Ben Werdmuller

I lead technology at ProPublica and write speculative fiction. This is a personal account.

Every day, I write about tech, democracy, and society at https://werd.io.

More about me: https://about.werd.io

#indieweb #opensource #journalism #writing #fiction #blogs #blogging #startups #openweb #web #fediverse #socialweb #ethics #product #writingcommunity #philadelphia #sanfrancisco

Blog / Newsletter: https://werd.io
Pronouns: he/him
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Signal: https://signal.me/#eu/_ehMeopT5JeELrkt2lSk-R0V6d1AsGt_3Q98UOJhgBMTal5EGTdNIbZHB9H9CqBn

Public Key

npub1lrqq7g0mzygss3gcuudug79snpd5gku6u24fghfj3u8kqtp573rqtjpn8w

NIP-05 Address

ben_at_werd.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs03sq0y8a3zyggg5vwwx7y0zcfsk6ytwdw9255t5eg7rmq9s60g3swx6dle

Author Public Key

npub1lrqq7g0mzygss3gcuudug79snpd5gku6u24fghfj3u8kqtp573rqtjpn8w

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Published at

2024-08-04T19:21:59Z

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Last Notes

2024-09-16 20:21:57

Over 50,000 people support @npub1qmg…s6k5's investigative journalism. We're a non-profit, web-first newsroom that investigates abuses of trust in the public interest.
We're beginning our fall member drive, and I want to show how vibrant and engaged the fediverse community is. If you have the means, please consider a donation.
https://give.propublica.org/give/346423/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=ben_mastodon
#journalism #fediverse

2024-08-24 12:51:28

I don't know that the combative language on this site is helpful. The Meta iconography isn't right, I agree - and I like this new symbol - but there's something off about calling them "a large corporation that is joining in as late". For one thing, they're early; for another, it seems to me that we want companies to participate? https://symbol.fediverse.info/

2024-08-04 18:36:28

If you admin a Mastodon server with multiple unrelated users - how much are you paying a month to run it? (eg through dedicated Mastodon hosting, AWS / GCP, etc) #Fediverse

2024-07-30 15:03:30

"Under this program, when Perplexity features content from these publishers in response to user queries, the publishers will receive a share of the ad revenue." Now we're talking. This was inevitable. #AI https://werd.io/2024/perplexity-is-cutting-checks-to-publishers-following-plagiarism-accusations

2024-07-30 14:23:41

What if the Harris campaign - or the White House - wanted to join the fediverse properly?
They'd have to admin their own Mastodon (or similar) instance.
I'm convinced there's a need for a VIP hosted instance for brands, government, professional organizations, and anyone who cares about branding, brand safety, analytics, tight links to other branded web properties (including WordPress integration), and professional moderation.
#fediverse

2024-07-26 20:26:26

"Flipboard has worked with local papers and websites since its inception. Now, as part of the gradual federation of our platform, we’re bringing some of those publications to the fediverse." Oh hell yes. #Fediverse https://werd.io/2024/flipboard-brings-local-news-to-the-fediverse

2024-07-25 17:43:46

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Also, uh, this is unaffiliated with @npub1qmg…s6k5, but it is my employer, where I lead technology. We do have Mastodon links on our author bios where journalists are active on the network.

2024-07-25 17:37:35

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This page lists a URL that you can use for a new share button. No need to sign up for anything. https://shareopenly.org/add/

2024-07-25 17:36:37

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I'm delighted to give direct support to anyone who wants to add ShareOpenly to their site. Email me at ben@benwerd.com

2024-07-23 01:28:47

A logo change is good; a name change would be much better. #Technology https://werd.io/2024/its-time-for-apache-to-change-its-name-not-just

2024-07-23 00:36:14

She's even got the coveted xkcd endorsement. https://xkcd.com/2962/

2024-07-22 14:22:35

"ChatGPT doesn’t summarise. When you ask ChatGPT to summarise this text, it instead shortens the text. And there is a fundamental difference between the two." #AI https://werd.io/2024/when-chatgpt-summarises-it-actually-does-nothing-of-the-kind

2024-07-22 01:27:00

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 00:15:08

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.

2024-07-18 22:07:37

Normalize data

2024-07-18 14:49:16

"Apple’s decision to strike a deal with Taboola is shocking and off-brand — so much so that I have started to question the company’s long-term commitment to good customer experience, including its commitment to privacy." #Technology https://werd.io/2024/taboola-apple-news-no-thanks

2024-07-17 19:28:59

- reply

Right now in some industries (looking at you, journalism) the social media stats are so bad that dropping any source of referrals is job-threatening. It's going to be up to top management at the very least to make a decision to move. Likely a CEO / Publisher-level choice.

2024-07-15 14:22:58

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.

2024-07-14 15:03:38

The news cycle has moved on, but just as a reminder, they’re still bombing the shit out of Gaza and killing civilians in enormous numbers.

2024-07-14 14:40:43

If you think shooting any political candidate is a good thing, I don't know what to tell you. Really surprised to see those takes floating around.
This isn't a hopes and prayers post. I just think if we believe in defending democracy, we actually have to believe in democracy. Even for the candidates who we think would destroy everything.

2024-07-04 14:00:05

So anyway, I'm sure we're all proud of our country today,

2024-06-18 20:47:39

RIP, Noam Chomsky. One of my absolute heroes.

2024-06-16 14:07:26

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

2024-06-12 02:08:15

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 14:11:01

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

2024-06-05 14:38:13

- reply

Thanks for expanding. I think understanding your position on this is really important. I definitely agree that DRM is not the objective; sitting in the US, I don't know that I trust the courts to get to the right place. There's a strong possibility that the EU will do better.

2024-06-05 14:24:03

- reply

In offering Glaze they do seek to prevent artists’ work from being ingested. But beyond Cara, do you see the wider point about consent and author control in the fediverse?

2024-06-03 14:35:56

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

2024-05-13 02:05:30

Who wants to build the fediverse equivalent of Upcoming.org?

2024-05-06 19:30:48

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

2024-05-01 01:20:33

A trusted, brilliant friend of mine is looking for a contract Next.js / React developer based in the US. For optional bonus points, you’re familiar with Sanity Studio. Is that you? If so, let’s talk!

2024-04-27 14:59:43

"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

2024-04-24 15:44:11

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

2024-04-22 14:31:26

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

2024-04-18 00:42:56

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

2024-04-17 22:36:18

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 01:25:35

"Virtually every single part of the self-publishing grift world that can be automated or monetized has been automated and monetized." #Media https://www.vox.com/culture/24128560/amazon-trash-ebooks-mikkelsen-twins-ai-publishing-academy-scam?utm_source=werd.io&utm_campaign=mastodon&utm_channel=mastodon

2024-04-14 23:29:21

I decided to give Tesla FSD a second chance today. Aside from the bit where it decided to turn onto an actual municipal train track and use it as a road, it did really well!