Ben Werdmuller
@ben.werd.social.ap.brid.gy
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 […]
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://werd.social/@ben, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://werd.social/@ben, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
OK, I think I'm going to try and bring Known back for real.
February 13, 2026 at 7:56 PM
OK, I think I'm going to try and bring Known back for real.
RE: https://cosocial.ca/@evan/116055781862895057
Whoa. I have so many thoughts - this is the first time I've seen it in almost two decades. Tempting to do a writeup of what happened next.
Whoa. I have so many thoughts - this is the first time I've seen it in almost two decades. Tempting to do a writeup of what happened next.
Enjoying the OpenDD web site in the Wayback Machine. I was talking to @ben about OpenDD at Protocols for Publishere:
https://web.archive.org/web/20080730013213/http://www.opendd.net/
https://web.archive.org/web/20080730013213/http://www.opendd.net/
Open Data Definition
web.archive.org
February 12, 2026 at 5:26 PM
RE: https://cosocial.ca/@evan/116055781862895057
Whoa. I have so many thoughts - this is the first time I've seen it in almost two decades. Tempting to do a writeup of what happened next.
Whoa. I have so many thoughts - this is the first time I've seen it in almost two decades. Tempting to do a writeup of what happened next.
Only 8% of respondents believe individual Americans have a responsibility to pay for news. "I don't think that information should be a privilege," one respondent said. #media https://werd.io/most-americans-dont-pay-for-news-and-dont-think-they-need-to/
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," one respondent said.
werd.io
February 11, 2026 at 11:07 PM
Only 8% of respondents believe individual Americans have a responsibility to pay for news. "I don't think that information should be a privilege," one respondent said. #media https://werd.io/most-americans-dont-pay-for-news-and-dont-think-they-need-to/
Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
The cool thing about atproto layered with @standard.site is that if a Substack competitor on the protocol like @leaflet.pub goes down, you can just write and publish on another one like @pckt.blog @offprint.app or @greengale.app, and your subscribers will receive it regardless
substack is down, quick, make a @leaflet.pub blog & never look back!
February 11, 2026 at 4:51 PM
The cool thing about atproto layered with @standard.site is that if a Substack competitor on the protocol like @leaflet.pub goes down, you can just write and publish on another one like @pckt.blog @offprint.app or @greengale.app, and your subscribers will receive it regardless
"Fed up with increasing subscription prices, viewers embrace rogue streaming boxes." The question is: what's on them? #technology https://werd.io/everyone-is-stealing-tv/
Everyone is stealing TV
"Fed up with increasing subscription prices, viewers embrace rogue streaming boxes." The question is: what's on them?
werd.io
February 11, 2026 at 4:45 PM
"Fed up with increasing subscription prices, viewers embrace rogue streaming boxes." The question is: what's on them? #technology https://werd.io/everyone-is-stealing-tv/
Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
The @socialwebfdn , FediHost, and Qlub are presenting a day-long Fediverse conference in Montreal, Canada on February 24, 2026. FediMTL features speakers from across the Fediverse, including Cory Doctorow, Christine Lemmer-Webber, Julian Lam, and yours truly, Evan Prodromou. The theme of digital […]
Original post on threads.com
www.threads.com
February 10, 2026 at 7:28 PM
The @socialwebfdn , FediHost, and Qlub are presenting a day-long Fediverse conference in Montreal, Canada on February 24, 2026. FediMTL features speakers from across the Fediverse, including Cory Doctorow, Christine Lemmer-Webber, Julian Lam, and yours truly, Evan Prodromou. The theme of digital […]
"ProPublica went inside the immigrant detention center for families in Dilley, Texas. Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of what comes next." https://www.propublica.org/article/life-inside-ice-dilley-children
www.propublica.org
February 9, 2026 at 11:43 PM
"ProPublica went inside the immigrant detention center for families in Dilley, Texas. Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of what comes next." https://www.propublica.org/article/life-inside-ice-dilley-children
"Hundreds of children are currently being held with their parents at an immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas. In letters and drawings, eight kids convey the pain of feeling trapped with no end in sight." https://www.propublica.org/article/ice-dilley-children-letters
www.propublica.org
February 9, 2026 at 6:27 PM
"Hundreds of children are currently being held with their parents at an immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas. In letters and drawings, eight kids convey the pain of feeling trapped with no end in sight." https://www.propublica.org/article/ice-dilley-children-letters
Well, that was the worst landing I’ve ever experienced. The flight attendant across from me confirmed it was the worst HE had ever experienced. Given that my previous worst ever was just a month and a half ago, I’m going to give flying a rest for a little bit.
February 7, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Well, that was the worst landing I’ve ever experienced. The flight attendant across from me confirmed it was the worst HE had ever experienced. Given that my previous worst ever was just a month and a half ago, I’m going to give flying a rest for a little bit.
Descending into the airport. I cannot wait to hug my best buddy. I’ve missed him so much.
February 7, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Descending into the airport. I cannot wait to hug my best buddy. I’ve missed him so much.
Thinking about all the people I met in the UK this week who asked me “is it really as bad as it looks out there?” (which was just about everybody). It’s probably worse. For every story that breaks containment expect there to be many more. Meanwhile, everything just continues apace. Banal, evil.
