Ben Werdmuller werd.io/profile/benwerd

Some personal updates

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2024-02-29T14:32:12+00:00",
    "url": "https://werd.io/2024/some-personal-updates",
    "name": "Some personal updates",
    "content": {
        "text": "I write a lot about the intersection of technology and society here, and lately a lot about AI, but over the last year I\u2019ve written a little less about what I\u2019ve been up to. So, this post is an update about some of that. This isn\u2019t everything, by any means \u2014 2023 was, frankly, a hard year for lots of reasons, which included not a small amount of personal loss and trauma \u2014 but I wanted to share some broad strokes.\n\nWe\u2019re now based in the Greater Philadelphia area, rather than San Francisco. There have been all kinds of life changes: it\u2019s the \u2018burbs, which is weird, but I\u2019m writing this on a train to New York City, which is now easily within reach. I grew up in Oxford and could easily go to London for a day trip; now I have the same relationship with NYC. We haven\u2019t yet brought the baby to the city, but that\u2019s coming. (He\u2019s not a baby anymore: we have a delightful toddler whose favorite things, somehow, are reading books and brushing his teeth.)\n\nI joined ProPublica as Senior Director of Technology after working with the team as an advisor on contract for a while. ProPublica publishes vital American journalism: you might remember the story about Supreme Court Justices with billionaire friends that broke last year, or the story about Peter Thiel\u2019s $5 Billion tax-free IRA. You might also have come across Nonprofit Explorer and other \u201cnews apps\u201d. Our technology philosophy is very compatible, and it\u2019s a lovely team. I\u2019m hoping we can revive The Nerd Blog.\n\nI work mostly remotely and spend a lot of my time at my desk looking like this:\n\n\n\n(Guess the books! Yes, that\u2019s also an issue of .net \u2014 specifically, one from decades ago that showcased Elgg.)\n\nMy website is still powered by Known, and I still intend to invest time and resources into that platform. I\u2019ve also finally accepted \u2014 between having a toddler, a demanding job, an ongoing project (more on that in a second), and other commitments \u2014 that I\u2019m not going to be making a ton of contributions to the codebase myself anytime soon. But there\u2019s a pot of money in the Open Collective, and I\u2019m eager to support open source developers in adding functionality to the platform. The first stop has been adding ActivityPub support to make Known compatible with the fediverse. The next stop will be improving the import / export functionality so that it (1) functions as expected (2) is in line with other platforms.\n\nI\u2019ve been struggling with writing a book. I\u2019ve had the benefit of really great 1:1 coaching through The Novelry, and was making great progress until I realized I needed to revise a major element. It\u2019s been a slog since then: I have printouts of my first draft covered in Sharpie all over my office. My fear of being terrible at this increases with every sideways glance at the unfinished manuscript (which seems, somehow, to be staring back at me). I\u2019m certain that as soon as I send it out into the world I\u2019ll be ridiculed. But I\u2019m determined to get it to the finish line, revise it, send it out, and do it again.\n\nAs painful as writing the draft has been, I also love the act of it. Writing has always been my first love, far before computers. Don\u2019t get me wrong: I don\u2019t claim any sort of literary excellence, in the same way that I enjoy making dinner for everyone but would never call myself a chef. I\u2019ve got huge respect for anyone who\u2019s gone down this road and actually succeeded (hi, Sarah, you are radically inspiring to me). It\u2019s a craft that deserves care, attention, and practice, and stretching these muscles is as desperately uncomfortable as it is liberating. I find the whole process of it meditative and freeing, and also simultaneously like pulling every fingernail from my body.\n\nSo, uh, we\u2019ll see if the end result is any good.\n\nI\u2019ve been helping a few different organizations with their work (pro bono): two non-profits that are getting off the ground, a startup, and a venture fund. Each of them is doing something really good, and I\u2019m excited to see them emerge into the world.\n\nAlso, my universe has been rocked by this recipe for scrambled eggs. So there\u2019s that, too.\n\nWhat\u2019s up with you?",
        "html": "<p>I write a lot about the intersection of technology and society here, and lately a lot about AI, but over the last year I\u2019ve written a little less about what I\u2019ve been up to. So, this post is an update about some of that. This isn\u2019t everything, by any means \u2014 2023 was, frankly, a hard year for lots of reasons, which included not a small amount of personal loss and trauma \u2014 but I wanted to share some broad strokes.</p><p>We\u2019re now based in the Greater Philadelphia area, rather than San Francisco. There have been all kinds of life changes: it\u2019s the \u2018burbs, which is weird, but I\u2019m writing this on a train to New York City, which is now easily within reach. I grew up in Oxford and could easily go to London for a day trip; now I have the same relationship with NYC. We haven\u2019t yet brought the baby to the city, but that\u2019s coming. (He\u2019s not a baby anymore: we have a delightful toddler whose favorite things, somehow, are reading books and brushing his teeth.)