Ben Waldman πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦'s Avatar

Ben Waldman πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦

@benjaminwaldman

Designing for growth with social impact. Founder at Gander Social and The Art Department. Currently exploring smaller [big] tech alternatives for the greater good. And my own.

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17.12.2024
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Latest posts by Ben Waldman πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ @benjaminwaldman

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The Authoritarian Stack How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic America β€” And Why Europe Is Next

Maybe the most important site on the internet RN. Everyone should read this given the major tech decisions that are being made both in the EU and Canada.

This is why we have to make wise choices and choose true digital sovereignty over the same old tech in disguise.

authoritarian-stack.info

04.11.2025 13:59 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Hear from Jennifer, our COO, about crying through Come From Away (as you do), finding kinship in Canada and why she joined the Gander team.

#GetToKnowGander #HinterlandWhosWho

05.06.2025 19:04 πŸ‘ 68 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0

Thanks for the share James! And for the article, of course.

27.05.2025 11:35 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Canada is building its own social network - The Logic Gander Social aims to be a social network where users, not algorithms, set the toneβ€”and where content moderation is based on Canadian laws.

Nice way to wake up today. Thanks @nadrescher.bsky.social @thelogic.co for the article.

It’s paywalled (but free with a trial). Happy to answer questions.

Thanks @bmann.ca @blaine.bsky.social @walkah.social @bad-example.com for the support!

thelogic.co/news/gander-...

23.05.2025 13:22 πŸ‘ 79 πŸ” 20 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 1
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Crazy week(s), but things are really coming together for Gander. We’re on our way to releasing a high-level, digestible roadmap (more depth to come), along with team bios and more. @bmann.ca has been a HUGE help. Can’t thank him enough.

09.05.2025 12:36 πŸ‘ 63 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 1

Our plan right now is that early users will authenticate through Bluesky and access the broader network, but we’ll be layering in our own feed algorithm to surface Canadian content. Over time, we’ll grow to a fully independent feed powered by our Gander’s own PDS.

22.04.2025 17:06 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Super interesting. Checking it out. Thanks for the links!

22.04.2025 16:56 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Gander: The Social Media You Want, Built for Canada Fun, private, and ethical. We're changing the way social media is done around here, all without your data taking an unexpected trip south.

They said β€œDon’t read the comments.” I said β€œHold my maple syrup” β€” and started building a platform where you actually can. πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦

I’m proud to finally share Gander β€” built on Bluesky's AT Protocol to deliver a new kind of social for Canadians.

✈️ Early Access open now β†’ gandersocial.ca

22.04.2025 16:24 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 0

PP can just log in to Signal. No need for security clearance at all.

25.03.2025 12:39 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Yeah I’ve seen some serious sketchiness that grocery stores are getting up to. Particularly Walmart, it seems.

21.03.2025 01:19 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Do you want a European Movement Canada? Do you want to have a stake in strengthening Canada-EU relations? In the face of Trump's increasing isolationism and tariffs on allies, protecting our shared values is paramount. Sign up here to get...

portal.europeanmovement.eu/european_mov...

05.03.2025 13:50 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Yeah. That tracks.

e.wired.com/story/trump-...

01.03.2025 22:55 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Seems like an appropriate time for new music from Consolidated.

25.02.2025 20:41 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Petition e-5353 - Petitions

Just heard about a petition to revoke Elon Musk’s Canadian Citizenship. I’ll just leave this here.

www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en...

22.02.2025 03:29 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Real question: does X have a place in Canada? Do we as a country believe that a platform run for hate and misinformation have a place here?

22.02.2025 03:18 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Trying to understand the β€œGreat Again” part of MAGA. When was this period that that people are so fond of when America was broken down by an Oligarchy while it attacked its citizens and allies?

22.02.2025 02:59 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Has anybody else noticed Claude AI responding with the same confidence as a mediocre white man?

21.02.2025 17:57 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Interesting! I’ve not seen that one. I’ve seen Product of Canada… specifically on Unico (though it may have been lentils, which apparently Canada grows a lot of). Looking it up now it seems Prepared in Canada really just means β€œthe final bits were done here.”

14.02.2025 01:56 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Or that there will be any voting at all anymore.

13.02.2025 20:48 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I’ve been wondering as well. And where are the celebrities? Where are the Woody Harrelson, Matt Damon, and Cardi B videos? Am I just not following? Things seem silent from Hollywood as well.

12.02.2025 18:06 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Seen and listening!

11.02.2025 12:45 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It sure SEEMS like we’re more unified, but I feel like you’d get a very different answer on X.

03.02.2025 00:44 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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02.02.2025 16:46 πŸ‘ 46722 πŸ” 10055 πŸ’¬ 969 πŸ“Œ 348

I’m starting to wonder if just ignoring the bully as he blusters wouldn’t be a more effective resistance tactic. Let him tariff our goods, make his own country pay that price, and put our energies into building better relationships elsewhere. I’m not sure there’s any coming back from this shit.

02.02.2025 16:03 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Not an expert, but from what I’ve seen, you’re looking for β€œProduct of Canada” when you shop, which is 98% Canadian. β€œMade in Canada” just means that it’s 51% Canadian.

01.02.2025 14:41 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Zuckerberg has shown us who he really is. Believe him I helped create one of Facebook’s diversity programs. Now I think users should boycott the company.

"To me it’s clear the company’s ethos has changed from those days of open innovation."

30.01.2025 18:22 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2

Reminiscing about a time when things were more fergalicious.

31.01.2025 11:47 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Ending The Vote Split. One Riding At A Time SmartVoting.ca is a one stop tool voters in Canada can use to see who is the best party to vote for in their riding to prevent a Conservative win.

Psst. I made a thing.

Tired of the vote split in Ontario and all of Canada? Let’s change that.

Announcing www.smartvoting.ca! A one stop tool for you too see your riding and who to vote for to make it not Conservative anymore.

Updated daily! Follow us at @smartvoting.ca as well.

30.01.2025 01:49 πŸ‘ 476 πŸ” 309 πŸ’¬ 47 πŸ“Œ 57
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Ending The Vote Split. One Riding At A Time SmartVoting.ca is a one stop tool voters in Canada can use to see who is the best party to vote for in their riding to prevent a Conservative win.

Help prevent vote splitting in Ontario, and with any luck prevent a conservative win. smartvoting.ca

30.01.2025 12:23 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Skiff - Private, encrypted, secure email - 10 GB free Skiff Mail privacy-first, end-to-end encrypted product home, with Mail, Calendar, Pages, and Drive overview.

Interesting. Came across something called Skiff.com that was acquired by Notion. My poor brain has a hard time with Notion, but it may be a viable option for office tools if they’re taking security and privacy seriously. More research needed.

29.01.2025 17:18 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0