February 7, 2026 at 5:25 PM
Thinking about all the people I met in the UK this week who asked me “is it really as bad as it looks out there?” (which was just about everybody). It’s probably worse. For every story that breaks containment expect there to be many more. Meanwhile, everything just continues apace. Banal, evil.
This isn’t new news as such, but people keep being surprised by it, so it’s worth repeating. Substack hosts, profits from, and promotes explicitly Nazi content, and if you are adding value to that network, you are helping them to do so […]
Original post on werd.social
werd.social
February 7, 2026 at 5:09 PM
This isn’t new news as such, but people keep being surprised by it, so it’s worth repeating. Substack hosts, profits from, and promotes explicitly Nazi content, and if you are adding value to that network, you are helping them to do so […]
Dedicated this flight to a One Battle After Another / Bugonia double bill. I enjoyed both. I have 1h40 left. What do I do now?
February 7, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Dedicated this flight to a One Battle After Another / Bugonia double bill. I enjoyed both. I have 1h40 left. What do I do now?
Everyone was right, One Battle After Another turned out to be great.
February 7, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Everyone was right, One Battle After Another turned out to be great.
That’s a wrap for Protocols for Publishers in London. We discussed discovery and AI, monetization, and audience / community needs with publishers, in conversation with open protocol builders and people dedicated to creating an open social web. I’m very grateful for everyone who participated.
February 5, 2026 at 4:26 PM
That’s a wrap for Protocols for Publishers in London. We discussed discovery and AI, monetization, and audience / community needs with publishers, in conversation with open protocol builders and people dedicated to creating an open social web. I’m very grateful for everyone who participated.
Very excited for Protocols for Publishers at Newspeak House later tonight. Lots of publishers and protocol builders showing up to discuss how we might help each other and build an open, protocol-driven web that supports journalism, publishers, and an informed society.
February 4, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Very excited for Protocols for Publishers at Newspeak House later tonight. Lots of publishers and protocol builders showing up to discuss how we might help each other and build an open, protocol-driven web that supports journalism, publishers, and an informed society.
We lost my cousin Alan Dessen recently. He was a good man who was a big part of the fabric of my childhood. He will be missed. https://www.sddictionary.com/AlanDessenObituary.pdf
February 4, 2026 at 12:38 PM
We lost my cousin Alan Dessen recently. He was a good man who was a big part of the fabric of my childhood. He will be missed. https://www.sddictionary.com/AlanDessenObituary.pdf
Walking through Whitechapel I was struck by how vibrant the community is - all kinds of people out on the street, buying at the market, passing through. Smiles, good-natured shouting, banter. If you hate the diversity of London you hate human life.
February 4, 2026 at 12:12 PM
Walking through Whitechapel I was struck by how vibrant the community is - all kinds of people out on the street, buying at the market, passing through. Smiles, good-natured shouting, banter. If you hate the diversity of London you hate human life.
When I left the UK I said I’d be back twice a year. I can’t believe it’s been eight years. I’m wandering around Brick Lane, after wandering my hometown Oxford yesterday, and I just feel like I’m home in a way I didn’t even realize I’d been missing. It’s nice, but also sad.
February 4, 2026 at 9:58 AM
When I left the UK I said I’d be back twice a year. I can’t believe it’s been eight years. I’m wandering around Brick Lane, after wandering my hometown Oxford yesterday, and I just feel like I’m home in a way I didn’t even realize I’d been missing. It’s nice, but also sad.
My “reveal all my credentials and sensitive information” self-hosted AI agent has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my agent
February 2, 2026 at 1:10 AM
My “reveal all my credentials and sensitive information” self-hosted AI agent has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my agent
@maximum_mew Yes. This misuse of language as redirection is very common - for example, we talk about "internment camps" run by Japanese forces in WWII or by ourselves later on, but they were all very much concentration camps.
February 1, 2026 at 7:01 PM
@maximum_mew Yes. This misuse of language as redirection is very common - for example, we talk about "internment camps" run by Japanese forces in WWII or by ourselves later on, but they were all very much concentration camps.
"That we have not (yet) set up an Auschwitz-Birkenau, replete with crematoria, is not evidence to the contrary. After all, the German Nazis didn’t just suddenly start killing millions in the 1940s; their crimes against humanity began years earlier, in the 1930s." […]
Original post on werd.social
werd.social
February 1, 2026 at 6:08 PM
"That we have not (yet) set up an Auschwitz-Birkenau, replete with crematoria, is not evidence to the contrary. After all, the German Nazis didn’t just suddenly start killing millions in the 1940s; their crimes against humanity began years earlier, in the 1930s." […]
I am a mild-mannered, some might say conflict avoidant person. I like peace and calm. But I can assure you that if a government agency interned my son, let alone if he was harmed in any way or if he fell ill in the process, I would turn into fucking Rambo. Until the end of time.
January 31, 2026 at 9:33 PM
I am a mild-mannered, some might say conflict avoidant person. I like peace and calm. But I can assure you that if a government agency interned my son, let alone if he was harmed in any way or if he fell ill in the process, I would turn into fucking Rambo. Until the end of time.