</p><p>I joined <a href=\"https://propublica.org\">ProPublica</a> as <a href=\"https://www.propublica.org/atpropublica/propublica-hires-first-senior-director-for-technology\">Senior Director of Technology</a> after working with the team as an advisor on contract for a while. ProPublica publishes vital American journalism: you might remember the <a href=\"https://www.propublica.org/series/supreme-court-scotus\">story about Supreme Court Justices with billionaire friends</a> that broke last year, or <a href=\"https://www.propublica.org/article/lord-of-the-roths-how-tech-mogul-peter-thiel-turned-a-retirement-account-for-the-middle-class-into-a-5-billion-dollar-tax-free-piggy-bank\">the story about Peter Thiel\u2019s $5 Billion tax-free IRA</a>. You might also have come across <a href=\"https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits\">Nonprofit Explorer</a> and other \u201cnews apps\u201d. Our technology philosophy is very compatible, and it\u2019s a lovely team. I\u2019m hoping we can revive <a href=\"https://www.propublica.org/nerds\">The Nerd Blog</a>.</p><p>I work mostly remotely and spend a lot of my time at my desk looking like this:</p><p><img src=\"https://werd.io/file/65e09521598020ac1c0efda2/thumb.jpg\" alt=\"The author, alone, in a Google Meet room\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" /></p><p>(Guess the books! Yes, that\u2019s also an issue of .net \u2014 specifically, one from decades ago that showcased Elgg.)</p><p>My website is still powered by <a href=\"https://github.com/idno/known\">Known</a>, and I still intend to invest time and resources into that platform. I\u2019ve also finally accepted \u2014 between having a toddler, a demanding job, an ongoing project (more on that in a second), and other commitments \u2014 that I\u2019m not going to be making a ton of contributions to the codebase myself anytime soon. But there\u2019s a pot of money in <a href=\"https://opencollective.com/known\">the Open Collective</a>, and I\u2019m eager to support open source developers in adding functionality to the platform. The first stop has been adding ActivityPub support to make Known compatible with the fediverse. The next stop will be improving the import / export functionality so that it (1) functions as expected (2) is <a href=\"https://book.micro.blog/blog-archive-format/\">in line with other platforms</a>.</p><p>I\u2019ve been struggling with writing a book. I\u2019ve had the benefit of really great 1:1 coaching through <a href=\"https://www.thenovelry.com/\">The Novelry</a>, and was making great progress until I realized I needed to revise a major element. It\u2019s been a slog since then: I have printouts of my first draft covered in Sharpie all over my office. My fear of being terrible at this increases with every sideways glance at the unfinished manuscript (which seems, somehow, to be staring back at me). I\u2019m certain that as soon as I send it out into the world I\u2019ll be ridiculed. But I\u2019m determined to get it to the finish line, revise it, send it out, and do it again.</p><p>As painful as writing the draft has been, I also love the act of it. Writing has always been my first love, far before computers. Don\u2019t get me wrong: I don\u2019t claim any sort of literary excellence, in the same way that I enjoy making dinner for everyone but would never call myself a chef. I\u2019ve got huge respect for anyone who\u2019s gone down this road and actually succeeded (hi, <a href=\"https://sarahdessen.com\">Sarah</a>, you are radically inspiring to me). It\u2019s a craft that deserves care, attention, and practice, and stretching these muscles is as desperately uncomfortable as it is liberating. I find the whole process of it meditative and freeing, and also simultaneously like pulling every fingernail from my body.</p><p>So, uh, we\u2019ll see if the end result is any good.</p><p>I\u2019ve been helping a few different organizations with their work (pro bono): two non-profits that are getting off the ground, a startup, and a venture fund. Each of them is doing something really good, and I\u2019m excited to see them emerge into the world.</p><p>Also, <a href=\"https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021931-extra-creamy-scrambled-eggs\">my universe has been rocked by this recipe for scrambled eggs</a>. So there\u2019s that, too.</p><p>What\u2019s up with you?</p>"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "Ben Werdmuller",
        "url": "https://werd.io/profile/benwerd",
        "photo": "https://werd.io/file/5d388c5fb16ea14aac640912/thumb.jpg"
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    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "40420521",
    "_source": "191",
    "_is_read": true
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{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@etp",
        "url": "https://indieweb.social/@etp",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://indieweb.social/@etp/112015035694587289",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>My submission for this month\u2019s IndieWeb Carnival on Digital Relationships is a rumination on my relationship with my website and, especially, the technology underneath it.</p><p><a href=\"https://www.jeremycherfas.net/blog/seven-year-itch\"><span>https://www.</span><span>jeremycherfas.net/blog/seven-y</span><span>ear-itch</span></a></p><p><a href=\"https://indieweb.social/tags/IndieWeb\">#<span>IndieWeb</span></a> <a href=\"https://indieweb.social/tags/Carnival\">#<span>Carnival</span></a></p>",
        "text": "My submission for this month\u2019s IndieWeb Carnival on Digital Relationships is a rumination on my relationship with my website and, especially, the technology underneath it.\n\nhttps://www.jeremycherfas.net/blog/seven-year-itch\n\n#IndieWeb #Carnival"
    },
    "published": "2024-02-29T13:36:41+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40419667",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": true
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{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@capjamesg",
