Ben Werdmuller
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Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

The social web doesn't exist without social justice

So much of what we build on the web is about connecting people. It is impossible to connect people effectively without paying attention to social justice and equity. Otherwise we’re just connecting the privileged with the privileged, creating ever smaller networks of influence, and learning nothing new.

19 Apr 2024

No tech for apartheid is within its rights to protest

Solidarity with the 28 Google workers who were fired for protesting Project Nimbus this week. Anonymous Google and Amazon workers described the project as follows a couple of years ago: Project Nimbus is a $1.2bn contract to provide cloud services for the Israeli military and government. This technology allows

19 Apr 2024

NotableLinks

What you see

"Too often, [...] we assume that the person who is the object of our feedback has something to learn and fail to notice the same thing about ourselves." This is a really important observation. Without checking ourselves, our feedback can be a way to ensure our vision remains myopic,

19 Apr 2024

Backdoors are an everyone problem

From the OpenJS Foundation: The recent attempted XZ Utils backdoor (CVE-2024-3094) may not be an isolated incident as evidenced by a similar credible takeover attempt intercepted by the OpenJS Foundation, home to JavaScript projects used by billions of websites worldwide. The Open Source Security (OpenSSF) and OpenJS Foundations are calling

18 Apr 2024

NotableLinks

AI isn't useless. But is it worth it?

"I find my feelings about AI are actually pretty similar to my feelings about blockchains: they do a poor job of much of what people try to do with them, they can't do the things their creators claim they one day might, and many of the things

17 Apr 2024

NotableLinks

Amazon is filled with garbage ebooks. Here’s how they get made.

"Virtually every single part of the self-publishing grift world that can be automated or monetized has been automated and monetized." This is a really depressing read: fascinating, for sure, but what's left unsaid is what happens to traditional publishing as these folks become more and more

16 Apr 2024

NotableLinks

What’s next for me…

"I am absolutely convinced that journalism’s most essential role at this critical moment goes far, far beyond what it’s doing. The status quo in political (and related) coverage consists of sporadically noting that gosh-maybe-there’s-a-problem, while sticking mostly to journalistic business as usual. The status quo is

15 Apr 2024

Writing a web-first resumé

I hate writing resumés. There’s always been something about the format that never really sat right with me; each entry presents work I’ve done, sometimes representing many multiple years of my life, without explaining the “why” or the through-line of how I got there. It’s always felt

09 Apr 2024

I tried Tesla FSD

So, let’s get this out of the way first: I drive a Tesla Model 3. Yes, I know. And yes, even though I bought it a few years ago, there was plenty of evidence of the CEO’s bad behavior and of poor conditions in the factories. And I

08 Apr 2024

NotableLinks

Making version noir

This is completely lovely: a responsive, noir-inspired personal homepage in the form of a comic. I'm inspired.  #Indieweb [Link]

07 Apr 2024

NotableLinks

The Thing That's Coming

An interesting opinion piece about the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the aftermath thereof, and how it all relates to the election. "But even if we had performed adequate maintenance, the bridge was probably doomed. Dali is the size and mass of a skyscraper (far larger than

07 Apr 2024

NotableLinks

The US aims to 'crack the code' on scaling up geothermal energy production

This hadn't really been on my radar: "Just one type of next generation geothermal — called superhot rock energy, where deep drilling reaches temperatures 400 degrees Celsius (752 degrees Fahrenheit) or hotter — is abundant enough to theoretically fulfill the world’s power requirements. In fact, just 1 percent

07 Apr 2024
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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.