Ben Werdmuller
  • About me
  • Let's build together
  • Notable links
Sign in Subscribe

Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

Resetting professional goals

I’ve been spending some time looking carefully at my professional goals. A few years ago, I open sourced the mission / vision / tactical worksheet I’d been using, which was inspired by high-level organizational strategy. First, it invites you to consider your “mission”: This is your north star. For example,

03 Feb 2023

'I wiped my eyes and wrote the facts'

“As a reporter, I felt tasked with the duty of accurately representing this funeral and the vile circumstances that led to it. As a Black reporter, I felt a duty to bear witness to his unjust death and the burden of grief that came with it.” This edition of The

03 Feb 2023

In ‘The Last of Us,’ a survivor of the AIDS crisis saw his partner's death honored

““As I’m watching it, I’m like, ‘Oh my god,’ [‘The Last of Us’ co-showrunner] Craig Mazin wrote this piece that just made me feel like someone saw me and Robert,” he said. “Somehow Mazin wrote this piece of art that reflected not just the life that Robert and

03 Feb 2023

Squid skin inspires novel “liquid windows” for greater energy savings

“The idea of a building that can learn, that can adjust this dynamic array on its own to optimize for seasonal and daily changes in solar conditions, is very exciting for us.” No kidding!  #Science [Link]

03 Feb 2023

AI-Generated Voice Firm Clamps Down After 4chan Makes Celebrity Voices for Abuse

“In one example, a generated voice that sounds like actor Emma Watson reads a section of Mein Kampf. In another, a voice very similar to Ben Shapiro makes racist remarks about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In a third, someone saying “trans rights are human rights” is strangled.” #AI [Link]

03 Feb 2023

The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok

“This is enshittification: Surpluses are first directed to users; then, once they're locked in, surpluses go to suppliers; then once they're locked in, the surplus is handed to shareholders and the platform becomes a useless pile of shit. From mobile app stores to Steam, from Facebook

02 Feb 2023

I’m Now a Full-Time Professional Open Source Maintainer

“Long term, I want this model to grow beyond me and become a known professional path. This experiment is both easier and harder for me than it will be for those after me: easier because I have an extensive personal network and the financial means to safely take risks; harder

02 Feb 2023

The Celsius examiner's report: a picture of fraud and incompetence

“For some reason, Pillay stops short of outright stating that “Celsius was a Ponzi scheme”, but the facts speak for themselves.”  #Crypto [Link]

02 Feb 2023

Child care crisis is causing parents to leave their jobs or get fired, study shows

"Of the parents surveyed, 26 percent quit their jobs because of child care problems and 23 percent were fired. The number of parents who were fired or had their pay reduced is three times as high as it was just five years ago. The rate of parents quitting has

02 Feb 2023

Where is abortion legal? Almost half of all Americans aren’t sure, new poll shows

“Half of women are unsure if medication abortion is legal in their state, and a third don’t know if they are allowed to access emergency contraceptive pills, new polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) found.”  #Society [Link]

01 Feb 2023

ShotSpotter Employees Not Only Have The Power To Alter Gunshot Reports, But Do It Nearly 10% Of The Time

“ShotSpotter’s human techs don’t just alter reports to distinguish things like a car’s backfiring from a suspected criminal’s gun firing. They also alter determinations and gunshot locations to better serve the needs of law enforcement agencies that interact with them.”  #Technology [Link]

01 Feb 2023

Media's Money Problem

“Low pay and grueling hours mean barriers to entry that skew journalism toward a certain demographic — white and male. It’s impossible to do your best work shining light on the activities of elected officials when you make $12 an hour and those same elected officials are organizing social media

01 Feb 2023
See all
Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

Writing at the intersection of technology, journalism, and community.

Recommendations

  • Elena Rossini
    Elena Rossini
    news.elenarossini.com

    Elena Rossini is an Italian filmmaker, photographer and activist. Her work focuses on issues of media literacy, digital sovereignty, and harnessing the power of the internet for change.

  • Relay, By We Distribute
    Relay, By We Distribute
    newsletter.wedistribute.org

    A weekly newsletter about the open social web. We Distribute is the best website about the next generation of social networks - their newsletter is a regular dive into what's going on.

  • Internet Exchange
    Internet Exchange
    internet.exchangepoint.tech

    Feminist perspectives on digital justice and tech from some of the most important voices in ethical tech.

  • When The Going Gets Weird
    When The Going Gets Weird
    newsletter.mathewingram.com

    Mathew Ingram, a longtime journalist whose bylines have chronicled the intersection of journalism and the web, shares links that interest him.

  • Point C
    Point C
    pointc.co

    Corey Ford has been a mentor and friend for over a decade. His advice changed my professional life, and now it can change yours, too.

Ben Werdmuller
Mastodon
Bluesky
Threads

Subscribe to new posts

Ben Werdmuller explores the intersection of technology, democracy, and society. Always independently published, reader-supported, and free to read.