# Ben Werdmuller
> Writing at the intersection of technology, journalism, and community.
Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. Use `/llms-full.txt` for consolidated page and post context.
Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`).

## Pages
- [About Ben Werdmuller](https://werd.io/about.md) - I'm a technology leader, founder, and investor who builds teams and products for organizations that want to make the world more informed and equal. I've spent over twenty years doing this across journalism, media, fintech, and open source, as a CTO, a CEO, and a venture investor. I've built platfor…
- [Let's build together](https://werd.io/call.md) - I help leaders at newsrooms, non-profits, and mission-driven organizations to navigate their biggest technology challenges, from building high-performing engineering teams to evaluating vendor partnerships to planning digital transformations. Here's more about me. Who this is for: * Newsroom execut…
- [Colophon](https://werd.io/colophon.md) - Ownership Aside from clearly-marked quotes from other sites, I write every word of my posts. They are wholly mine and do not represent anyone else, including my current employer. All mistakes are therefore also mine. Researching I read using NewsBlur, which aggregates my sites and newsletters. You…
- [How can I support your work?](https://werd.io/get-support.md) - You’re trying to solve something important. I want to help. This short, intelligent form asks about your organization type and the challenge you’re facing. Based on your answers, it’ll let you know whether I’m likely to be a good fit – and if so, what the next steps look like. If not, it'll suggest…
- [The future of news](https://werd.io/the-future-of-news.md) - Selected thinking at the intersection of news and technology
- [White Paper: Building Trust in the Open](https://werd.io/trust.md) - How Open Protocols Can Help Journalism Rebuild Community and Trust

## Posts
- [A landmark study of AI in newsrooms reveals they need to be coaxed to experiment with their business models](https://werd.io/a-landmark-study-of-ai-in-newsrooms-reveals-they-need-to-be-coaxed-to-experiment-with-their-business-models.md) - This is a landmark study in AI use in newsrooms. It reveals that newsrooms rarely experiment with their business models without outside help.
- [Notable links: October 16, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-october-16-2026.md) - AI in news for innovation – but not for writing. Plus: open social web election dashboards & how to run a great 1:1.
- [Current Affairs says it's banning AI](https://werd.io/current-affairs-says-its-banning-ai.md) - Current Affairs has enshrined tough restrictions on publishing using generative AI into its union contract. It's bet is that it will publish better journalism that way.
- [Treat your 1:1 relationships with intention](https://werd.io/treat-your-1-1-relationships-with-intention.md) - Too often, 1:1s can be reactive, unstructured spaces - or simple status reports that don't give the relationship time to breathe. This advice changes that dynamic.
- [Argentina's top news app was made by two 23 year olds using AI](https://werd.io/argentinas-top-news-app-was-made-by-two-23-year-olds-using-ai.md) - 46% of Argentine adults avoid the news. These 23 year olds vibe coded a solution that's turned into the most popular news app in the country.
- [Young people trust AI more than the people in their lives.](https://werd.io/young-people-trust-ai-more-than-the-people-in-their-lives.md) - 48% of young people who use AI trust it more than the humans in their lives.
- [Graze's election night dashboard demonstrates the power of open algorithms](https://werd.io/grazes-election-night-dashboard-demonstrates-the-power-of-open-algorithms.md) - "Every federal and gubernatorial race, by name and by state, read from what people are actually saying" - all powered by the open social web.
- [The space to breathe](https://werd.io/the-space-to-breathe.md) - The people who can see journalism most clearly are the people who have the least time and space to solve its problems.
- [Amazon tries to placate data center protesters](https://werd.io/amazon-tries-to-placate-data-center-protesters.md) - Amazon's concessions indicate that data center protests are working. But the company is offering less than pocket change.
- [The Lenfest AI Collaborative has additional funding. That's great for open source in news.](https://werd.io/the-lenfest-ai-collaborative-has-additional-funding-thats-great-for-open-source-in-news.md) - The Lenfest AI Collaborative lets newsrooms explore a new technology together - but more importantly, it gives them the muscle to open source their work and collaborate.
- [The Public Ledger of Credentials directory is taking flight](https://werd.io/the-public-ledger-of-credentials-directory-is-taking-flight.md) - By taking identity resolution to an independent organization, Bluesky is securing the future of its network, and of AT Protocol.
- [Trump TV is the only source of footage of the President. That may be exactly what he wants.](https://werd.io/trump-tv-is-the-only-source-of-footage-of-the-president-that-may-be-exactly-what-he-wants.md) - In the same week, the President banned three networks from the White House - and started his own. It's not a coincidence that this happened so close to the midterms.
- [Seeking a "yes, and" space](https://werd.io/seeking-a-yes-and-space.md) - How the JSK Fellowship is putting me in a more generative culture.
- [Buy my house!](https://werd.io/buy-my-house.md) - My 1925 Tudor on half an acre in Elkins Park, PA is up for sale. Here's why I loved living in it
- [Notable links: September 11, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-september-11-2026.md) - Behind the power dynamics in AI and news – and is your TV spying on you?
- [Two more newsrooms are suing OpenAI. It's complicated.](https://werd.io/two-more-newsrooms-are-suing-openai-its-complicated.md) - Publishers are suing AI vendors, accusing them of theft. But are they giving the creators responsible for building their value a fair deal?
- [Your TV is spying on you, and it's worse than you think.](https://werd.io/your-tv-is-spying-on-you-and-its-worse-than-you-think.md) - In a world where predictive policing is becoming more commonplace, TVs that report on what you're watching, record you using live mics, and scan your network for connected devices are a liability.