        "url": "https://indieweb.social/@capjamesg",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://indieweb.social/@capjamesg/112014892300683011",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>Blogging is the medium of incomplete stories. You can go at your own pace \u2014 document your journey of learning, making, exploring.</p><p>I shared some thoughts on this on my blog:</p><p><a href=\"https://jamesg.blog/2024/02/29/blogging-medium-incomplete-stories/\"><span>https://</span><span>jamesg.blog/2024/02/29/bloggin</span><span>g-medium-incomplete-stories/</span></a></p><p><a href=\"https://indieweb.social/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://indieweb.social/tags/personalwebsite\">#<span>personalwebsite</span></a> <a href=\"https://indieweb.social/tags/blogging\">#<span>blogging</span></a></p>",
        "text": "Blogging is the medium of incomplete stories. You can go at your own pace \u2014 document your journey of learning, making, exploring.\n\nI shared some thoughts on this on my blog:\n\nhttps://jamesg.blog/2024/02/29/blogging-medium-incomplete-stories/\n\n#indieweb #personalwebsite #blogging"
    },
    "published": "2024-02-29T13:00:13+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40419308",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": true
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@mms",
        "url": "https://emacs.ch/@mms",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://emacs.ch/@mms/112014813293944522",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>So, a little spoiler. There were:<br />- banners<br />- web buttons <br />- antipixels</p><p>All of them had one goal: to show visitors other cool websites. You had a website about dragon ball? For sure you had a few \u201ctraded\u201d banners. I\u2019ll put yours if you put mine.  This was when wab was young and full of hope. When there was no algorithm. </p><p>I\u2019m creating those to promote my site. Does anyone here still have those for your sites? Let\u2019s bring them back! Let\u2019s bring back the JOY OF INTERNET. </p><p><a href=\"https://emacs.ch/tags/internet\">#<span>internet</span></a> <a href=\"https://emacs.ch/tags/SmallWeb\">#<span>SmallWeb</span></a> <a href=\"https://emacs.ch/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://emacs.ch/tags/antipixel\">#<span>antipixel</span></a></p>",
        "text": "So, a little spoiler. There were:\n- banners\n- web buttons \n- antipixels\n\nAll of them had one goal: to show visitors other cool websites. You had a website about dragon ball? For sure you had a few \u201ctraded\u201d banners. I\u2019ll put yours if you put mine.  This was when wab was young and full of hope. When there was no algorithm. \n\nI\u2019m creating those to promote my site. Does anyone here still have those for your sites? Let\u2019s bring them back! Let\u2019s bring back the JOY OF INTERNET. \n\n#internet #SmallWeb #indieweb #antipixel"
    },
    "published": "2024-02-29T12:40:07+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40419219",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

Jeremy Cherfas jeremycherfas.net

Seven Year Itch

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2024-02-29T13:24:00+01:00",
    "url": "https://www.jeremycherfas.net/blog/seven-year-itch",
    "name": "Seven Year Itch",
    "content": {
        "text": "Digital relationships? That's the topic for February's Indieweb Carnival, and for a long time -- 28 days, in fact -- I did not think I had much to say on the topic. Sure, I've made a couple of real-life friends from people I originally met online. But no more than that. And then it occurred to me that I have been fretting lately about ignoring my most important digital relationship. I've been thinking, the other party ought to change while knowing, at the same time, that the only one who can change is me.\nI'm talking, of course, about this website.\n\n\t\t\t There\u2019s more  \u27a2",
        "html": "<p>Digital relationships? That's the topic for February's <a href=\"https://indieweb.org/indieweb-carnival\">Indieweb Carnival</a>, and for a long time -- 28 days, in fact -- I did not think I had much to say on the topic. Sure, I've made a couple of real-life friends from people I originally met online. But no more than that. And then it occurred to me that I have been fretting lately about ignoring my most important digital relationship. I've been thinking, the other party ought to change while knowing, at the same time, that the only one who can change is me.</p>\n<p>I'm talking, of course, about this website.</p>\n\n\t\t\t <span style=\"float:right;font-size:smaller;\"><a href=\"https://www.jeremycherfas.net/blog/seven-year-itch\">There\u2019s more  \u27a2</a></span>"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "Jeremy Cherfas",
        "url": "https://jeremycherfas.net",
        "photo": "https://www.jeremycherfas.net/user/themes/tailwind/images/zoot.jpg"
    },
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "40419021",
    "_source": "202",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@weirdwriter",
        "url": "https://tweesecake.social/@weirdwriter",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://tweesecake.social/@weirdwriter/112014624987049042",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>Thanks to <a href=\"https://tweesecake.social/tags/AI\">#<span>AI</span></a> scraping, I just had to delete over 20 RSS feeds from my reader that didn\u2019t have a pay what you can option because the blogs have migrated to paid  structure to prevent being scraped by machines. If you\u2019re going to have a paywall, I highly encourage you to make it pay what you can/pay what you want. This way, it will force all the technology people to pay you, and it\u2019ll give low income people ways to experience your art/content/whatever <a href=\"https://tweesecake.social/tags/Blog\">#<span>Blog</span></a> <a href=\"https://tweesecake.social/tags/Blogs\">#<span>Blogs</span></a> <a href=\"https://tweesecake.social/tags/IndieWeb\">#<span>IndieWeb</span></a> <a href=\"https://tweesecake.social/tags/SmallWeb\">#<span>SmallWeb</span></a></p>",
