Ben Werdmuller - Nostr Hypermedia

Ben Werdmuller

benwerd@nos.social

npub183ng...4n09

I lead technology at ProPublica and write speculative fiction. This is a personal account. Every day, I write about tech, democracy, and society at https://werd.io. More about me: https://about.werd.io

benwerd 2 days ago

Four things about Yahoo News that may surprise you

Four things about Yahoo News that may surprise you

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.

benwerd 2 days ago

The Last Quiet Thing

The Last Quiet Thing

"That guilt was manufactured. It was placed inside you by an industry that profits from your participation and a wellness culture that profits from...

benwerd 4 days ago

Agentic Engineering Patterns

Agentic Engineering Patterns

Simon Willison is building a great, ongoing, work-in-progress guide for understanding agentic engineering.

benwerd 5 days ago

Businesses rush to rehire staff after regretted AI-driven cuts

Businesses rush to rehire staff after regretted AI-driven cuts

"Two in three employers that reduced headcount because of artificial intelligence are already rehiring laid off staff, as most express regret over ...

benwerd 5 days ago

FCC Chair Threatens to Revoke Broadcasters’ Licenses Over Iran War Coverage

FCC Chair Threatens to Revoke Broadcasters’ Licenses Over Iran War Coverage

Critics say Brendan Carr is positioning himself as a national censor. His threats to broadcasters covering Iran fit the bill.

benwerd 6 days ago

Trump is using immigration policy to suppress speech, lawsuit claims

Trump is using immigration policy to suppress speech, lawsuit claims

Researchers who study online safety are being censored and denied entry to the United States. It's having an unconstitutional chilling effect on in...

benwerd 6 days ago

When Using AI Leads to “Brain Fry”

When Using AI Leads to “Brain Fry”

AI use can lead to burnout - but how you use it really matters.

benwerd 6 days ago

BuzzFeed Nearing Bankruptcy After Disastrous Turn Toward AI

BuzzFeed Nearing Bankruptcy After Disastrous Turn Toward AI

Buzzfeed pivoted to AI - and now finds itself circling the drain.

benwerd 1 week ago

Notable links: March 13, 2026

Notable links: March 13, 2026

Bluesky's new CEO, Proton Mail de-anonymization, and promoting safety at work.

benwerd 1 week ago

Coming Off the Bench for Bluesky

Coming Off the Bench for Bluesky

Bluesky must succeed. It just might.

benwerd 1 week ago

Your Browser Becomes Your WordPress

Your Browser Becomes Your WordPress

A WordPress instance that's entirely hosted in your browser opens up interesting possibilities for self-hosted personal apps.

benwerd 2 weeks ago

Workers who love ‘synergizing paradigms’ might be bad at their jobs

Workers who love ‘synergizing paradigms’ might be bad at their jobs

Employees who are impressed with corporate jargon are less good at their jobs. News at 11.

benwerd 2 weeks ago

Proton Mail Helped FBI Unmask Anonymous ‘Stop Cop City’ Protester

Proton Mail Helped FBI Unmask Anonymous ‘Stop Cop City’ Protester

"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 ac...

benwerd 2 weeks ago

Can we build the dog?

Evaluating feasibility: can we build the dog?

What resource-constrained teams need to ask before writing a line of code

benwerd 3 weeks ago

Good vibes, bad vendors

Good vibes, bad vendors

AI coding works now. Here's how to think about it.

benwerd 0 months ago

Notable links: February 20, 2026

Notable links: February 20, 2026

Why aren't newsrooms sharing and innovating? And more.

benwerd 0 months ago

Stop calling optimization "innovation."

Stop calling optimization "innovation."

"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 ...

benwerd 0 months ago

The political effects of X’s feed algorithm

The political effects of X’s feed algorithm

"Feed algorithms are widely suspected to influence political attitudes." This study shows that some do - to significant effect.

benwerd 1 month ago

In Graphic Detail: Subscriptions are rising at big news publishers – even as traffic shrinks

In Graphic Detail: Subscriptions are rising at big news publishers – even as traffic shrinks

In a world where traffic is decreasing, publishers are moving more heavily into subscriptions - with very good results.

benwerd 1 month ago

An increasingly dangerous world

An increasingly dangerous world

My underlying model for everything that's happening

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