- [AI companies are at risk of making Silicon Valley's harmful mistakes all over again](https://werd.io/ai-companies-are-at-risk-of-making-silicon-valleys-harmful-mistakes-all-over-again.md) - Years ago, Facebook's lack of care for global communities made them complicit in a genocide. AI companies risk making the same mistakes.
- [Notable links: August 14, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-august-14-2026.md) - Chicago Public Media is building a social network for America's third largest city. Forget AI - this is the thing I'm most excited about in news technology.
- [Chicago's social network is a huge bet for news. I think it's the future.](https://werd.io/chicagos-social-network-is-a-huge-bet-for-news-i-think-its-the-future.md) - Chicago Public Media is building a social network for America's third largest city. Forget AI - this is the thing I'm most excited about in news technology.
- [My next experiment](https://werd.io/my-next-experiment.md) - I'm spending a year at Stanford to explore community platforms in news.
- [Notable links: July 31, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-july-31-2026.md) - Change is fractal; data ownership can be collective.
- [Change is fractal. It starts with leaders](https://werd.io/change-is-fractal-it-starts-with-leaders.md) - "Leaders are leverage. Every leader is a multiplier, if they choose to be."
- [Don't bring sensitive data to a border crossing](https://werd.io/dont-bring-sensitive-data-to-a-border-crossing.md) - The DOJ is trying to prosecute Sam Tunick for allegedly using a duress passcode. It's a lesson in why your best protection is having nothing to protect.
- [Can data collectives help strengthen vulnerable cultures in the face of AI?](https://werd.io/can-data-collectives-help-strengthen-vulnerable-cultures-in-the-face-of-ai.md) - "Data collectives and cooperatives, which let creators control the collection and distribution of their data, are emerging as preferred alternatives to big tech companies."
- [Notable links: July 24, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-july-24-206.md) - America's AI dominance is under threat; AI vendors put us at risk; meanwhile, everyone's staying in their jobs for the health insurance.
- [AI vendors can't be trusted to secure their systems. Newsrooms need to act accordingly](https://werd.io/ai-vendors-cant-be-trusted-to-secure-their-systems-newsrooms-need-to-act-accordingly.md) - There were two big lapses in the Hugging Face / OpenAI hacking story: the lack of security protections on OpenAI's end, and Hugging Face's vulnerable production database. That should worry anyone who uses AI with sensitive data.
- [Private healthcare makes industries less innovative. It's time for change.](https://werd.io/private-healthcare-makes-industries-less-innovative-its-time-for-change.md) - 1 in 4 American workers stay in their jobs because of the healthcare. It suppresses wages and working conditions - and prevents innovators from heading out on their own.
- [People are transcribing your conversations without asking. That puts you at risk.](https://werd.io/people-are-transcribing-your-conversations-without-asking-that-puts-you-at-risk.md) - Apps like Granola make it easy to transcribe conversations without asking for consent. Those transcripts are a subpoena honeypot.
- [American AI is locked down and proprietary. It's losing.](https://werd.io/american-ai-is-locked-down-and-proprietary-its-losing.md) - China's open-weights AI strategy is winning: its companies are taking the lead. America's closed-first, locked-down strategy is doomed to failure - and it could take the US economy down with it.
- [Notable links: July 17, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-july-17-2026.md) - At a time when journalism is increasingly under attack, we need PIT Crews for news.
- [To innovate, news needs allies](https://werd.io/to-innovate-news-needs-allies.md) - "Allies, archives and infrastructure in the AI age" - a list of people with the potential to push news forward.
- [The SFPD leaked its drone footage. It shouldn't be surveilling to begin with.](https://werd.io/the-sfpd-leaked-its-drone-footage-it-shouldnt-be-surveilling-to-begin-with.md) - Surveillance doesn't improve crime or make anyone safer. It wastes civic dollars and creates new risks for vulnerable communities. The SFPD's leak demonstrates one reason why.
- [We need a PIT Crew for news](https://werd.io/we-need-a-pit-crew-for-news.md) - Zohran Mamdani has unveiled a radically collaborative, cross-disciplinary approach to building internal technology capacity. News has a lot to learn from it.
- [Climate.gov was destroyed. Open data saved it.](https://werd.io/climate-gov-was-destroyed-open-data-saved-it.md) - "After losing their jobs at NOAA, Rebecca Lindsey, her sister and another colleague teamed up to rebuild a pivotal resource the Trump administration took offline."
- [The Trump administration is subpoenaing journalists to reveal sources. Their data security is more important than ever.](https://werd.io/the-trump-administration-is-subpoenaing-journalists-to-reveal-sources-their-data-security-is-more-important-than-ever.md) - "Historically, the Justice Department has sought to subpoena reporters only as a last resort after other reasonable options have been exhausted." Now the FBI is doing it to satisfy an angry President.
- [Notable links: July 10, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-july-10-2026.md) - In the face of declining trust in media, communities are part of the solution.
- [Communities will build trust and loyalty for local public media. Chicago Public Media is taking a big leap forward.](https://werd.io/communities-will-build-trust-and-loyalty-for-local-public-media-chicago-public-media-is-taking-a-big-leap-forward.md) - Chicago Public Media is launching a region-wide social platform as a way to bolster its journalism. I believe it represents a path to the future.
- [As social networks fill up with AI slop, trusted relationships and communities will win.](https://werd.io/as-social-networks-fill-up-with-ai-slop-trusted-relationships-and-communities-will-win.md) - Long-form LinkedIn posts are 41% slop. Other social networks are not far behind.
- [IndieWeb Fiction Carnival: May 2026 Roundup](https://werd.io/indieweb-fiction-carnival-may-2026-roundup.md) - Three short fiction pieces
- [Startups track business metrics. Newsrooms should learn from them.](https://werd.io/startups-track-business-metrics-newsrooms-should-learn-from-them.md) - I've rarely seen newsroom business teams discuss metrics like LTV, CAC, and even ARR outside fundraising or finance. They should be commonly known.
