Ben Werdmuller
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Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

Writing

Don't Just Create One Big Story, Build a Mosaic of Tiny Stories!

“I often find a really good story is made up of a ton of smaller stories, like building blocks or facets, which enrich the whole by adding more random choices and disasters and discoveries that people made a long time ago. How do you go about doing this? Just look

29 Nov 2022

The fediverse and the indieweb

I love the indieweb and what it stands for: When you post something on the web, it should belong to you, not a corporation. Too many companies have gone out of business and lost all of their users’ data. By joining the IndieWeb, your content stays yours and in your

29 Nov 2022

'Y'all,' that most Southern of Southernisms, is going mainstream – and it's about time

“My examples push “y’all” back 225 years before the citation in the “Oxford English Dictionary,” and they show that the word appeared first in England rather than the United States.” Wait, does this mean I can use y’all in my accent? Should I?  #Culture [Link]

29 Nov 2022

CHARACTERISTICS - WHITE SUPREMACY CULTURE

“While white supremacy culture affects us all, harms us all, and is toxic to us all, it does not affect, harm, and violate us in the same way. White supremacy targets and violates BIPOC people and communities with the intent to destroy them directly; white supremacy targets and violates white

29 Nov 2022

Support our work

Speaking of The 19th: The 19th is a non-profit newsroom that reports at the intersection of gender, politics, and policy. We were one of the only newsrooms to call this election correctly - because we listened to women and people of color. Some pieces we’ve published include a dashboard

29 Nov 2022

Doing management training today

I’m doing management training today with all the other managers at The 19th. We're spending a lot of time considering how to be an anti-racist leader, which I'm finding tremendously valuable. I’m very glad to be doing this, and I’m glad for techniques

29 Nov 2022

1 in 4 hiring managers say they are less likely to move forward with Jewish applicants

“26% of hiring managers say they are less likely to move forward with Jewish applicants; the top reason for negative bias is belief Jews have too much power and control […] Respondents also wrote in a number of derogatory comments regarding how they identify an individual as Jewish. These write-in responses

28 Nov 2022

Thinking about taking your computer to the repair shop? Be very afraid

“Researchers at University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, recovered logs from laptops after receiving overnight repairs from 12 commercial shops. The logs showed that technicians from six of the locations had accessed personal data and that two of those shops also copied data onto a personal device. Devices belonging to

28 Nov 2022

Post, the latest Twitter alternative, is betting big on micropayments for news

“Consumers have changed their behavior. They want to consume their news in their feed. And so, obviously, consumption from a feed does not work with subscription. And social media networks, with their advertising-based model, promote the worst in us because it works. I mean, the algorithms are don’t really

28 Nov 2022

With no child tax credit and inflation on the rise, families are slipping back into poverty

“U.S. households are having to pay between $300 to $400 more each month compared to last year because of inflation. Food insecurity is rising once again. Now, advocates are pointing to a growing body of work that shows how low-income and marginalized families relied on the program to survive.

28 Nov 2022

News Outlets Urge U.S. to Drop Charges Against Julian Assange

“In a joint open letter, The Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El País said the prosecution of Mr. Assange under the Espionage Act “sets a dangerous precedent” that threatened to undermine the First Amendment and the freedom of the press. “Obtaining and disclosing sensitive information when necessary

28 Nov 2022

PSA: Do Not Use Services That Hate The Internet

“If posts in a social media app do not have URLs that can be linked to and viewed in an unauthenticated browser, or if there is no way to make a new post from a browser, then that program is not a part of the World Wide Web in any

27 Nov 2022
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Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

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

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