The New York Times Purchases Wordle
“Wordle was acquired for an undisclosed price in the low seven figures.” BRB, getting to work on building a viral word game ... [Link]
Ben Werdmuller
Ben Werdmuller helps leaders at newsrooms, non-profits, and mission-driven organizations to navigate their biggest technology challenges.
The IRS Should Stop Using Facial Recognition
“Though [ID.me] asserts that “significant benefits” come from the use of one-to-one facial recognition, the company fails to adequately address its known harms or deeply engage with specific findings that indicate substantial racial bias.” [Link]
Taking back control of my health
This weekend, while I was out for a walk, my Apple Watch sent me a notification - actually buzzed my arm to let me know - that I was unfit. I had two reactions: firstly, how rude, and secondly, how bad did the situation have to be for it to proactively tell
Kamala Harris drove within several yards of pipe bomb at DNC headquarters during Capitol riot
“Then-Vice President-elect Kamala Harris drove within several yards of a pipe bomb lying next to a bench outside the Democratic National Committee headquarters on January 6, 2021, and remained inside the DNC for nearly two hours before the bomb was discovered, according to multiple law enforcement officials familiar
A Hero
A nuanced morality play. Occasionally the protagonist’s poor decisions stretch credulity, but there’s a lot to think about here; nobody is out to cause harm, but the plot spirals nonetheless. The writing, direction, and cinematography are masterful but never anything less than subtle. Beautifully done. [Link]
Why Bored Ape Yacht Club is Racist and Started by Neo Nazis
“Knowing the history of alt-right/4chan types in crypto I started looking into it. I found what I believe to be definitive evidence that the group behind the creation of these images are neo-nazis. Here is how I have arrived at this conclusion.” [Link]
Searching for Susy Thunder
“There were ways to use the rules to break the rules. The older she got, the more she saw the polygraph as a lesson, revealing, to her, the hidden truth of the world: that everything is a system, and every system can be cracked.” A genuinely amazing, beautifully-written portrait
Community with just enough friction
The other day I posed the question: I've started two end-user open source social platforms: Elgg and Known, from the web2 desktop and mobile era respectively. Imagine I was going to create an open source community platform today. What would be different about it? As you might
The NFT Art World Wouldn't Be the Same Without This Woman's Nightmares
“While she’s not able to discuss financial specifics, her compensation, she says, “was definitely not ideal.” However, she insists, she’s grateful for the experience and the entryway to a realm she can no longer imaging living without.” [Link]
Protesting Joe Rogan is not censorship
It should be obvious, but: Neil Young and Joni Mitchell’s decision to remove their content from Spotify to protest Joe Rogan’s ongoing covid disinformation is not censorship under the First Amendment or any other measure. The First Amendment protects us from government censorship. It does not guarantee freedom
Surfing the stress curve
It’s no secret that I’ve been pretty stressed out. Someone I trust said that my writing lately has given the impression of “a man on the edge”. I think of it slightly differently - there’s a lot going on and I feel like I’m dealing with it
Welcome to the Link-in-Bio Economy
“By and large, these linking tools are making money through a swirl of paid-subscription programs and commissions on the transactions that happen inside the link-in-bio. Whether that is enough to sustain a profitable business isn’t clear, but it’s easy to envision a future in which