benwerd 2 months ago

Trump is using immigration policy to suppress speech, lawsuit claims

Ben Werdmuller

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 2 months ago

When Using AI Leads to “Brain Fry”

Ben Werdmuller

When Using AI Leads to “Brain Fry”

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

benwerd 2 months ago

BuzzFeed Nearing Bankruptcy After Disastrous Turn Toward AI

Ben Werdmuller

BuzzFeed Nearing Bankruptcy After Disastrous Turn Toward AI

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

benwerd 2 months ago

Notable links: March 13, 2026

Ben Werdmuller

Notable links: March 13, 2026

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

benwerd 2 months ago

Coming Off the Bench for Bluesky

Ben Werdmuller

Coming Off the Bench for Bluesky

Bluesky must succeed. It just might.

benwerd 2 months ago

Your Browser Becomes Your WordPress

Ben Werdmuller

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 months ago

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

Ben Werdmuller

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 months ago

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

Ben Werdmuller

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 months ago

Can we build the dog?

Ben Werdmuller

Evaluating feasibility: can we build the dog?

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

benwerd 3 months ago

Good vibes, bad vendors

Ben Werdmuller

Good vibes, bad vendors

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

benwerd 3 months ago

Notable links: February 20, 2026

Ben Werdmuller

Notable links: February 20, 2026

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

benwerd 3 months ago

Stop calling optimization "innovation."

Ben Werdmuller

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 3 months ago

The political effects of X’s feed algorithm

Ben Werdmuller

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 3 months ago

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

Ben Werdmuller

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 3 months ago

An increasingly dangerous world

Ben Werdmuller

An increasingly dangerous world

My underlying model for everything that's happening

benwerd 3 months ago

Building trust in the open

Ben Werdmuller

Building trust in the open

How Protocols for Publishers points to the future of journalism – and the web

benwerd 3 months ago

Growing the open social web

Ben Werdmuller

Growing the open social web

A position statement for FediForum's unworkshop

benwerd 3 months ago

Palantir vs. the "Republik": US analytics firm takes magazine to court

Ben Werdmuller

Palantir vs. the "Republik": US analytics firm takes magazine to court

Switzerland rejected Palantir on security grounds after independent journalism shed light on fundamental issues. Now the company is suing to tell i...

benwerd 3 months ago

Most Americans don’t pay for news and don’t think they need to

Ben Werdmuller

Most Americans don’t pay for news and don’t think they need to

Only 8% of respondents believe individual Americans have a responsibility to pay for news. "I don't think that information should be a privilege," ...

benwerd 3 months ago

Everyone is stealing TV

Ben Werdmuller

Everyone is stealing TV

"Fed up with increasing subscription prices, viewers embrace rogue streaming boxes." The question is: what's on them?