Building distributed media for a democratic breakdown
Preparing viable alternatives for broadcast censorship and a restricted internet.
Latest
What I learned in the first five years of Platformer
Casey Newton's annual updates are always great. This year, perhaps predictably, the biggest highlight for me is his ambitions around community. We need stronger community platforms to support newsrooms.
How aesthetics destroyed privacy and polarized us
Has the internet led to more polarization, or is this more of a great unmasking, where people feel more comfortable to share opinions they've always held?
Using technology skills for positive change
Let's help build the world we want to see.
WordPress for newsrooms
From self-hosted WordPress to managed solutions
Implementing an unlimited PTO policy
Useful tips on creating an unlimited PTO policy. I used to think these were more accounting hacks than real benefits - but I've changed my mind over time.
Can newsrooms become social platforms?
How community-first thinking can help newsrooms survive AI
GregoryAI aims to improve the lives of researchers and patients alike
An open source project aimed at making medical research easier.
Bluesky now platform of choice for science community
A new survey suggests that scientists vastly prefer Bluesky to X - and to its other alternatives.
More UK news publishers are adopting 'consent or pay' advertising model
"Sixteen of the 50 biggest news websites in the UK are now using a “consent or pay” model to allow users to pay to reject personalised advertising or even avoid ads altogether." It should be illegal.
Why You Need Systems Thinking Now
"Focus on flows and relationships, not products or services." An argument for systems thinking instead of design thinking or breakthrough innovation.
Political Pollsters Are Trying to Save Money by Polling AI Instead of Real People, and It’s Going About as Well as You’d Expect
"Obviously, any campaign that used only that AI-generated data would miss the mark — instead of looking at the views of real respondents, it would be looking at a funhouse mirror reflection of a demographic cooked up by a language model with no access to actual data."
Technology
Why I'm all-in on Zen Browser
After Arc's pivot to AI left power users behind, I found the browser I actually wanted.
Media
The 19th's Strategic Plan
"The 19th developed seven key initiatives to guide our priorities for the next three years." Doing this work in public is such a smart move.
Ask a newsroom technology leader
Ask a newsroom technology leader
From startup CTO to newsroom leader: Ask me anything.
Democracy
How Do We Tell the Story of Gaza’s Murdered Journalists?
"Now, nearly two years and more than 250 assassinations later, I can count the names of the living journalists in Gaza I follow on one hand."
Technology
Funding Open Source like public infrastructure
"Open Source runs much of the world's critical infrastructure. It powers government services, supports national security, and enables everything from public health systems to elections. This means governments must help fund Open Source."
Technology
Perplexity Makes Longshot $34.5 Billion Offer for Chrome
"Artificial-intelligence startup Perplexity offered to purchase Google’s Chrome browser for $34.5 billion as it works to challenge the tech giant’s web-search dominance."
Democracy
Lifelogging under fascism
How self-tracking became self-incrimination
Asides
What I owe to August 6
It was a war crime. And my relationship to it is complicated.
Technology
Japan: Apple Must Lift Browser Engine Ban by December
Japan, the EU, and the UK all now require Apple to support third-party browser engines. That's great news for the open web.
Technology
Silicon Valley’s Dream Tech Job Is Disappearing
“We’re seeing right now why tech needs unions.”
Technology
Ghost 6.0
The new version of Ghost connects every site to an open social network that provides built-in reach without losing independence.
Asides
Small repairs
Drinking Sunday coffee in the hyper-normal