Ben Werdmuller helps leaders at newsrooms, non-profits, and mission-driven organizations to navigate their biggest technology challenges.
For many of us, myself included, it’s been .. a year. Rather than rehash all of that again, I thought I’d mark the end of the year by just listing some things I’ve loved. Here you go. Books Julia, by Sandra Newman Not just a retelling but a
Business
[Hunter Walk] As Hunter points out, it's impossible to start a company without tackling sales, and you aren't absolved from it no matter which route you take: "If you avoid sales or are poor at it, you are doing a disservice to your team, your
Notable links
[Joseph Cox at 404 Media] The contracts and relationships that seemingly allow law enforcement and federal agencies to use private services and data brokers to monitor the activities of American citizens without obtaining a warrant seem to be based on a nudge and a wink. 404 Media obtained an email
Terrifying thing I learned once: if you donate your body to science it turns out they can also often use it for art.
As part of a coaching exercise, I’ve been trying to describe what I want my life to look like. The idea is that if I’m armed a better understanding of what I’m aiming for, I’ll be able to make more informed decisions that more intentionally lead
Culture
[Sabrina Graves at Gizmodo] I agree with every word Sabrina Graves writes here. Streaming services are far worse. Physical media is better quality, comes with unrestricted access - and may actually work out to be cheaper. This is eye-opening: "At the start of the year, when I was early
AI
[OpenAI] OpenAI's for-profit arm is becoming a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation: "Our plan is to transform our existing for-profit into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation(opens in a new window) (PBC) with ordinary shares of stock and the OpenAI mission as its public benefit interest. The PBC
Media
[ProPublica] While the website I work for is not the cheeriest place on the internet, its deeply-reported stories are some of the most vital and impactful. These are the most-read ProPublica stories of 2024, including: The Year After a Denied Abortion: "Tennessee law prohibits women from having abortions in
Notable links
[Aishvarya Kavi] President Biden commuted the sentences of all but three prisoners on federal death row. (He doesn't have the power to pardon or commute the sentences of people held on state charges.) This is also good: "The president campaigned in 2020 on ending the federal death
Technology
[OpenStreetMap] Meta has contributed 178,710 Euros (an oddly specific number!) to OpenStreetMap. On one level: hooray for people contributing to open source. On another: Meta has a $1.5 Trillion market cap and uses OpenStreetMap in multiple applications. To be fair, it also provides direct non-monetary contributions, but regardless,
Labor
[Scharon Harding at Ars Technica] From the "gee, you don't say" department: "Return-to-office (RTO) mandates have caused companies to lose some of their best workers, a study tracking over 3 million workers at 54 "high-tech and financial" firms at the S&P
Fediverse
[A New Social] I'm psyched about this announcement: "We're A New Social, a new non-profit organization focused on building cross-protocol tools and services for the open social web. [...] The first project we'll take on to accomplish this mission is Bridgy Fed, a service