Ben Werdmuller helps leaders at newsrooms, non-profits, and mission-driven organizations to navigate their biggest technology challenges.
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[Jake Offenhartz, Cedar Attanasio and Philip Marcelo at The Associated Press] This seems completely in line with the First Amendment's protections against restrictions on speech and assembly by the US government: "President Donald Trump warned Monday that the arrest and possible deportation of a Palestinian activist who
Technology
[A.C. Thompson, ProPublica and FRONTLINE, James Bandler, ProPublica, and Lukáš Diko, Investigative Center of Jan Kuciak] A tragic story of a teenager recruited by a network of extremists, who ultimately murdered multiple people before taking his own life. It's also an example of why moderation and safety
Technology
[Davis Erin Anderson and Dr. Martin Shelton at the Freedom of the Press Foundation] These security tips are designed for journalists but are good ideas for everyone (and particularly activists or anyone working in a sensitive field): "In tumultuous times, we believe in being prepared, not scared. Sound digital
Technology
[Joe Woods] This is good, actionable advice: "As an engineering leader, you should be constantly working to reduce the amount of time it takes to complete one cycle of a feedback loop. What do I mean by feedback loop? This is anything where you do work, and then you
Fediverse
If you're in Austin, visiting Fediverse House at 412 Congress Ave today and tomorrow is what you need to be doing. You don’t need a SXSW ticket - just show up and meet some of the key people building and thinking about the most important thing happening
Technology
[Kunal Khullar at Tom's Hardware] Straight into my nightmares: "Australian biotech company Cortical Labs has introduced what it claims to be "the world’s first code deployable biological computer," which combines human brain cells with traditional silicon-based computing. The system, known as CL1, was presented
Media
[Mike Masnick at Techdirt] Mike Masnick on why tech journalism has a huge part to play in decoding current events right now: "We’ve spent decades documenting how technology and entrepreneurship can either strengthen or undermine democratic institutions. We understand the dangers of concentrated power in the digital age.
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[Gaby Del Valle at The Verge] This is dystopian: "The Trump administration may soon demand the social media accounts of people applying for green cards, US citizenship, and asylum or refugee status. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) — the federal agency that oversees legal migration, proposed the new policy
So, yes, hi, I have a Tesla. It’s a long range Model 3 which I bought in 2021. After a career spent working on open source and mission-drive projects — right now I work for a non-profit newsroom; once upon a time I built a social networking platform for education
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[Andy Kroll at ProPublica] Cutting the IRS has nothing to do with government efficiency: "Unlike with other federal agencies, cutting the IRS means the government collects less money and finds fewer tax abuses. Economic studies have shown that for every dollar spent by the IRS, the agency returns between
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[Andrew Paul at McSweeney's] "I gotta be honest with you, though. I think the Outer God got the message loud and clear. Our tasteful combination of fashionably coordinated clothes, tiny paper fans with BAD! printed on them, and some of our sternest looks of disapproval to date
Much of the last decade or two of the tech industry has been dominated by the idea of the cloud: the simple, powerful idea that all of your applications and data can be accessed from any device with an internet connection. Enterprise businesses around the world have decommissioned server rooms