- [CNN and CNBC promote gambling to make a cheap buck](https://werd.io/cnn-and-cnbc-promote-gambling-to-make-a-cheap-buck.md) - Some newsrooms are making money from deals with prediction markets. It will only serve to further destroy the public's trust in news.
- [Governance can prevent AI from being used to undermine democracy. But only if it has teeth.](https://werd.io/governance-can-prevent-ai-from-being-used-to-undermine-democracy-but-only-if-it-has-teeth.md) - The apparatus to cement centralized, undemocratic power has already been built. Regulations have a part to play, but they can't just be recommendations.
- [Happy 250th birthday, America](https://werd.io/happy-250th-birthday-america.md) - Let's keep building.
- [Notable links: July 3, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-july-3-2026.md) - AI, surveillance, open tech, and news as a business.
- [A new media spinout provides streaming apps for public service broadcasters. I just wish it was open.](https://werd.io/a-new-media-spinout-provides-streaming-apps-for-public-service-broadcasters-i-just-wish-it-was-open.md) - We need to see more technical collaborations between public service media organizations. It's also really important that they're based on open technology that doesn't lock them in.
- [Newsrooms need to get comfortable expressing their business value - and raising money on it.](https://werd.io/newsrooms-need-to-get-comfortable-expressing-their-business-value-and-raising-money-on-it.md) - Newsrooms like to spend their time on the journalistic process and assume that the value of their work will speak for itself. They need to start selling themselves.
- [OpenAI wants to give us 5% of its success. It's a bad bargain.](https://werd.io/openai-wants-to-give-us-5-of-its-success-its-a-bad-bargain.md) - A wealth fund that shares 5% of AI success with government and voters is either based on hype or not nearly enough to cover the damage. Either way, the incentives are perverse.
- [I have a theory about AI fake news site The Editorial](https://werd.io/i-have-a-theory-about-ai-fake-news-site-the-editorial.md) - I was taken in by a fake AI news site. I think it may be an attempt to poison LLMs with propaganda.
- [AI's costs are going through the roof - so businesses are telling LLMs to talk like cavemen](https://werd.io/ais-costs-are-going-through-the-roof-so-businesses-are-telling-llms-to-talk-like-cavemen.md) - Me think this hilarious sign of times.
- [They tell us surveillance makes us safer. It undermines our democratic rights.](https://werd.io/they-tell-us-surveillance-makes-us-safer-it-undermines-our-democratic-rights.md) - Civil society actors in nearly every region of the world now operate under the assumption that they are being surveilled. The result is a less democratic world for everyone.
- [A concrete tool to help newsrooms cover emergencies](https://werd.io/a-concrete-tool-to-help-newsrooms-cover-emergencies.md) - A new site to help newsrooms cover disasters is refreshing in its concrete practicality. Wouldn't it be great if these existed for every aspect of running a newsroom?
- [Community Survey 2026](https://werd.io/community-survey-2026.md) - How can I serve you over the coming year?
- [A right-wing media chain tried to replace 47 newspapers with AI. They all died.](https://werd.io/a-right-wing-media-chain-tried-to-replace-47-newspapers-with-ai-they-all-died.md) - A right-wing media chain bought local papers, replaced their journalists with AI, and died. Now their communities are left to plug the gaps.
- [Two posts about writing](https://werd.io/two-posts-about-writing.md) - Ideas that spoke to me
- [Are frontier models really too dangerous?](https://werd.io/are-frontier-models-really-too-dangerous.md) - To an increasingly authoritarian regime, the opportunity to shape how models describe the world may be too good to pass up on.
- [Notable links: June 26, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-june-26-2026.md) - To meet your community where it's at, you need to empower your people.
- [All you need to poison an LLM is 13 words.](https://werd.io/all-you-need-to-poison-an-llm-is-13-words.md) - "It really is just that simple. The way that you can attack these systems is usually so much dumber than you think it is, or than you think it needs to be."
- [To build resilient organizations, you need to empower your team to make decisions.](https://werd.io/to-build-resilient-organizations-you-need-to-empower-your-team-to-make-decisions.md) - "That is not leadership. That is control. And it creates dependency, not growth."
- [Journalism is rearranging the deckchairs. It needs to reinvent itself.](https://werd.io/journalism-is-rearranging-the-deckchairs-it-needs-to-reinvent-itself.md) - "In philosophy, we have a term for this: a logical fallacy. And right now, journalism is full of them."
- [Signs you're a dangerous terrorist: using Signal, moving zines](https://werd.io/signs-youre-a-dangerous-terrorist-using-signal-moving-zines.md) - The unusually long sentences criminalize being an anti-fascist activist, reading the wrong zines, and using the wrong communication apps. They're incredibly dangerous.
- [Notable links: June 19, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-june-19-2026.md) - Preparing for the fastest period of technical change in decades.
- [The European Commission falls for openness theater by working with W Social](https://werd.io/the-european-commission-falls-for-openness-theater-by-working-with-w-social.md) - The European Commission has moved its profiles to W Social. That's a terrible decision.
- [More people get their news from social media than anywhere else - globally. The platforms we use matter.](https://werd.io/more-people-get-their-news-from-social-media-than-anywhere-else-globally-the-platforms-we-use-matter.md) - "For the first time, social media and video networks are, on average across the markets covered, more popular than both TV and owned news websites and apps as sources of news."
- [AI answers are a new vector for election disinformation](https://werd.io/by-the-pricking-of-my-corpus-something-wicked-answers-for-us.md) - For years, people have used social media to seed disinformation in order to swing elections. Now, the answers our search engines and expert systems produce have become more vulnerable.