        "text": "Thanks to #AI scraping, I just had to delete over 20 RSS feeds from my reader that didn\u2019t have a pay what you can option because the blogs have migrated to paid  structure to prevent being scraped by machines. If you\u2019re going to have a paywall, I highly encourage you to make it pay what you can/pay what you want. This way, it will force all the technology people to pay you, and it\u2019ll give low income people ways to experience your art/content/whatever #Blog #Blogs #IndieWeb #SmallWeb"
    },
    "published": "2024-02-29T11:52:14+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40418777",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@ClaireFromClare",
        "url": "https://h-net.social/@ClaireFromClare",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://h-net.social/@ClaireFromClare/112014331582992746",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p><span class=\"h-card\"><a class=\"u-url\" href=\"https://archaeo.social/@clmorgan\">@<span>clmorgan</span></a></span> Maybe <a href=\"https://h-net.social/tags/IndieWeb\">#<span>IndieWeb</span></a> &amp; <a href=\"https://h-net.social/tags/POSSE\">#<span>POSSE</span></a> &amp; the new abilities to consolidate comments may bring discussion together again? </p><p>I have been pondering the fragmentation of comments here on Mastodon (different readers see different parts of a discussion), &amp; more importantly their impermanence (we can go to \"original page\" to see all, but replies may be purged). Having a copy of record on a site under personal control might be good. Fellow-historians, any thoughts or models? </p><p><span class=\"h-card\"><a class=\"u-url\" href=\"https://historians.social/@kawulf\">@<span>kawulf</span></a></span> <span class=\"h-card\"><a class=\"u-url\" href=\"https://historians.social/@lizcovart\">@<span>lizcovart</span></a></span> <span class=\"h-card\"><a class=\"u-url\" href=\"https://a.gup.pe/u/histodons\">@<span>histodons</span></a></span></p>\n<a class=\"u-mention\" href=\"https://a.gup.pe/u/histodons\"></a>\n<a class=\"u-mention\" href=\"https://archaeo.social/@clmorgan\"></a>\n<a class=\"u-mention\" href=\"https://historians.social/@kawulf\"></a>\n<a class=\"u-mention\" href=\"https://historians.social/@lizcovart\"></a>",
        "text": "@clmorgan Maybe #IndieWeb & #POSSE & the new abilities to consolidate comments may bring discussion together again? \n\nI have been pondering the fragmentation of comments here on Mastodon (different readers see different parts of a discussion), & more importantly their impermanence (we can go to \"original page\" to see all, but replies may be purged). Having a copy of record on a site under personal control might be good. Fellow-historians, any thoughts or models? \n\n@kawulf @lizcovart @histodons"
    },
    "published": "2024-02-29T10:37:37+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40418407",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@ratika",
        "url": "https://scicomm.xyz/@ratika",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://scicomm.xyz/@ratika/112013231087449514",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>Here's my entry for the <a href=\"https://scicomm.xyz/tags/IndieWeb\">#<span>IndieWeb</span></a> carnival, hosted by Manuel Moreale this month, on the theme of digital relationships. The experiences I've discussed are quite different, and I'd love to talk about this more!</p><p><a href=\"https://chavanniclass.wordpress.com/2024/02/28/digital-relationships/\"><span>https://</span><span>chavanniclass.wordpress.com/20</span><span>24/02/28/digital-relationships/</span></a></p><p><a href=\"https://scicomm.xyz/tags/blog\">#<span>blog</span></a> <a href=\"https://scicomm.xyz/tags/blogging\">#<span>blogging</span></a> <a href=\"https://scicomm.xyz/tags/internet\">#<span>internet</span></a> <a href=\"https://scicomm.xyz/tags/SocialMedia\">#<span>SocialMedia</span></a> <a href=\"https://scicomm.xyz/tags/tech\">#<span>tech</span></a></p>",
        "text": "Here's my entry for the #IndieWeb carnival, hosted by Manuel Moreale this month, on the theme of digital relationships. The experiences I've discussed are quite different, and I'd love to talk about this more!\n\nhttps://chavanniclass.wordpress.com/2024/02/28/digital-relationships/\n\n#blog #blogging #internet #SocialMedia #tech"
    },
    "published": "2024-02-29T05:57:45+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40417113",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@xandra",
        "url": "https://tilde.zone/@xandra",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://tilde.zone/@xandra/112012782881648283",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>in the spirit of the <a href=\"https://tilde.zone/tags/oldweb\">#<span>oldweb</span></a>, i've been thinking for a while about how to compile topics and interests i care a lot about. they're called \"shrines\" on this side of the <a href=\"https://tilde.zone/tags/web\">#<span>web</span></a>, but in convention with my website being a museum, i introduce you to the hall of favorites: <a href=\"https://xandra.cc/favorites/\"><span>https://</span><span>xandra.cc/favorites/</span><span></span></a></p><p>i'll warn you in advance only once that the cheese level is off the charts, but that's sometimes the best part of personal websites! if you take a look, thank you. &lt;3</p><p><a href=\"https://tilde.zone/tags/personalweb\">#<span>personalweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://tilde.zone/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://tilde.zone/tags/internet\">#<span>internet</span></a> <a href=\"https://tilde.zone/tags/personalwebsites\">#<span>personalwebsites</span></a> <a href=\"https://tilde.zone/tags/webdev\">#<span>webdev</span></a> <a href=\"https://tilde.zone/tags/hobby\">#<span>hobby</span></a> <a href=\"https://tilde.zone/tags/html\">#<span>html</span></a> <a href=\"https://tilde.zone/tags/website\">#<span>website</span></a> <a href=\"https://tilde.zone/tags/personalsites\">#<span>personalsites</span></a> <a href=\"https://tilde.zone/tags/websites\">#<span>websites</span></a></p>",
