benwerd 3 weeks ago

This is different to what I normally post about, but my cousin Sarah Dessen's book Change of Plans is out today. She writes beautiful YA coming of age novels. They've made me cry. If you have a teen (or other YA-lover) in your house, they might love this. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Change-of-Plans/Sarah-Dessen/9798347108770

benwerd 3 weeks ago

If I was invited to the Met Gala I'd just go in a zorb and roll around a bunch. Avant-garde ✅ Daring ✅ Impactful ✅

benwerd 3 weeks ago

Congratulations to every journalism team celebrating a Pulitzer Prize this afternoon. And thank you to every journalist everywhere who is speaking truth to power, bringing injustice to light, and speaking up for people who need their stories to be heard. We need you more than ever.

benwerd 0 months ago

The way to save news is not to create monopolistic monocultures

Ben Werdmuller

The way to save news is not to create monopolistic monocultures

"Why, a funder asked me recently, do two intermediaries this funder saw as offering duplicative services both still exist? Because you—and your f...

benwerd 0 months ago

This is a great idea, but the historical precedents are ... not promising. I'd love it if it worked this time.

DO_NOT_TRACK

A proposed standard environment variable for opting out of telemetry, analytics, and tracking in CLI and TUI applications.

benwerd 0 months ago

The gutting of the VRA is completely disturbing. Everything feels like a full-speed careen to the worst of Jim Crow and McCarthyism, like an upside-down nightmare inverse of what America's promise could actually be.

benwerd 0 months ago

Open source maintainers need to go in with open eyes

Ben Werdmuller

Open source maintainers need to go in with open eyes

"To labour out of love, and to choose to share their work freely in a market society, OSS developers find themselves in a position where they are v...

benwerd 1 month ago

Today is turning out to be very exciting (in a very good way).

benwerd 1 month ago

Labor movements have made the world markedly better, more equitable, and more democratic. We should all celebrate May Day. https://sharemylesson.com/todays-news-tomorrows-lesson/international-workers-day

benwerd 1 month ago

Claude Opus can now identify an author from their writing

Ben Werdmuller

Claude Opus can now identify an author from their writing

"AI only needs 150 words to identify me. What does that mean for you?"

benwerd 1 month ago

Notable links: May 1, 2026

Ben Werdmuller

Notable links: May 1, 2026

AI and society; and sustaining innovation has failed us.

benwerd 1 month ago

In a conversation with my therapist, she asked what I'd been reading lately. I have two books on the go: an apocalyptic horror novel and one about the Gwangju Uprising in South Korea. She quietly suggested that maybe I find some joy from time to time. Heard.

benwerd 1 month ago

IndieWeb Fiction Carnival: May 2026

Ben Werdmuller

IndieWeb Fiction Carnival: May 2026

This month's prompt is "sticks and stones will break my bones".

benwerd 1 month ago

Matt Mullenweg thinks WordPress is in decline. He may be right

Ben Werdmuller

Matt Mullenweg thinks WordPress is in decline. He may be right

When open source becomes a bureaucracy, it stops being able to innovate. For a product, that can mean death.

benwerd 1 month ago

I've signed up to host the #indieweb fiction carnival for May 2026. Write a story during the month of May, publish it on your own site, and we'll create a mini-anthology roundup post at the end of the month. All good fun. Here's this month's prompt and instructions:

Ben Werdmuller

IndieWeb Fiction Carnival: May 2026

This month's prompt is "sticks and stones will break my bones".

benwerd 1 month ago

Here's the sketch of a short story I wrote for this month's #IndieWeb Fiction Carnival. The theme was "soulmates".

The Outmap

Sharing is caring

Bree woke up covered in blood again. The motel room was nicer than the last one. Two weeks ago, she had been a persistent drip from the ceiling on...

benwerd 1 month ago

Product-shaped or movement-shaped?

Ben Werdmuller

Product-shaped or movement-shaped?

People love your work because of its impact, not how it works.

benwerd 1 month ago

"The Office for Civil Rights is keeping the public in the dark on which schools it’s investigating and why." So we're suing them. Proud, as always, to work here:

ProPublica

Why We Are Suing the Department of Education

The Office for Civil Rights is keeping the public in the dark on which schools it’s investigating and why.

benwerd 1 month ago

Nobody cares about decentralization. Nobody cares about the journalistic process. They care about making their world better.

Ben Werdmuller

Product-shaped or movement-shaped?

People love your work because of its impact, not how it works.

benwerd 1 month ago

I keep catching glimpses of SNL UK. It seems really good - the kind of thing that will be formative for a generation in the same way that stuff like The Day Today was for me. It's not a competition, but the clips I've seen seem funnier for my taste than the original; a little less sanitized.