- [The honest truth about leaders who want to replace their workers with AI](https://werd.io/the-honest-truth-about-leaders-who-want-to-replace-their-workers-with-ai.md) - "The problem tends to show up when a CEO is handed an agentic tool like Claude Code, and has it create something, which will work just fine, and thinks “oh, wait, why do we need so many people, when I can just sit here and make things work?” This is a bad CEO."
- [To build the future, we need theories of change](https://werd.io/to-build-the-future-we-need-theories-of-change.md) - News tends to treat technology as something that happens to it, like an asteroid. To better navigate the future, we need to imagine what might come next.
- [It's not enough to have better ideals.](https://werd.io/its-not-enough-to-have-better-ideals.md) - You also need to build a better product.
- [The community-first software era](https://werd.io/the-community-first-software-era.md) - Some ideas about how to encode our values into the tools we use
- [Notable links: May 29, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-may-29-2026.md) - On sustainably building tech that serves humanity.
- ["The protocol world has been trying to solve the problem of how to leave, and the next step is working on how we can stay together."](https://werd.io/the-protocol-world-has-been-trying-to-solve-the-problem-of-how-to-leave-and-the-next-step-is-working-on-how-we-can-stay-together.md) - It's not enough to be free. We also need to be in community
- [To reach your big goal, you need to sell where you're heading next](https://werd.io/to-reach-your-big-goal-you-need-to-sell-where-youre-heading-next.md) - "You need to sell Point C: the concrete, vivid destination you will take yourself, your team, and your company to over the next twelve to twenty-four months."
- [The Fediverse is not a product. It's time to get real about marketing](https://werd.io/the-fediverse-is-not-a-product-its-time-to-get-real-about-marketing.md) - If projects are going to convince people to try alternatives to Big Tech, they need to do a much better job of explaining why they're better for people who don't care about technical details like protocols and decentralization.
- [When the AI boom subsides, the data centers will remain. What we do now matters](https://werd.io/when-the-ai-boom-subsides-the-data-centers-will-remain-what-we-do-now-matters.md) - Data centers are the new factories. How we think about the precedents they set matters.
- [The Pope used his first encyclical to warn about tech centralization](https://werd.io/the-pope-used-his-first-encyclical-to-warn-about-tech-centralization.md) - "When such power is concentrated in the hands of a few, it tends to become opaque and evade public oversight, [giving] rise to new dependencies, exclusions, manipulations and inequalities."
- [Affordances for me, but not for thee](https://werd.io/affordances-for-me-but-not-for-thee.md) - For years, people have tried hard to get websites to build accessibility affordances. Now developers are willingly building them for AI.
- [Like sunrise over a sink](https://werd.io/like-sunrise-over-a-sink.md) - It appears that the winner of a short story prize was generated with AI. But how was it selected?
- [Why micropayments can't save news](https://werd.io/why-micropayments-cant-save-news.md) - Why an ephemeral model can't fund relationship-based work
- [A quarter of a century of open educational technology](https://werd.io/a-quarter-of-a-century-of-open-educational-technology.md) - Every day for 25 years, Stephen Downes has written about edtech, informing an entire industry.
- [Notable links: May 15, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-may-15-2026.md) - What happens after the feed? And how can publishers remain independent?
- [52 actionable posts about building a culture of innovation](https://werd.io/52-actionable-posts-about-building-a-culture-of-innovation.md) - One year of consistent posts is nothing to sneeze at. But when each one is genuinely useful, actionable, and insightful, that's another level of achievement.
- [AI may be the new gatekeepers, but human connection is more needed than ever](https://werd.io/ai-may-be-the-new-gatekeepers-but-human-connection-is-more-needed-than-ever.md) - "What comes next, after the algorithmic social feed that’s defined our digital social lives for the last decade?" I believe this very useful presentation will be referred back to for years to come.
- [Bridging feels seamless. Behind the scenes, it's a technical marvel](https://werd.io/bridging-feels-seamless-behind-the-scenes-its-a-technical-marvel.md) - "When you all give us your hard-earned money, we feel a deep responsibility to use it as well, and as efficiently, as possible." A responsibility A New Social lives up to in spades.
- [To maintain their independence, publishers are fleeing Substack](https://werd.io/to-maintain-their-independence-publishers-are-fleeing-substack.md) - "Substack faced talent drain in 2024 linked to its platforming of Nazi newsletters, but now it’s not just the platform’s stance on hate speech that’s driving away creators."
- [Asking platforms to do better won't work. We need to force their hands](https://werd.io/asking-platforms-to-do-better-wont-work-we-need-to-force-their-hands.md) - "If there were a dictator of the internet who intentionally set out to destroy your ability to get accurate information, the result would look a lot like what’s already on your screen. But why?"
- [WordPress powers 47% of the web. Now it's more social, too](https://werd.io/wordpress-powers-47-of-the-web-now-its-more-social-too.md) - WordPress is the most popular publishing platform in the world. It wants you to publish and be heard - and that means supporting conversation.
- [Canvas is open source, but its cloud services ransomware attack really hurts](https://werd.io/canvas-is-open-source-but-its-cloud-services-ransomware-attack-really-hurts.md) - It's "the biggest student data privacy disaster in history" - even though the core platform is open source.
- [Notable links: May 8, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-may-8-2026.md) - Building a civic information economy, not cultures of extraction.
- [Plugging the gaps won't save news. It's time to redesign](https://werd.io/plugging-the-gaps-wont-save-news-its-time-to-redesign.md) - "Journalists, cultural workers, content creators, and other trusted messengers are enabling better civic insight for communities. How do we economically support the civic information future that society needs?"
