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Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

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40 global technology companies beating their Western rivals

A fascinating list of 40 market-leading tech companies that are founded and run outside of the west. There are some familiar names here, but lots were new to me - they might be to you, too.  #Technology [Link]

05 Oct 2023

NotableLinks

More Thoughtful Reading & Writing on the Web

"The combination of taking more time (as longer form writing encourages) and publishing on a domain associated with your name, your identity, enables & incentivizes more thoughtful writing. More thoughtful writing elevates the reader to a more thoughtful state of mind."  #Technology [Link]

05 Oct 2023

NotableLinks

Why side projects are essential for creatives—and employers should embrace them

I firmly agree with this stance (and my career wouldn't have been possible without it): let employees build and release side projects. It'll make them better at their jobs and a lot happier to boot.  #Labor [Link]

05 Oct 2023

AI summarization and the open web

Arc, my default browser for a year now, recently launched a set of AI-driven features. I’m finding two to be particularly useful — and one of those is problematic in a way I want to discuss. They’re worth considering because, while Arc has a relatively small userbase for now,

05 Oct 2023

NotableLinks

BBC Gives Up On Threads (By Instagram), Sticks With Mastodon

"What makes this news more interesting is the fact that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has abandoned its Threads account but is still maintaining its self-hosted Mastodon accounts online."  #Media [Link]

04 Oct 2023

NotableLinks

Social media traffic to top news sites craters

"Website business models that depended on clicks from social media are now broken." It was always a good idea to own your own relationships with your audience, but there's never been a better time than now.  #Media [Link]

04 Oct 2023

NotableLinks

Bing Is Generating Images of SpongeBob Doing 9/11

To be fair, you could draw a picture of this in Photoshop, too. But I suspect a few brands might have a few things to say about Microsoft hosting this tool.  #AI [Link]

04 Oct 2023

An open rubric for technology assessment

I’ve written and open sourced a rubric for assessing new technologies as part of your organization. It’s written for use in non-technical organizations in particular, but it might be useful everywhere. The idea is to pose questions that are worth asking when you’re selecting a vendor, or

04 Oct 2023

NotableLinks

Mastodon Annual Report 2022

Amazing work. Consider how much this team has been able to achieve with a tiny fraction of the budget of a VC-funded tech startup - and the impact of their work is phenomenal.  #Technology [Link]

03 Oct 2023

NotableLinks

How Google Alters Search Queries to Get at Your Wallet

It turns out that Google quietly alters your search queries into ones it can more easily monetize, without you knowing. It's the kind of anti-user nonsense only a monopolist could pull off.  #Technology [Link]

03 Oct 2023

NotableLinks

Weird A.I. Yankovic, a cursed deep dive into the world of voice cloning

I think I'm a clone now.  #AI [Link]

02 Oct 2023

NotableLinks

Predictive Policing Software Terrible At Predicting Crimes

"Crime predictions generated for the police department in Plainfield, New Jersey, rarely lined up with reported crimes, an analysis by The Markup has found." In fact, much less than 1% of the time.  #AI [Link]

02 Oct 2023
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Werd I/O explores the intersection of technology, democracy, and society. It's independently published by Ben Werdmuller, reader-supported, and always free to read.