultural norms are at least partially pre-formed.

You can sometimes shortcut this by making lots of money, eg by being early at a Google - but even then, hiring is largely network-based. It’s about who you know. And if you’re not from those circles or that world, you likely don’t know anyone.

ben.werdmuller, 6 days ago to random

Some work news. The most important thing is the impact of these pieces (and all our pieces) - hopefully the result is, in turn, a Supreme Court that better fulfills its role in our democracy, and both schools and a police force that better protect children. That's the kind of thing that makes it a real privilege to work here and support these journalists. https://www.propublica.org/article/pulitzer-prize-announcement-propublica-supreme-court

ben.werdmuller, 10 days ago to random

The big shiny new thing in tech is over here ---->

<---- The thing that will actually change the world is over here

ben.werdmuller, 12 days ago to random

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.

ben.werdmuller, 15 days ago to random

The internet is a global network with the potential to grow empathy and reduce our ability to dehumanize each other. That's why I love it: because I've seen what happens when we build a world where everyone is out for themselves. https://werd.io/2024/where-im-coming-from

ben.werdmuller, 18 days ago to random

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." https://digiday.com/marketing/as-tiktok-ban-threatens-stability-in-social-media-ecosystem-some-brands-settle-into-the-fediverse/

ben.werdmuller, 20 days ago to random

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

ben.werdmuller, 25 days ago to random

"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." https://www.citationneeded.news/ai-isnt-useless/

ben.werdmuller, 27 days ago to random

Do people at the IRS come home and be like, “I had a taxing day”

ben.werdmuller, 27 days ago to random

"I am absolutely convinced that journalism’s most essential role at this critical moment goes far, far beyond what it’s doing. The status quo in political (and related) coverage consists of sporadically noting that gosh-maybe-there’s-a-problem, while sticking mostly to journalistic business as usual. The status quo is journalistic malpractice." https://dangillmor.com/2024/04/14/whats-next-for-me/

ben.werdmuller, 29 days ago to random

The thing about most war commentary on social media is that it's speculative, almost on an entertainment level. Every time, there are people who bear the cost of this, who didn't ask for it, who don't endorse it, and yet will still pay an unimaginable price. It's described as points-scoring but it's death and suffering, children and families and innocent human beings, and their descendants, and theirs, and so on, for generations. There is no glory, there is no validity. It's sick.

ben.werdmuller, 1 month ago to random

Flipboard is doing absolutely wonderful work here. 🎉

RE: https://www.threads.net/@mmccue/post/C5pWffBLWL3

ben.werdmuller, 1 month ago to random

Just to be clear: every website that publishes articles on an ongoing basis should have an RSS feed. You might think it's a dead technology or something from the early 2000s! In fact, millions of people still use it, and RSS subscribers are some of the most engaged readers you can get. Don't skip it.

RE: https://www.threads.net/@ben.werdmuller/post/C5j2egeL78KscKgaxr2vlDdQQN1ygFRIslK0qU0

ben.werdmuller, 1 month ago to random

"You’ve also got to look at the long-term, at the end of the BBC, which somehow is surely undoubtedly on its way in some shape or form. What, is Doctor Who going to die then?"

This is a pretty clear-eyed quote from Russell T Davies. And there's more here, which is all about finding ways to tell these stories using whatever tools and vehicles and funding are available right now to do it.

Doctor Who is the best TV show ever made - and I'm grateful that he keeps finding ways to make it work.

https://gizmodo.com/doctor-who-russell-t-davies-disney-bigger-budget-bbc-1851372537

ben.werdmuller, 1 month ago to random

I can comfortably predict that Sam Bankman-Fried will be a high-priced corporate consultant within the next 10 years.

ben.werdmuller, 1 month ago to random

So I built a prototype of a thing to help people share to the fediverse (and beyond). It's a work in progress, and I'd love feedback. https://werd.io/2024/share-openly?2

ben.werdmuller, 1 month ago to random

"A social network based on the Mastodon codebase is now worth $11bn dollars" is not a great take because it misses a bunch of grifty, hateful context, but it's certainly an interesting chapter in open source social networking. (I also had someone build a Nazi-friendly network on one of my codebases, and I think about how I might prevent that from happening again a lot.)

ben.werdmuller, 1 month ago to random

My biggest takeaway from this is that I need a badass studio to work from. https://harper.blog/2024/03/26/our-office-avatar-pt-1-the-office-is-talking-shit-again/

ben.werdmuller, 1 month ago to random

Elon Musk set out to undermine Twitter's role in what he saw as a spreading "woke mind virus". He reoriented that platform around right-wing influencers and talking points and thought that would change the discussion.

It tanked.

Twitter was nowhere near as influential as he thought (and was already pretty toxic). He simply couldn't believe that people wanted a more inclusive, just world: something he has called the end of western civilization.

What he created was a huge platform shift.

ben.werdmuller, 1 month ago to random

Reposting now that we've hit this milestone: here's why I think the fediverse is important for media organizations. https://werd.io/2024/the-fediverse-for-media-organizations