- [The way to save news is not to create monopolistic monocultures](https://werd.io/the-way-to-save-news-is-not-to-create-monopolistic-monocultures.md) - "Why, a funder asked me recently, do two intermediaries this funder saw as offering duplicative services both still exist? Because you—and your funder colleagues—let them, I said." But consolidation is a dangerous road.
- [Open source maintainers need to go in with open eyes](https://werd.io/open-source-maintainers-need-to-go-in-with-open-eyes.md) - "To labour out of love, and to choose to share their work freely in a market society, OSS developers find themselves in a position where they are vulnerable to exploitation and harm."
- [Claude Opus can now identify an author from their writing](https://werd.io/claude-opus-can-now-confidently-identify-an-author-from-their-writing.md) - "AI only needs 150 words to identify me. What does that mean for you?"
- [Notable links: May 1, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-may-1-2026.md) - AI and society; and sustaining innovation has failed us.
- [IndieWeb Fiction Carnival: May 2026](https://werd.io/indieweb-fiction-carnival-may-2026.md) - This month's prompt is "sticks and stones will break my bones".
- [Matt Mullenweg thinks WordPress is in decline. He may be right](https://werd.io/matt-mullenweg-thinks-wordpress-is-in-decline-he-may-be-right.md) - When open source becomes a bureaucracy, it stops being able to innovate. For a product, that can mean death.
- [Product-shaped or movement-shaped?](https://werd.io/product-shaped-or-movement-shaped.md) - People love your work because of its impact, not how it works.
- [Building with love, and paying for it](https://werd.io/building-with-love-and-paying-for-it.md) - How do you fund work people don't want to pay for?
- [That terrible Signal exploit has been fixed. We have journalism to thank for it](https://werd.io/that-terrible-signal-exploit-has-been-fixed-we-have-journalism-to-thank-for-it.md) - "Apple’s fix means iPhones should no longer save copies of deleted messages from Signal or other apps, and Apple said the patch also purges already saved and related notifications."
- [All You Fascists (Bound to Lose)](https://werd.io/all-you-fascists-bound-to-lose.md) - A collection of Woody Guthrie covers
- [Sustaining innovation has failed us. It's time to think more radically](https://werd.io/sustaining-innovation-has-failed-us-its-time-to-think-more-radically.md) - Some innovations create a new future that serves people better. Some sustain the status quo. It's time to think more radically.
- [AI is not a magic wand and it won’t fix your problems](https://werd.io/ai-is-not-a-magic-wand-and-it-wont-fix-your-problems.md) - Without investment in people, processes, and working conditions, AI becomes merely "a technological smoke screen for deeper institutional decline."
- [The world is not a database](https://werd.io/the-world-is-not-a-database.md) - One of the most important pieces of AI commentary: "software brain" is important to understand if we want to get through this era with our humanity intact.
- [Notable links: April 24, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-april-24-2026.md) - Data and electronic civil rights in wartime; building safer creativity at work.
- [In wartime, megascale data centers may make way for distributed architectures](https://werd.io/in-wartime-megascale-data-centers-may-make-way-for-distributed-architectures.md) - "To avoid collateral damage, countries consider ditching giant server hubs for smaller, distributed ones—especially now that military and civilian data live side-by-side."
- [XOXO Explore is fitting showcase for a brilliant experiment](https://werd.io/xoxo-explore-is-fitting-showcase-for-a-brilliant-experiment.md) - XOXO was completely wonderful. This site is a lovely showcase of why.
- [The user-tailored newsroom](https://werd.io/the-user-centered-newsroom.md) - Newsrooms typically treat publishing as a one-size-fits-all broadcast. What if they tailored their work to a reader's needs and interests?
- [It pays to reward curiosity more than looking smart](https://werd.io/it-pays-to-reward-curiosity-more-than-looking-smart.md) - "Curiosity signals that ideas are welcome, not risky." Modeling it is a crucial part of leading a team.
- [Copyright and DMCA Best Practices for Fediverse Operators](https://werd.io/copyright-and-dmca-best-practices-for-fediverse-operators.md) - For instance and community operators, "copyright’s “statutory damages” regime allows for massive, unpredictable financial liability. That’s why it’s important to limit your risk." This guide helps you to get started.
- [The Technological Republic, in brief](https://werd.io/the-technological-republic-in-brief.md) - In which a defense contractor lays its anti-democratic, pro-fascist ideology bare.
- [Notable links: April 17, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-april-17-2026.md) - How AI is affecting thinking and distribution – and why relationships are still at the heart of great teams.
- [Google Broke Its Promise to Me. Now ICE Has My Data.](https://werd.io/google-broke-its-promise-to-me-now-ice-has-my-data.md) - "Google had already disclosed my data without telling me. There was no opportunity to contest it."
- [You Own Your Role, We Own The Outcome](https://werd.io/you-own-your-role-we-own-the-outcome.md) - "A mantra to clarify ownership while reinforcing shared responsibility." I agree with every word.
- [FBI Extracts Suspect’s Deleted Signal Messages Saved in iPhone Notification Database](https://werd.io/fbi-extracts-suspects-deleted-signal-messages-saved-in-iphone-notification-database.md) - An innocuous iPhone notifications setting could put your Signal contacts at risk.
- [Stop Flock](https://werd.io/stop-flock.md) - Flock is building a national surveillance network. A protest movement is forming to tear it down.
- [One size fits none: let communities build for themselves](https://werd.io/one-size-fits-none-let-communities-build-for-themselves.md) - How open protocols and agentic development could lead to a whole new generation of social applications.
- [The bottleneck shifts to distribution](https://werd.io/the-bottleneck-shifts-to-distribution.md) - "There is a fixed amount of scarce attention to go around, and too many people want it. The metagame becomes: secure attention by any means necessary."