        "text": "in the spirit of the #oldweb, i've been thinking for a while about how to compile topics and interests i care a lot about. they're called \"shrines\" on this side of the #web, but in convention with my website being a museum, i introduce you to the hall of favorites: https://xandra.cc/favorites/\n\ni'll warn you in advance only once that the cheese level is off the charts, but that's sometimes the best part of personal websites! if you take a look, thank you. <3\n\n#personalweb #indieweb #internet #personalwebsites #webdev #hobby #html #website #personalsites #websites"
    },
    "published": "2024-02-29T04:03:46+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40416596",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@lqdev",
        "url": "https://toot.lqdev.tech/@lqdev",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://toot.lqdev.tech/@lqdev/112012615971503480",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>Hypertext Gardens: Delightful Vistas <a href=\"https://toot.lqdev.tech/tags/openweb\">#<span>openweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://toot.lqdev.tech/tags/digitalgarden\">#<span>digitalgarden</span></a> <a href=\"https://toot.lqdev.tech/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://www.luisquintanilla.me/feed/hypertext-gardens-delightful-vistas?utm_medium=feed\"><span>https://www.</span><span>luisquintanilla.me/feed/hypert</span><span>ext-gardens-delightful-vistas?utm_medium=feed</span></a></p>",
        "text": "Hypertext Gardens: Delightful Vistas #openweb #digitalgarden #indieweb https://www.luisquintanilla.me/feed/hypertext-gardens-delightful-vistas?utm_medium=feed"
    },
    "published": "2024-02-29T03:21:19+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40416411",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

Ben Werdmuller werd.io/profile/benwerd

Platforms are selling your work to AI vendors with impunity. They need to stop.

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2024-02-29T00:44:44+00:00",
    "url": "https://werd.io/2024/platforms-are-selling-your-work-to-ai-vendors-with-impunity",
    "name": "Platforms are selling your work to AI vendors with impunity. They need to stop.",
    "content": {
        "text": "404 Media reports that Automattic is planning to sell its data to Midjourney and OpenAI for training generative models:The exact types of data from each platform going to each company are not spelled out in documentation we\u2019ve reviewed, but internal communications reviewed by 404 Media make clear that deals between Automattic, the platforms\u2019 parent company, and OpenAI and Midjourney are imminent.Various arms of Automattic made subsequent clarifications. Specifically, it seems like premium versions of WordPress\u2019s online platform, like the WordPress VIP service that powers sites for major newsrooms, will not sell user data to AI platforms.\n\nThis feels like a direct example of my point about how the relationship between platforms and users has been redefined. It appears that free versions of hosted Automattic platforms will sell user data by default, while premium versions will not.\n\nReddit announced a similar deal last week, and in total has made deals worth $203M for its content. WordPress powers over 40% of the web, which, given these numbers, could lead to a significant payday for the company. Much of that is on the self-hosted open source project rather than sites powered by Automattic, but that number gets fuzzier once you consider the Jetpack and Akismet plugins.\n\nFrom a platform\u2019s perspective it seems like AI companies might look like a godsend. They have an open license to tens or hundreds of millions of users\u2019 content, often going back years \u2014 and suddenly, thanks to AI vendors\u2019 need for legal, structured content to train on \u2014 the real market value of that content has shot up. It wouldn\u2019t surprise me to see new social platforms emerge that have underlying data models designed specifically in order to sell to AI vendors. Finally, \u201cselling data\u201d is the business model it was always purported to be.\n\nIt\u2019s probably no surprise that publishers are a little less keen, although there have been well-publicized deals with Axel Springer and the Associated Press. The deals OpenAI is offering to news companies for their content tend to top out at $5M each, for one thing. But social platforms don\u2019t trade on the content themselves: they\u2019re scalable businesses because they\u2019re building conduits for other peoples\u2019 posts. Their core value is the software and an enormous, engaged user-base. In contrast, publishers\u2019 core value really is the articles, art, audio, images, and video they produce; the hard-reported journalism, the unscalable art, and the slow-burning communities that emerge around those things. Publishing doesn\u2019t scale. The rights to that work should not be given away easily. The incentives between platforms and AI vendors are more or less aligned; the incentives between publishers and AI vendors are not.\n\nI don\u2019t think bloggers and social video producers should give those rights away easily either. They might not be publishing companies with large bodies of work, but the integrity of what they produce still matters.\n\nFor WordPress users, it\u2019s kind of a bait and switch.\n\nWhile writers may be using the free, hosted version of a publishing platform like WordPress, they retain the moral right of authorship:As defined by the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, an international agreement governing copyright law, moral rights are the rights \u201cto claim authorship of the work and to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to, the said work, which would be prejudicial to his honor or reputation.