Ben Werdmuller helps leaders at newsrooms, non-profits, and mission-driven organizations to navigate their biggest technology challenges.
I was pleased to attend the Online Journalism Awards on Saturday night. Some winning highlights included: The 19th won a Breaking News award for its coverage of the Dobbs decision, including some really great data journalism. I’m proud of, and very happy for, my friends there. By the way,
I’m surprised that mandatory disclosure of carbon emissions isn’t widespread - it does seem like the prerequisite to making any change. And yeah, these companies should pay. And be forced to reduce their emissions. And be fined heavily, and prosecuted, when they don’t. #Climate [Link]
Remote workers feel less connected to company missions, but the big message here is that nobody really feels all that connected. There are no superficial answers here: the real differentiators are better company cultures where people feel truly valued, much stronger communication, and better missions. #Labor [Link]
Good commentary on the dissonance between vendors like Microsoft banning scraping of their platforms while simultaneously releasing products that depend on scraping other peoples' data. Some sort of commons agreement would go a long way here, but it won't happen while platforms can get away with this
A neat rule: union-busters must recognize the unions they're trying to undermine. The union rebound continues. #Labor [Link]
I’ve come away from the Online News Association conference with a really familiar feeling: somewhere between unsettled and frustrated. Not at journalists, I hasten to add, who are doing important, democratic work despite shrinking budgets and adverse conditions. But a little bit at the business sides of their organizations,
I think it’s important to prefix this post with the obvious: I am not a fan or apologist for Donald Trump. I think he’s nakedly undermined the workings of democracy, and has used the authoritarian playbook to build a movement that is, at its heart, anti-immigrant, anti-
I'd love to understand what prompted Automattic to offer a hosting plan for $38K. On one level, I love it - it lasts for 100 years! and I love Automattic! - but I can't justify this, and I'm not quite sure who it's for?
It’s been fascinating to watch AI vendors like Microsoft try to sell their emerging products to industries like news publishing. Having come from tech startup-land, with both feet now firmly planted in nonprofit-news-land, I find myself wondering if I have a unique perspective, or if everyone
Republicans think cities are much less safe than Democrats do. San Francisco and Philadelphia (my old neighborhood and new one) are notable here: Democrats agree that they're pretty safe, whereas Republicans seem to think they're war zones. I think we can solidly blame conservative media propaganda
Less than a quarter of Americans know they don't have meaningful privacy protections on the internet. The first step to changing this fact might be to change this number. #Democracy [Link]
Customs and Border Protection is using sentiment analysis on inbound and outbound travelers who "may threaten public safety, national security, or lawful trade and travel". That's dystopian enough in itself, but there's no way they could limit the trawl to those people, and claims