- [When the President threatens to commit a genocide](https://werd.io/when-the-president-threatens-to-commit-a-genocide.md) - This cannot continue.
- ["Cognitive surrender" leads AI users to abandon logical thinking, research finds](https://werd.io/cognitive-surrender-leads-ai-users-to-abandon-logical-thinking-research-finds.md) - "Experiments show large majorities uncritically accepting “faulty” AI answers." Increasingly, incentive structures are asking them to.
- [Notable links: April 3, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-april-3-2026.md) - A dystopian week, with a glimmer of hope: alternatives are available.
- [The open web isn't dying. We're killing it](https://werd.io/the-open-web-isnt-dying-were-killing-it.md) - Julien Genestoux thinks the open web needs netizens. I agree – and in 2026, that's indistinguishable from citizenry.
- [An AI company set out to fix news deserts. Instead, it copied local journalists’ work](https://werd.io/an-ai-company-set-out-to-fix-news-deserts-instead-it-copied-local-journalists-work.md) - "Nota shut down its news sites after Axios and Poynter found dozens of plagiarized quotes, phrases and photos."
- [LinkedIn Is Illegally Searching Your Computer](https://werd.io/linkedin-is-illegally-searching-your-computer.md) - LinkedIn is using invasive techniques to fingerprint your browser. Together with its understanding of your identity and professional history, it has the ingredients for an incredibly detailed profile.
- [Surf demonstrates the power of the open social web](https://werd.io/surf-demonstrates-the-power-of-the-open-social-web.md) - Flipboard's browser for the open social web is out for web users today.
- [What Digital Isolation and Censorship Evasion Look Like In Wartime Iran](https://werd.io/what-digital-isolation-and-censorship-evasion-look-like-in-wartime-iran.md) - "Four weeks into the war, Iran is plummeting toward total digital isolation with its internet blocked and communications heavily restricted and monitored." And it's part of a bigger trend.
- [The Right Is Using AI Content Scanners to Try to Supercharge Book Banning](https://werd.io/the-right-is-using-ai-content-scanners-to-try-to-supercharge-book-banning.md) - "Groups that challenge books have begun using Gemini, ChatGPT, xAI, and other AI tools to try to get books banned." The point is to create a chilling effect.
- [An alternate history of social media](https://werd.io/an-alternate-history-of-social-media.md) - I joined Rabble on the Revolution.Social podcast.
- [Building trust in the open at ONA 2026](https://werd.io/building-trust-in-the-open-at-ona-2026.md) - A new white paper about building open communities for news.
- [Bluesky leans into AI with Attie, an app for building custom feeds](https://werd.io/bluesky-leans-into-ai-with-attie-an-app-for-building-custom-feeds.md) - Bluesky's new service isn't about AI; it's about accessibility.
- [The DOJ thinks news is contraband](https://werd.io/the-doj-thinks-news-is-contraband.md) - By treating source materials as contraband, the DOJ is putting both journalism and democracy at risk.
- [The White House has an app now, and Trump wants you to report people to ICE on it](https://werd.io/the-white-house-has-an-app-now-and-trump-wants-you-to-report-people-to-ice-on-it-2.md) - Want to report your friends and neighbors for extrajudicial kidnapping? The new White House app wants you to get in touch.
- [Notable links: March 27, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-march-27.md) - Progress on the open social web; not so much in the world.
- [Why Knight Foundation Invested in Bluesky](https://werd.io/why-knight-foundation-invested-in-bluesky.md) - Newsrooms have been slow to care about the open social web - but one of their most important support organizations is paying attention.
- [Make Space for Every Voice](https://werd.io/make-space-for-every-voice.md) - "If you want stronger decisions, make space for every voice." This is a simple technique to do this in your meetings that really works.
- [Meta and YouTube found negligent in landmark social media addiction case](https://werd.io/meta-and-youtube-found-negligent-in-landmark-social-media-addiction-case.md) - The implications of this case could include the effective end of Section 230 protections – and a new wave of attacks on places where people learn, share, and connect online.
- [I built a CLI for Ghost](https://werd.io/i-built-a-cli-for-ghost.md) - John O'Nolan built a CLI for his own product - and found himself using it in an entirely new way. The underlying trend here is really exciting.
- [Earth being ‘pushed beyond its limits’ as energy imbalance reaches record high](https://werd.io/earth-being-pushed-beyond-its-limits-as-energy-imbalance-reaches-record-high.md) - "Our home planet is struggling with a record energy imbalance, which is warming oceans to unprecedented levels, making weather more extreme and threatening health and food supplies." How we react matters.
- [Histomat of F/OSS: We should reclaim LLMs, not reject them](https://werd.io/histomat-of-f-oss-we-should-reclaim-llms-not-reject-them.md) - "The materialist response isn't to reject the new technology. It's to evolve our licenses to encompass it."
- [Ageless Linux](https://werd.io/ageless-linux.md) - "Software for humans of indeterminate age. We don't know how old you are. We don't want to know. We are legally required to ask. We won't." Open source activism at its finest.
- [AI is changing the style and substance of human writing, study finds](https://werd.io/ai-is-changing-the-style-and-substance-of-human-writing-study-finds.md) - "Teams from Google and leading universities found that large-language models change the voice, tone and intended meaning of human authors."
- [Democratic Backsliding Reaches Western Democracies, with U.S. Decline “Unprecedented”](https://werd.io/democratic-backsliding-reaches-western-democracies-with-u-s-decline-unprecedented.md) - "Democratic backsliding is now happening in well-established democracies. Democracy in the USA is deteriorating at unprecedented speed, and media and journalists are increasingly targeted across the world."
- [Notable links: March 20, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-march-20-2026.md) - Agentic engineering and burnout.
