Ben Werdmuller

@byjp.me @benwerd Spooky!

Here's the actual link: https://inkwell.social/benwerd

Holy cow, Inkwell is beautiful. Here's my profile: @benwerd

Probably my biggest personality defect / weakness is conflict avoidance. I hate people being angry. It puts me in fight or flight mode. When people raise their voices, when they lose their temper, I just want to curl into a ball. But sometimes conflict is necessary. I wish I had thicker skin.

Invasive thought: maybe I should start a zine.

We got our three year old a potty timer watch on a recommendation from daycare. It arrived today. Within five minutes of receiving it, he'd worked out how to reset it and change its settings. On balance, I am proud.

Everyone always wants to cover The Book of Love. Take on Papa Was a Rodeo, you cowards

@LaNaehForaday It's ghoulish. And the fact that these actions maintain a base level of support? Horrifying things are ahead.

Just to say it: sinking a ship on its way home from a friendly international exercise that we were also taking part in is such cowardice. I can't stop thinking about it. It makes everyone less safe in so many obvious ways.

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.

Employees who are impressed with corporate jargon are less good at their jobs. News at 11. #Business https://werd.io/workers-who-love-synergizing-paradigms-might-be-bad-at-their-jobs/

"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 account to the Swiss government, which handed it to the FBI." #Technology https://werd.io/proton-mail-helped-fbi-unmask-anonymous-stop-cop-city-protester/

I joined @rabble on the Revolution.Social podcast to talk about the intersection of technology and media.

We discussed venture capital and media economics, the Indie Web, how newsrooms are approaching AI, and why the systems we build should support communities rather than extract from them.

We […]

RE: https://hachyderm.io/@GrantMeStrength/116177739323539113

This was my first computer. I learned to write English and BASIC at the same time, on its little keyboard - so everything I've put out into the internet is its fault in some way. Happy birthday, little ZX81.

BBC says ‘irreversible’ trends mean it will not survive without major overhaul The BBC is dying. It needs to be preserved - but doing so will require a radical reinvention.

The BBC is dying. It needs to be preserved - but doing so will require a radical reinvention. #Media https://werd.io/bbc-says-irreversible-trends-mean-it-will-not-survive-without-major-overhaul/

"A framework to move your subculture from the Anxiety Zone to the Learning Zone" - and provide a way for everyone on your team to contribute and experiment safely. #Business https://werd.io/the-safety-levers/

Why no one wants to be the next Doctor Who He who pays the Piper… has to wait until she’s finished making her latest Netflix show. That seems to be the case with Doctor Who, which, with a 2026 Christmas special in the offing featuring Billie P...

I'll do it https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tv/articles/why-no-one-wants-next-150000906.html

Okay, so I did buy myself a new personal computer. My existing one is six years old, so I figure it's allowed. Going for a highly-specified M5 Air this time around: I don't care about the XDR screen and I don't think I need the thermals of a Pro, but the lower base price means I can afford more RAM.

Wait, did Apple just release a netbook ...?

Can we build the dog? What resource-constrained teams need to ask before writing a line of code

If you’re a small, resource-strapped team, for example in a newsroom, how can you figure out what software is feasible for you to build and maintain? I wrote a guide. https://werd.io/can-we-build-the-dog/

Stop thinking in servers, start thinking about community

Can we build the dog? What resource-constrained teams need to ask before writing a line of code

Building software is easier than ever. The real risk to your team isn't the build; it's the long tail of maintenance. I built a rubric to help teams spot hidden risks and achieve shared understanding of the complexity before they write a single line of code. https://werd.io/can-we-build-the-dog/

Long ago, when I was investing in mission-driven startups, I wrote this piece about what I'd do differently if I founded one more of my own. It still holds up and may be useful perspective for anyone who's starting something new […]

"ProPublica has sued the U.S. Department of Education in federal court in New York, accusing it of withholding public records about how it’s enforcing civil rights protections for millions of American students." https://www.propublica.org/article/education-department-civil-rights-office-foia-lawsuit

"Several high-ranking federal election officials attended a summit last week at which prominent figures who worked to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election pressed the president to declare a national emergency to take over this year’s midterms." […]

More people live in Tehran than New York City. It’s a bustling metropolis. The people who live there have a thriving culture despite their own government and the machinations of ours. They do not deserve to be bombed by us.

Running my own single instance is kind of expensive. I wish I could use my own domain on my handle while using a shared instance.

I actually think this is a five alarm fire. If you've ever wondered who would align themselves with the rise of fascism, who would stay silent, and who would be a helper - now you know.

I think it's time I trade in my backlog of old laptops and buy a new machine for personal use. I've been a Mac person since I moved to the US but I'm not married to it. If you have a laptop that's an absolute workhorse, with great battery life and lots of USB-C ports, what is it? Ideally on the […]

News and culture is very rapidly being dominated by administration-aligned companies. It's actually astonishing how fast this has happened. And it's not stopping.

Today will be a significant detail in the many, many textbooks that will be written about the era I fear we're still at the start of.

@evan Did you see @ben@idno.werd.io??

🎵 They're the Animaniacs
They're now aligned with Newsmax 🎵