\u201dThe hosted version of WordPress contains this sentence about ownership in its TOS:We don\u2019t own your content, and you retain all ownership rights you have in the content you post to your website.A reasonable person could therefore infer that their content would not be licensed for an AI vendor. And yet, that seems to be on the cards.\n\nSo now what?\n\nIf every platform is more and more likely to sell user data to AI platforms over time, the only way to object is to start to use self-hosted indieweb platforms.\n\nBut every public website can also be scraped directly by AI vendors, in some cases even if they use the Robots Exclusion Protocol that has been used for decades to prevent search engine bots from indexing unauthorized content. A large platform can sue for violation of content licenses, but individual publishers are unlikely to have the means \u2014 unless they gather together and form a collective organization that can fight on their behalf.\n\nIf every public website is more and more likely to be scraped by AI vendors over time, the only way to object is to thwart the scrapers. That can be done electronically, but that\u2019s an arms race between open source platforms and well-funded AI vendors. Joining together and organizing collectively is perhaps more effective; organizing for regulations that can actually hold vendors to account would be more effective still.\n\nIt\u2019s time for publishers, writers, artists, musicians, and everyone who publishes cultural work for a living (or for themselves) to start working together and pushing back. The rights of the indie website are every bit as important as the rights of organizations like the New York Times that do have the funds to sue. And really, truly, it\u2019s time for legislators to take notice of the untrustworthy, exploitative actions of these vendors and their platform accomplices.",
        "html": "<p><img src=\"https://werd.io/file/65dfd311a8c09b76680307f2/thumb.jpg\" alt=\"Some WordPress source code\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" /></p><p><a href=\"https://www.404media.co/tumblr-and-wordpress-to-sell-users-data-to-train-ai-tools/\">404 Media reports that Automattic is planning to sell its data to Midjourney and OpenAI for training generative models</a>:</p><blockquote><p>The exact types of data from each platform going to each company are not spelled out in documentation we\u2019ve reviewed, but internal communications reviewed by 404 Media make clear that deals between Automattic, the platforms\u2019 parent company, and OpenAI and Midjourney are imminent.</p></blockquote><p>Various arms of Automattic made subsequent clarifications. Specifically, it seems like premium versions of WordPress\u2019s online platform, like the WordPress VIP service that powers sites for major newsrooms, <a href=\"https://lobby.vip.wordpress.com/2024/02/28/your-data-and-ai-firms/\">will <em>not</em> sell user data to AI platforms</a>.</p><p>This feels like a direct example of <a href=\"https://werd.io/2024/social-i-love-you-but-youre-bringing-me-down\">my point about how the relationship between platforms and users has been redefined</a>. It appears that free versions of hosted Automattic platforms will sell user data by default, while premium versions will not.</p><p><a href=\"https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/17/24075670/reddit-ai-training-license-deal-user-content\">Reddit announced a similar deal last week</a>, and in total <a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/22/reddit-says-its-made-203m-so-far-licensing-its-data/\">has made deals worth $203M for its content</a>. WordPress powers <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/40-percent-of-web/\">over 40% of the web</a>, which, given these numbers, could lead to a significant payday for the company. Much of that is on the self-hosted open source project rather than sites powered by Automattic, but that number gets fuzzier once you consider the Jetpack and Akismet plugins.</p><p>From a platform\u2019s perspective it seems like AI companies might look like a godsend. They have an open license to tens or hundreds of millions of users\u2019 content, often going back years \u2014 and suddenly, thanks to AI vendors\u2019 need for legal, structured content to train on \u2014 the real market value of that content has shot up. It wouldn\u2019t surprise me to see new social platforms emerge that have underlying data models designed specifically in order to sell to AI vendors. Finally, \u201cselling data\u201d is the business model it was always purported to be.</p><p>It\u2019s probably no surprise that publishers are a little less keen, although there have been well-publicized deals with <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/global-news-publisher-axel-springer-partners-with-openai-landmark-deal-2023-12-13/\">Axel Springer</a> and <a href=\"https://apnews.com/article/openai-chatgpt-associated-press-ap-f86f84c5bcc2f3b98074b38521f5f75a\">the Associated Press</a>. The deals OpenAI is offering to news companies for their content <a href=\"https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/4/24025409/openai-training-data-lowball-nyt-ai-copyright\">tend to top out at $5M each</a>, for one thing. But social platforms don\u2019t trade on the content themselves: they\u2019re scalable businesses because they\u2019re building conduits for other peoples\u2019 posts. Their core value is the software and an enormous, engaged user-base. In contrast, publishers\u2019 core value really is the articles, art, audio, images, and video they produce; the hard-reported journalism, the unscalable art, and the slow-burning communities that emerge around those things. Publishing doesn\u2019t scale. The rights to that work should not be given away easily. The incentives between platforms and AI vendors are more or less aligned; the incentives between publishers and AI vendors are not.