- [Four things about Yahoo News that may surprise you](https://werd.io/four-things-about-yahoo-news-that-may-surprise-you.md) - It's one of the most popular news sites in the country, and it's wildly profitable. It might be the right time for Yahoo to bounce back.
- [The Last Quiet Thing](https://werd.io/the-last-quiet-thing.md) - "That guilt was manufactured. It was placed inside you by an industry that profits from your participation and a wellness culture that profits from your shame."
- [Agentic Engineering Patterns](https://werd.io/agentic-engineering-patterns.md) - Simon Willison is building a great, ongoing, work-in-progress guide for understanding agentic engineering.
- [Businesses rush to rehire staff after regretted AI-driven cuts](https://werd.io/businesses-rush-to-rehire-staff-after-regretted-ai-driven-cuts.md) - "Two in three employers that reduced headcount because of artificial intelligence are already rehiring laid off staff, as most express regret over how they handled the AI-led retrenchments."
- [FCC Chair Threatens to Revoke Broadcasters’ Licenses Over Iran War Coverage](https://werd.io/fcc-chair-threatens-to-revoke-broadcasters-licenses-over-iran-war-coverage.md) - Critics say Brendan Carr is positioning himself as a national censor. His threats to broadcasters covering Iran fit the bill.
- [Trump is using immigration policy to suppress speech, lawsuit claims](https://werd.io/trump-is-using-immigration-policy-to-suppress-speech-lawsuit-claims.md) - Researchers who study online safety are being censored and denied entry to the United States. It's having an unconstitutional chilling effect on independent research and advocacy that a lawsuit aims to correct.
- [When Using AI Leads to “Brain Fry”](https://werd.io/when-using-ai-leads-to-brain-fry.md) - AI use can lead to burnout - but how you use it really matters.
- [BuzzFeed Nearing Bankruptcy After Disastrous Turn Toward AI](https://werd.io/buzzfeed-nearing-bankruptcy-after-disastrous-turn-toward-ai.md) - Buzzfeed pivoted to AI - and now finds itself circling the drain.
- [Notable links: March 13, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-march-13-2026.md) - Bluesky's new CEO, Proton Mail de-anonymization, and promoting safety at work.
- [Coming Off the Bench for Bluesky](https://werd.io/coming-off-the-bench-for-bluesky.md) - Bluesky must succeed. It just might.
- [Your Browser Becomes Your WordPress](https://werd.io/your-browser-becomes-your-wordpress.md) - A WordPress instance that's entirely hosted in your browser opens up interesting possibilities for self-hosted personal apps.
- [Workers who love ‘synergizing paradigms’ might be bad at their jobs](https://werd.io/workers-who-love-synergizing-paradigms-might-be-bad-at-their-jobs.md) - Employees who are impressed with corporate jargon are less good at their jobs. News at 11.
- [Proton Mail Helped FBI Unmask Anonymous ‘Stop Cop City’ Protester](https://werd.io/proton-mail-helped-fbi-unmask-anonymous-stop-cop-city-protester.md) - "A court record reviewed by 404 Media shows privacy-focused email provider Proton Mail handed over payment data related to a Stop Cop City email account to the Swiss government, which handed it to the FBI."
- [BBC says ‘irreversible’ trends mean it will not survive without major overhaul](https://werd.io/bbc-says-irreversible-trends-mean-it-will-not-survive-without-major-overhaul.md) - The BBC is dying. It needs to be preserved - but doing so will require a radical reinvention.
- [The Safety Levers](https://werd.io/the-safety-levers.md) - "A framework to move your subculture from the Anxiety Zone to the Learning Zone" - and provide a way for everyone on your team to contribute and experiment safely.
- [Can we build the dog?](https://werd.io/can-we-build-the-dog.md) - What resource-constrained teams need to ask before writing a line of code
- [Good vibes, bad vendors](https://werd.io/good-vibes-bad-vendors.md) - AI coding works now. Here's how to think about it.
- [Notable links: February 20, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-february-20-2026.md) - Why aren't newsrooms sharing and innovating? And more.
- [Stop calling optimization "innovation."](https://werd.io/stop-calling-optimization-innovation.md) - "The problem is, if you’re optimizing a product that fundamentally isn’t working for how people get news in 2026, all you’re really doing is riding that buggy off of a cliff with style."
- [The political effects of X’s feed algorithm](https://werd.io/the-political-effects-of-xs-feed-algorithm.md) - "Feed algorithms are widely suspected to influence political attitudes." This study shows that some do - to significant effect.
- [In Graphic Detail: Subscriptions are rising at big news publishers – even as traffic shrinks](https://werd.io/in-graphic-detail-subscriptions-are-rising-at-big-news-publishers-even-as-traffic-shrinks.md) - In a world where traffic is decreasing, publishers are moving more heavily into subscriptions - with very good results.
- [An increasingly dangerous world](https://werd.io/an-increasingly-dangerous-world.md) - My underlying model for everything that's happening
- [Building trust in the open](https://werd.io/building-trust-in-the-open.md) - How Protocols for Publishers points to the future of journalism – and the web
- [Growing the open social web](https://werd.io/growing-the-open-social-web-2.md) - A position statement for FediForum's unworkshop
- [Palantir vs. the "Republik": US analytics firm takes magazine to court](https://werd.io/palantir-vs-the-republik-us-analytics-firm-takes-magazine-to-court.md) - Switzerland rejected Palantir on security grounds after independent journalism shed light on fundamental issues. Now the company is suing to tell its side of the story.
- [Most Americans don’t pay for news and don’t think they need to](https://werd.io/most-americans-dont-pay-for-news-and-dont-think-they-need-to.md) - Only 8% of respondents believe individual Americans have a responsibility to pay for news. "I don't think that information should be a privilege," one respondent said.
