Ben Werdmuller has been writing about the intersection of the internet, media, and democracy for over two decades.

He started one of the first open source social networking platforms, back before the term social media had even been coined. It was used to support communities by Fortune 500 companies, national governments, prominent NGOs, and social movements. It also was a part of the early open social web: the movement that has since spawned Bluesky and Mastodon.

Since then he's helped build many startups, often as the first employee, supported mission-driven entrepreneurs through early-stage investment, and led technology at Pulitzer Prize winning newsrooms – all without losing his values as a humanist technologist who wants to build a more informed, equal, and democratic society.

In Werd I/O, he discusses the business, culture, and implications of technology, outside of the hype cycle. Its readers include media executives, activists, startup founders, and Silicon Valley tech luminaries. It's always free, independent, and reader-supported.

He feels weird writing about himself in the third person.

Reader-supported but always free

There are no paywalls here. Every post is available for everyone to read on the open web.

Paid subscribers can leave comments on the posts; at higher tiers you'll be invited to regular informal meetups and have access to a regular scheduled call to discuss your hardest technology problems (or whatever you want). Because these tiers provide community and direct coaching, this is something you could also use a corporate education budget for.

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