Commentary on links that caught my attention around the web.
Fediverse
[Skyseed] Really fascinating play: "Open Source veteran entrepreneur Peter Wang today launches Skyseed Fund, the world's first venture fund and incubator focused exclusively on Bluesky and its open ecosystem." Peter has been involved in decentralized social networking for a long time. There's $1M in
Technology
[Daniel Appelquist and Yves Lafon at the W3C] These ethical web principles that guide the ongoing development of the platform are great. And this is spot on: "The web is a fundamental part of our lives, shaping how we work, connect, and learn. We understand that with this profound
Technology
[Emma Roth at The Verge] I think this was almost inevitable: "On Tuesday, a California District Court judge ordered Automattic to stop blocking WP Engine’s access to WordPress.org resources and interfering with its plugins." Automattic is going to file a counterclaim, pointing out that the ruling
Notable Links
[Paul Kiel at ProPublica] If we're going to improve on Medicare, we have to fund it - and it turns out that even today's Medicare taxes are being skipped out on by some of the wealthiest citizens in America, thanks to a legal loophole that the
Culture
[The Oxford Clarion] I grew up in Oxford, and the Eagle and Child is one of my favorite pubs from back home. I'm also a longtime critic of certain big companies, Larry Ellison's Oracle among them. So imagine my dismay when I heard this: "The
Technology
[Lindsey Lionheart O'Brien at Mozilla Distilled] This is a rebrand and reorientation for Mozilla: "Mozilla isn’t just another tech company — we’re a global crew of activists, technologists and builders, all working to keep the internet free, open and accessible. For over 25 years, we’ve
Media
[Gabe Schneider in Nieman Lab's Predictions for Journalism, 2025] This is important: "It’s not so much a prediction as a necessity: We must abandon publications and platforms that fail to center our values in favor of newsrooms that actually care for us, our families, our neighbors,
Technology
[Mathew Ingram] As Mathew Ingram points out, Australia's new social media law is a well-intentioned error. He quotes an Australian human rights commission dissent which points out that: "For children in marginalised, remote, or vulnerable situations, social media offers a lifeline. It connects children with disability to
Society
[Annie Lowrey at The Atlantic] This older interview with Matthew Desmond is doing the rounds again, and I discovered it for the first time. If you haven't read his books Evicted, and Poverty, by America, you owe it to yourself to do that. They're revealing, important
Fediverse
[Wes Davis at The Verge] Threads added a little more fediverse support: "While fediverse posts won’t show in feeds, Instagram head Adam Mosseri says their profile and posts do appear on Threads, and you have the option to get notifications when they publish. That’s something, at least.
Technology
[Joseph Cox at 404 Media] This is good to see: "The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced sweeping action against some of the most important companies in the location data industry on Tuesday, including those that power surveillance tools used by a wide spread of U.S. law enforcement agencies
Technology
[Sam Biddle at The Intercept] In the face of Trump's promise to conduct mass deportations, The Intercept set out to find out who in tech would be collaborators: "To see whether corporate America will support Trump’s promised anti-immigrant operation, The Intercept reached out to data and