</p><p>I don\u2019t think bloggers and social video producers should give those rights away easily either. They might not be publishing companies with large bodies of work, but the integrity of what they produce still matters.</p><p>For WordPress users, it\u2019s kind of a bait and switch.</p><p>While writers may be using the free, hosted version of a publishing platform like WordPress, <a href=\"https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/moral_rights\">they retain the moral right of authorship</a>:</p><blockquote><p>As defined by the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, an international agreement governing copyright law, moral rights are the rights \u201cto claim authorship of the work and to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to, the said work, which would be prejudicial to his honor or reputation.\u201d</p></blockquote><p>The hosted version of WordPress <a href=\"https://wordpress.com/tos/\">contains this sentence about ownership in its TOS</a>:</p><blockquote><p>We don\u2019t own your content, and you retain all ownership rights you have in the content you post to your website.</p></blockquote><p>A reasonable person could therefore infer that their content would not be licensed for an AI vendor. And yet, that seems to be on the cards.</p><p>So now what?</p><p>If every platform is more and more likely to sell user data to AI platforms over time, the only way to object is to start to use self-hosted <a href=\"https://indieweb.org\">indieweb</a> platforms.</p><p>But every public website can also be scraped directly by AI vendors, <a href=\"https://searchengineland.com/crawlers-search-engines-generative-ai-companies-429389\">in some cases even if they use the Robots Exclusion Protocol</a> that has been used for decades to prevent search engine bots from indexing unauthorized content. A large platform can sue for violation of content licenses, but individual publishers are unlikely to have the means \u2014 unless they gather together and form a collective organization that can fight on their behalf.</p><p>If every public website is more and more likely to be scraped by AI vendors over time, the only way to object is to thwart the scrapers. That can be done electronically, but that\u2019s an arms race between open source platforms and well-funded AI vendors. Joining together and organizing collectively is perhaps more effective; organizing for regulations that can actually hold vendors to account would be more effective still.</p><p>It\u2019s time for publishers, writers, artists, musicians, and everyone who publishes cultural work for a living (or for themselves) to start working together and pushing back. The rights of the indie website are every bit as important <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/business/media/new-york-times-open-ai-microsoft-lawsuit.html\">as the rights of organizations like the New York Times that <em>do</em> have the funds to sue</a>. And really, truly, it\u2019s time for legislators to take notice of the untrustworthy, exploitative actions of these vendors and their platform accomplices.</p>"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "Ben Werdmuller",
        "url": "https://werd.io/profile/benwerd",
        "photo": "https://werd.io/file/5d388c5fb16ea14aac640912/thumb.jpg"
    },
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "40415458",
    "_source": "191",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@artlung",
        "url": "https://xoxo.zone/@artlung",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://xoxo.zone/@artlung/112012024152474525",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>Digital Gardens <a href=\"https://artlung.com/blog/2024/02/28/digital-gardens/\"><span>https://</span><span>artlung.com/blog/2024/02/28/di</span><span>gital-gardens/</span></a></p><p><a href=\"https://xoxo.zone/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a></p>",
        "text": "Digital Gardens https://artlung.com/blog/2024/02/28/digital-gardens/\n\n#indieweb"
    },
    "published": "2024-02-29T00:50:49+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40415426",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@tixie",
        "url": "https://mastodon.guerilla.studio/@tixie",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://mastodon.guerilla.studio/@tixie/112011933208728862",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>100 things you can do on your personal website<br /><a href=\"https://jamesg.blog/2024/02/19/personal-website-ideas/\"><span>https://</span><span>jamesg.blog/2024/02/19/persona</span><span>l-website-ideas/</span></a><br /><a href=\"https://mastodon.guerilla.studio/tags/IndieWeb\">#<span>IndieWeb</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.guerilla.studio/tags/FunWeb\">#<span>FunWeb</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.guerilla.studio/tags/OwnYourWeb\">#<span>OwnYourWeb</span></a></p>",
        "text": "100 things you can do on your personal website\nhttps://jamesg.blog/2024/02/19/personal-website-ideas/\n#IndieWeb #FunWeb #OwnYourWeb"
    },
    "published": "2024-02-29T00:27:41+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40415317",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@playmedusa",
        "url": "https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@playmedusa",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@playmedusa/112011622016826403",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>Just found out about the <a href=\"https://mastodon.gamedev.place/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> hashtag and I'm going down the rabbit hole. I used to blog and this movement makes me want to do it once again!</p>",
        "text": "Just found out about the #indieweb hashtag and I'm going down the rabbit hole. I used to blog and this movement makes me want to do it once again!"
