Working at the intersection of technology, media, and democracy.
Testing the Unlock paywall, which you can learn about here: https://
Unlock is a protocol which enables creators to monetize their content with a few lines of code in a fully decentralized way. If you pay to access this content, I'll double the amount and sent it to She256, which improves diversity in the blockchain space.
It's based on the Ethereum blockchain, and is designed to make decentralized payments as frictionless as possible. This paywall represents version 0: a proof-of-concept designed for early adopters to test out.
If you want to learn more about the open source community behind Unlock, check out our GitHub project: http://
Demoing Known on stage at Folsom Street Foundry for the first time in four years. Feels weird.
"Rock ain’t nothing but a white version of rhythm and blues, motherfucker." This is such an amazing interview. http://
"Facebook has created a centrally designed internet. It’s a lamer, shittier looking internet." How Facebook is killing comedy: http://
My friend Hugh Hancock suddenly passed away this week. He was instrumental in inventing Machinima. Here he is on Charlie Stross’s blog announcing his film Death Knight Love Story, starring Brian Blessed and Joanna Lumley. http://
The Prototype Fund is looking for 25 open source projects to fund with up to €47,500. You need to be resident in Germany, but honestly, this sounds great. https://
Founder conflict: “it is OK to talk about it, put it on the table, and deal with it.” http://
Could stagnant wages be because we - and particularly non-coastal workers - have a smaller total number of employers to choose from? https://
Very sad to hear that Jon Oberlander died. He was responsible for a lot of important change in Edinburgh informatics and beyond - and more importantly, was a kind, thoughtful man. https://
America’s attitude to immigration right now is disgusting. https://
The letter from a Birmingham jail is an important piece to reflect on today, in a world where many still hold the law to be more important than justice. http://
Violating a website’s terms of service is not a crime. https://
Yes! I would VERY much like to see Chelsea in government. (Suboptimal description from the WaPo, though.) https://
This. All of this. I'm so glad I got to go to university for free. https://
I'd missed this: AngelList's $35M fund to back founders who want to be angel investors. Founders have 15% carry and can write checks directly (not a given). https://
It’s really gratifying to see this piece from Roger McNamee, Managing Director of Elevation Partners, and an early investor in Facebook. I couldn’t agree with him more. https://
“In other words, an informed public is a necessary condition of democracy, but not a sufficient one.” https://
In 2012, new to the Bay Area, I wrote a short novel about the weird world I found myself in. What if the secret sauce was something more terrible than you could ever imagine? It feels more relevant than ever, so here it is publicly for the first time.
https://
I wrote a piece about the decisions I'd make if I founded a startup again.
Knowing what I know now, from the founders I work with, my background in startups, and what I’ve learned from working at a values-based accelerator: if I was to do it all again, what choices would I make?
I'm hopeful it will be useful for anyone who's just embarking on this journey.
https://
Those CPU exploits can be used by malicious web content to read private information, too. Mozilla and other browser vendors are working on a fix. https://
Well, this is deeply gross on every possible level. https://
As states go, California is a pretty great one. I really like most of these changes. http://
Instead of posting New Year's resolutions, I've written a list of #2018Liberations. What are yours? https://
Happy New Year to all my friends who made it to 2018 already! You’re the advance guard. How does it look?
A prediction - and a hope - for 2018. https://
Idea I’ve been talking about today: what if everyone with the ability could contribute to a central account, with a regular amount that made sense to them, that could then be withdrawn from using a special neighborhood ATM and card by low income and homeless people?
The only way to prevent mass surveillance and censorship - and therefore ensure that democracy can continue to function - is to make it systemically impossible.