- [Everyone is stealing TV](https://werd.io/everyone-is-stealing-tv.md) - "Fed up with increasing subscription prices, viewers embrace rogue streaming boxes." The question is: what's on them?
- [A note about personal security](https://werd.io/a-note-abo.md) - I made a mistake last month that hopefully others can learn from. There are rumors that ICE is turning its attention to the Philadelphia area, where I live. I’m a natural-born American citizen, but based on accounts from Minneapolis, I’m not excited to run into them, and I’m worried about the healt…
- [Journalism lost its culture of sharing](https://werd.io/journalism-lost-its-culture-of-sharing.md) - "The data are clear: The open-source culture that defined an earlier era of online journalism has collapsed."
- [Hiring in an era of fake candidates, real scams and AI slop](https://werd.io/hiring-in-an-era-of-fake-candidates-real-scams-and-ai-slop.md) - "Red flags that both job seekers and employers should watch for, in an era of AI slop and application scams."
- [Notable links: Jan 24, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-jan-24-2026.md) - What does the future of engineering look like? And more.
- [On ICE, Verification, and Presence As Harm](https://werd.io/on-ice-verification-and-presence-as-harm.md) - "Bluesky built a verification system designed to distribute trust, and then didn't use it when it mattered."
- [The Five Levels: from Spicy Autocomplete to the Software Factory](https://werd.io/the-five-levels-from-spicy-autocomplete-to-the-software-factory.md) - "I’ve now seen dozens of companies struggling to put AI to work writing code, and each one has moved through five clear tiers of automation. That felt familiar."
- [The Forwardable Email](https://werd.io/the-forwardable-email.md) - "A way to help others actually make that connection they said they would." I've used this for a decade, and it's probably useful for you, too.
- [Funding Open Source for Digital Sovereignty](https://werd.io/funding-open-source-for-digital-sovereignty.md) - "Open Source alone won't deliver digital sovereignty. Europe must fix procurement and fund those who actually build it."
- [Who owns your data?](https://werd.io/who-owns-your-data.md) - A Supreme Court case about a bank robbery could redefine your digital rights.
- [Remembering Beyond Vietnam on MLK Day](https://werd.io/remembering-beyond-vietnam-on-mlk-day.md) - A good friend introduced me to Martin Luther King Jr's Beyond Vietnam speech some time ago. It was not well-received by the mainstream press at the time (more about that in a moment) but I think it's prescient and, unfortunately, timely. At the Riverside Church in New York City, he delivered a blis…
- [Notable links: January 16, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-january-16-2026.md) - An occupation in Minnesota and finding your way to work that doesn't harm
- [Remarks on the Federal Government’s Ongoing Presence in Minnesota](https://werd.io/remarks-on-the-federal-governments-ongoing-presence-in-minnesota.md) - “It is a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government." So record it.
- [The Curiosity Tour](https://werd.io/the-curiosity-tour.md) - "A way to approach a job hunt that uncovers extraordinary, unlisted opportunities" - using a distilled framework that makes something that might look daunting feel easy.
- [‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid](https://werd.io/elite-the-palantir-app-ice-uses-to-find-neighborhoods-to-raid.md) - "Internal ICE material and testimony from an official obtained by 404 Media provides the clearest link yet between the technological infrastructure Palantir is building for ICE and the agency’s activities on the ground."
- [The Zurich protocol](https://werd.io/the-zurich-protocol.md) - They came for the newsroom. It was ready.
- [Bari Weiss Is The Symptom](https://werd.io/bari-weiss-is-the-symptom.md) - "The truth is that prestige journalism is lousy with Bari Weisses, up and down the line. Ask any journalist trying to cover the genocide in Gaza or the social death of gender nonconformists."
- [How to know if that job will crush your soul](https://werd.io/how-to-know-if-that-job-will-crush-your-soul.md) - "But these questions are framed in this way to encourage us all to aspire towards roles that enable us to do our best work, to have the biggest impact, and to live according to our values."
- [47 lessons](https://werd.io/47-lessons.md) - Things I've learned.
- [How I hire engineers](https://werd.io/how-i-hire-engineers.md) - Building a community means looking beyond coding tests.
- [Notable links: January 2, 2026](https://werd.io/notable-links-january-2-2026.md) - Looking ahead: humans are cool again.
- [What is Instagram’s Adam Mosseri really saying in his year-end memo?](https://werd.io/what-is-instagrams-adam-mosseri-really-saying-in-his-year-end-memo.md) - "Instagram no longer believes it can beat AI by making more or better content. It wants to be the referee, to decide what is real and what is not, and to build systems that can do it at scale."
- [2025: The year in LLMs](https://werd.io/2025-the-year-in-llms.md) - Simon Willison breaks down what happened in the LLM space in 2025. Some of it has the potential to transform tech forever.
- [The next big thing in 2026 will be...](https://werd.io/the-next-big-thing-in-2026-will-be.md) - This year's predictions from tech experts and decision-makers are notably pro-human.
- [Watching Bari Weiss Murder Investigative Journalism at CBS](https://werd.io/watching-bari-weiss-murder-investigative-journalism-at-cbs.md) - "Notes from someone who's withstood White House demands to stop an explosive story—and who once even had a 60 Minutes piece spiked."
- [A 2026 checklist](https://werd.io/a-2026-checklist.md) - A way to build a habit out of what's important.
- [2025: a personal year in review](https://werd.io/2025-a-personal-year-in-review.md) - Highlights and hopes for the new year.
- [Friday links: December 26, 2025](https://werd.io/friday-links-december-26-2025.md) - An alternative Christmas; lies we tell ourselves.

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