Ben Werdmuller
@werd.io
Senior Director of Technology at ProPublica. I write speculative fiction and think about the future of news and technology at https://werd.io.
Pinned
Ben Werdmuller
@werd.io
· Mar 22
There is no such thing as neutral technology.
Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
I'm so psyched about @bonfire.bonfire.cafe.ap.brid.gy's work on making the open social internet good for real communities by putting in the culture work right from the very beginning. I'm a scavenger and a pragmatist *and also* I think the way we do things matters.
www.wrecka.ge/sparks-fly-up/
www.wrecka.ge/sparks-fly-up/
Sparks fly up
Once you’ve seized the tools of political life to build communal power, it’s hard to forget what a hammer feels like in your hand.
www.wrecka.ge
November 11, 2025 at 12:31 AM
I'm so psyched about @bonfire.bonfire.cafe.ap.brid.gy's work on making the open social internet good for real communities by putting in the culture work right from the very beginning. I'm a scavenger and a pragmatist *and also* I think the way we do things matters.
www.wrecka.ge/sparks-fly-up/
www.wrecka.ge/sparks-fly-up/
I was walking back from daycare with my buddy in his stroller. A Cybertruck drove past us.
“Whoa,” he said, in hushed tones. “It’s so beautiful.” Awed, his eyes followed it as it disappeared.
So I guess they’ve got the early childhood demographic locked. Also I have some parenting to do.
“Whoa,” he said, in hushed tones. “It’s so beautiful.” Awed, his eyes followed it as it disappeared.
So I guess they’ve got the early childhood demographic locked. Also I have some parenting to do.
November 11, 2025 at 12:16 AM
I was walking back from daycare with my buddy in his stroller. A Cybertruck drove past us.
“Whoa,” he said, in hushed tones. “It’s so beautiful.” Awed, his eyes followed it as it disappeared.
So I guess they’ve got the early childhood demographic locked. Also I have some parenting to do.
“Whoa,” he said, in hushed tones. “It’s so beautiful.” Awed, his eyes followed it as it disappeared.
So I guess they’ve got the early childhood demographic locked. Also I have some parenting to do.
I upgraded macOS and it clobbered my vscode installation. Completely corrupted. I reinstalled, but maybe it's a good time to switch IDEs? I used to be a big Webstorm fan. What are people loving these days? I don't want an AI IDE.
November 10, 2025 at 3:28 PM
I upgraded macOS and it clobbered my vscode installation. Completely corrupted. I reinstalled, but maybe it's a good time to switch IDEs? I used to be a big Webstorm fan. What are people loving these days? I don't want an AI IDE.
"I want you to understand what it is like to live in Chicago during this time." werd.io/i-want-you-t...
I Want You to Understand Chicago
"I want you to understand what it is like to live in Chicago during this time."
werd.io
November 10, 2025 at 2:47 PM
"I want you to understand what it is like to live in Chicago during this time." werd.io/i-want-you-t...
"You have some serious thinking to do about what you intend to trust to the Apple stack altogether going forward, even things like passwords." werd.io/time-to-star...
Time to start de-Appling – Hi, I'm Heather Burns
"You have some serious thinking to do about what you intend to trust to the Apple stack altogether going forward, even things like passwords."
werd.io
November 10, 2025 at 2:25 PM
"You have some serious thinking to do about what you intend to trust to the Apple stack altogether going forward, even things like passwords." werd.io/time-to-star...
Pluribus is A+ good so far. Exactly my sort of thing.
November 10, 2025 at 4:22 AM
Pluribus is A+ good so far. Exactly my sort of thing.
The most racist people imaginable have a cunning plan to undermine the most popularly-elected NYC mayor since 1969. www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11...
Republicans push to strip Zohran Mamdani of US citizenship. Is it possible?
GOP seeks to revoke NYC Mayor-elect Mamdani’s citizenship; experts say they must prove false claims in his application.
www.aljazeera.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:34 PM
The most racist people imaginable have a cunning plan to undermine the most popularly-elected NYC mayor since 1969. www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11...
