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Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

Removing my home information from the internet

I’ve used DeleteMe to remove my personal information from search engines and information hubs, but it hadn’t occurred to me until recently that I needed to also remove information about my home from listings sites. It turns out there are full photos, including video walkthroughs, just about everywhere.

17 Aug 2023

Thousands of scientists are cutting back on Twitter, seeding angst and uncertainty

Scientists are fleeing X for Mastodon, citing far-right science denialism - and far-right hate in general. I don't exactly know what Musk thinks he's going to be left with after all this.  #Technology [Link]

17 Aug 2023

Datasette Cloud

Simon Willison's Datasette now has a SaaS version that saves you having to install or set anything up. This is perfect for smaller newsrooms and orgs that are technically stretched but want to analyze data. I'm excited to see where he goes with it.  #Technology [Link]

16 Aug 2023

New York Times considers legal action against OpenAI as copyright tensions swirl

Whether this comes to fruition with the NYT vs OpenAI or another publisher vs another LLM vendor, there will be a court case like this, and it will set important precedent for the industry. My money's on the publishers.  #AI [Link]

16 Aug 2023

StreetPass for Mastodon

Genuinely brilliant. StreetPass finds the Mastodon accounts of people whose websites you browse, allowing you to check out their accounts and follow if you're interested. I love it.  #Technology [Link]

16 Aug 2023

Don't personally guarantee your startup

One of the newsletters I subscribe to ran a sponsored post for Paintbrush, a firm that gives idea-stage founders a $50,000 loan to prove out their idea. The pitch on the front page is, “No rich aunt or uncle? No worries.” My initial reaction was positive: I do think

16 Aug 2023

Why the Hollywood strike matters to all of us

On the wage threat of AI: “Hollywood is showing us how best to take that stand: by unionizing our workplaces, and fighting for strong contracts. Now’s the time to form a union with your coworkers, and discuss what protections you’ll need to face this moment.”  #Labor [Link]

16 Aug 2023

An Opinionated Guide To Alt-text

A great, short guide to writing alt text to support data visualization from Jasmine Mithani.  #Technology [Link]

16 Aug 2023

Elon Musk's Twitter throttles links to Threads, Blue Sky and New York Times

Really, truly: there is no good reason for any media company or publisher to still be posting on X.  #Technology [Link]

15 Aug 2023

School district uses ChatGPT to help remove library books

Probably inevitable, but it nonetheless made my jaw drop. What an incredibly wrong-headed use of an LLM.  #AI [Link]

15 Aug 2023

Music

Planet of the Bass (feat. DJ Crazy Times & Ms. Biljana Electronica)

All of the dream / How does it mean? I am going to be singing this glorious nonsense all year.  #Music [Link]

15 Aug 2023

Open feedback as a gift

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to build high-performing teams: specifically, teams that build great products that I would also enjoy to be a part of. An incredibly productive team that also happens to be full of jerks is not something I’m particularly interested in replicating; I

15 Aug 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.