Why the open social web matters now 
Ben Werdmuller
Why the open social web matters now
The needs are real – and you have so much power.
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
Build what makes you special. Buy the rest. 
Ben Werdmuller
Build what makes you special. Buy the rest.
A framework for newsroom build vs buy decisions.
What AI means for the business of: journalism 
Ben Werdmuller
What AI means for the business of: journalism
"[An] archipelago of high-trust communities [is] where journalists are uniquely capable of building thriving businesses."
Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: 'I feel defeated'
Ben Werdmuller
Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: 'I feel defeated'
Many of our colleagues' communities are being directly targeted by an increasingly authoritarian, anti-immigrant regime. As managers and leaders, w...
Don’t dwell on “democracy,” and other new findings about how to market local news
Ben Werdmuller
Don’t dwell on “democracy,” and other new findings about how to market local news
It turns out that "we're protecting democracy and our industry is dying, please pay us money" is not a great sales pitch.
Your private data isn't as private as you think 
Ben Werdmuller
Your private data isn't as private as you think
How law enforcement and private parties can access your information without your knowledge, and what you can do about it.
Building distributed media for a democratic breakdown 
Ben Werdmuller
Building distributed media for a democratic breakdown
Preparing viable alternatives for broadcast censorship and a restricted internet.
Using technology skills for positive change 
Ben Werdmuller
Using technology skills for positive change
Let's help build the world we want to see.
WordPress for newsrooms 
Ben Werdmuller
WordPress for newsrooms
From self-hosted WordPress to managed solutions
Can newsrooms become social platforms? 
Ben Werdmuller
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 
Ben Werdmuller
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
Ben Werdmuller
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
Ben Werdmuller
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 advertis...
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
Ben Werdmuller
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 woul...