50 year mortgages seem insanely bad. Who doesn't want to pay a huge amount of additional interest and accumulate equity ridiculously slowly in exchange for a marginally lower monthly payment?
Caveat: I can see people doing this in high-growth markets like the SFBA - to flip houses. House prices: 📈
Caveat: I can see people doing this in high-growth markets like the SFBA - to flip houses. House prices: 📈
November 9, 2025 at 2:25 PM
50 year mortgages seem insanely bad. Who doesn't want to pay a huge amount of additional interest and accumulate equity ridiculously slowly in exchange for a marginally lower monthly payment?
Caveat: I can see people doing this in high-growth markets like the SFBA - to flip houses. House prices: 📈
Caveat: I can see people doing this in high-growth markets like the SFBA - to flip houses. House prices: 📈
"The Trump administration’s gutting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been good for venture capitalists like Andreessen, who previously accused the agency of “terrorizing” fintech startups and crypto companies." www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Tech Billionaire Marc Andreessen Bet Big on Trump. It’s Paying Off for Silicon Valley.
The Trump administration’s gutting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been good for venture capitalists like Andreessen, who previously accused the agency of “terrorizing” fintech startup...
www.propublica.org
November 9, 2025 at 2:13 PM
"The Trump administration’s gutting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been good for venture capitalists like Andreessen, who previously accused the agency of “terrorizing” fintech startups and crypto companies." www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Someone is using an increasingly sophisticated set of social engineering attacks to try and gain access to my Coinbase account. This will have the worst ROI of any scam in history.
November 8, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Someone is using an increasingly sophisticated set of social engineering attacks to try and gain access to my Coinbase account. This will have the worst ROI of any scam in history.
Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
The Mamdani political sign generator is kinda fun https://homes.luddy.indiana.edu/ccshan/for/for.html
November 8, 2025 at 3:06 PM
The Mamdani political sign generator is kinda fun https://homes.luddy.indiana.edu/ccshan/for/for.html
Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
Real question bc there’s clearly a media culture thing here that I am not getting: Why are we not seeing citations to Sarah Kendzior, who has been on this exact beat for years? What is it about her and/or her work that has made it acceptable to ignore her?
November 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Real question bc there’s clearly a media culture thing here that I am not getting: Why are we not seeing citations to Sarah Kendzior, who has been on this exact beat for years? What is it about her and/or her work that has made it acceptable to ignore her?
Today I learned that the total amount of philanthropic funding for journalism in the US since 2009 equals approximately 8.6% of OpenAI’s funding to date. Really useful #kleincamp session from @ninasachdev.bsky.social and Vince Stehle of @mediaimpactfunders.bsky.social.
November 8, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Today I learned that the total amount of philanthropic funding for journalism in the US since 2009 equals approximately 8.6% of OpenAI’s funding to date. Really useful #kleincamp session from @ninasachdev.bsky.social and Vince Stehle of @mediaimpactfunders.bsky.social.
A real pleasure to start my Saturday by learning from @adrianalacy.com at #kleincamp. One of the industry’s most insightful experts on news influencers. Coming away with lots of thoughts about brand, authentic voices, meeting people where they’re at, and how a corporate veneer can erode trust.
November 8, 2025 at 3:50 PM
A real pleasure to start my Saturday by learning from @adrianalacy.com at #kleincamp. One of the industry’s most insightful experts on news influencers. Coming away with lots of thoughts about brand, authentic voices, meeting people where they’re at, and how a corporate veneer can erode trust.
Heading to #kleincamp today. Excited to meet up with journalism innovation folks and learn about what they’ve been up to.
November 8, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Heading to #kleincamp today. Excited to meet up with journalism innovation folks and learn about what they’ve been up to.
It's still so weird to me that the idea of universal healthcare is so political here. It's a given in so many other places, and I miss it. And people don't realize how good it is for innovation. You can take so many more risks when your health and well-being aren't tied to a salaried employer.
November 7, 2025 at 9:08 PM
It's still so weird to me that the idea of universal healthcare is so political here. It's a given in so many other places, and I miss it. And people don't realize how good it is for innovation. You can take so many more risks when your health and well-being aren't tied to a salaried employer.
I came back to this talk today - and I've got to admit, I think it's a banger. Lots to say about how mission-driven technology can be successful. werd.io/why-the-open...
Why the open social web matters now
The needs are real – and you have so much power.
werd.io
November 7, 2025 at 8:00 PM
I came back to this talk today - and I've got to admit, I think it's a banger. Lots to say about how mission-driven technology can be successful. werd.io/why-the-open...
Friends don’t let phrens do the hiring
A new paper suggests a photo can tell a recruiter much about an applicant’s personality
Should facial analysis help determine whom companies hire?
A new paper suggests a photo can tell a recruiter much about an applicant’s personality
econ.st
November 7, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Friends don’t let phrens do the hiring
Some fun questions! 👇
Long train journey home. So: ask me anything?
I lead newsroom tech, founded two startups and was the first employee at two more, was a mission-driven VC, built an early social network, I write fiction, I’m a third culture kid, my dad is a concentration camp survivor, I’m a Whovian, etc. Ask away.
I lead newsroom tech, founded two startups and was the first employee at two more, was a mission-driven VC, built an early social network, I write fiction, I’m a third culture kid, my dad is a concentration camp survivor, I’m a Whovian, etc. Ask away.
November 7, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Some fun questions! 👇
Long train journey home. So: ask me anything?
I lead newsroom tech, founded two startups and was the first employee at two more, was a mission-driven VC, built an early social network, I write fiction, I’m a third culture kid, my dad is a concentration camp survivor, I’m a Whovian, etc. Ask away.
I lead newsroom tech, founded two startups and was the first employee at two more, was a mission-driven VC, built an early social network, I write fiction, I’m a third culture kid, my dad is a concentration camp survivor, I’m a Whovian, etc. Ask away.
November 7, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Long train journey home. So: ask me anything?
I lead newsroom tech, founded two startups and was the first employee at two more, was a mission-driven VC, built an early social network, I write fiction, I’m a third culture kid, my dad is a concentration camp survivor, I’m a Whovian, etc. Ask away.
I lead newsroom tech, founded two startups and was the first employee at two more, was a mission-driven VC, built an early social network, I write fiction, I’m a third culture kid, my dad is a concentration camp survivor, I’m a Whovian, etc. Ask away.
Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
incredible photo that's definitely worth at least 1,000 words from Andrew Harnik of Getty
November 6, 2025 at 6:10 PM
incredible photo that's definitely worth at least 1,000 words from Andrew Harnik of Getty
Reposted by Ben Werdmuller
Yes to this a million times over! It's a big belief of ours at @tinynewscollective.bsky.social.
One of my underlying working models for non-profit news is that nobody is in competition with each other. We should all be co-operative. We should be open sourcing code, sharing wins and losses, and doing as much as possible to lift each other up - out in the open so newcomers can benefit too.
November 6, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Yes to this a million times over! It's a big belief of ours at @tinynewscollective.bsky.social.
One of my underlying working models for non-profit news is that nobody is in competition with each other. We should all be co-operative. We should be open sourcing code, sharing wins and losses, and doing as much as possible to lift each other up - out in the open so newcomers can benefit too.
November 6, 2025 at 2:31 PM
One of my underlying working models for non-profit news is that nobody is in competition with each other. We should all be co-operative. We should be open sourcing code, sharing wins and losses, and doing as much as possible to lift each other up - out in the open so newcomers can benefit too.
I've been at a product team summit all week at our office in NYC. The team is much bigger than when I joined, and what's really striking is how amazing everyone genuinely is. Lots of different skill-sets and perspectives, all wrapped up in empathy, enthusiasm, and care for the mission. Very proud.
November 6, 2025 at 2:10 PM
I've been at a product team summit all week at our office in NYC. The team is much bigger than when I joined, and what's really striking is how amazing everyone genuinely is. Lots of different skill-sets and perspectives, all wrapped up in empathy, enthusiasm, and care for the mission. Very proud.