    },
    "published": "2024-02-28T23:08:32+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40414960",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@thibaultmol",
        "url": "https://en.osm.town/@thibaultmol",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://en.osm.town/@thibaultmol/112011494824349584",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p><span class=\"h-card\"><a class=\"u-url\" href=\"https://social.lol/@ellie\">@<span>ellie</span></a></span> even if only 0.0001% of the internet returns to <a href=\"https://en.osm.town/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> that's a MASSIVE improvement</p>\n<a class=\"u-mention\" href=\"https://social.lol/@ellie\"></a>",
        "text": "@ellie even if only 0.0001% of the internet returns to #indieweb that's a MASSIVE improvement"
    },
    "published": "2024-02-28T22:36:12+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40414722",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": false
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@brunoamaral",
        "url": "https://mastodon.social/@brunoamaral",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://mastodon.social/@brunoamaral/112010941899122084",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>if you run a static website or blog, this post is for you. <a href=\"https://mademistakes.com/notes/goodbye-gatsby-hello-hugo/\"><span>https://</span><span>mademistakes.com/notes/goodbye</span><span>-gatsby-hello-hugo/</span></a>  <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/beautifulweb\">#<span>beautifulweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/SSG\">#<span>SSG</span></a> <a href=\"https://mastodon.social/tags/OpenSource\">#<span>OpenSource</span></a> cc <span class=\"h-card\"><a class=\"u-url\" href=\"https://fosstodon.org/@gohugoio\">@<span>gohugoio</span></a></span></p>\n<a class=\"u-mention\" href=\"https://fosstodon.org/@gohugoio\"></a>",
        "text": "if you run a static website or blog, this post is for you. https://mademistakes.com/notes/goodbye-gatsby-hello-hugo/  #indieweb #beautifulweb #SSG #OpenSource cc @gohugoio"
    },
    "published": "2024-02-28T20:15:35+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40413509",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": true
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@schizanon",
        "url": "https://mas.to/@schizanon",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://mas.to/@schizanon/112010877637782677",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>I think I miss the point of the <a href=\"https://mas.to/tags/now\">#<span>now</span></a> page in <a href=\"https://mas.to/tags/aboutIdeasNow\">#<span>aboutIdeasNow</span></a></p><p>People seem to use it as a sort of \"Objectives\" article? </p><p>I feel like /now could be a list of activities like in <a href=\"https://mas.to/tags/ActivityPub\">#<span>ActivityPub</span></a> since those are often things I'm reading and sharing right now. </p><p><a href=\"https://mas.to/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://mas.to/tags/posse\">#<span>posse</span></a> <a href=\"https://mas.to/tags/cozyWeb\">#<span>cozyWeb</span></a> <a href=\"https://mas.to/tags/webDev\">#<span>webDev</span></a> <a href=\"https://mas.to/tags/smallweb\">#<span>smallweb</span></a></p>",
        "text": "I think I miss the point of the #now page in #aboutIdeasNow\n\nPeople seem to use it as a sort of \"Objectives\" article? \n\nI feel like /now could be a list of activities like in #ActivityPub since those are often things I'm reading and sharing right now. \n\n#indieweb #posse #cozyWeb #webDev #smallweb"
    },
    "published": "2024-02-28T19:59:14+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40413510",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": true
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@afterdark",
        "url": "https://shellsharks.social/@afterdark",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://shellsharks.social/@afterdark/112009760475562642",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>February is coming to an end soon so my monthly journal series (a.k.a. \"Captain\u2019s Log) entry has gone live. 'tis a fun way for me to summarize the past month, get a little personal and document things in a way that may not quite fit in a normal note/blog post. </p><p><a href=\"https://shellsharks.com/captains-log/2024/02/28/log\"><span>https://</span><span>shellsharks.com/captains-log/2</span><span>024/02/28/log</span></a></p><p><a href=\"https://shellsharks.social/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> <a href=\"https://shellsharks.social/tags/journal\">#<span>journal</span></a></p>",
        "text": "February is coming to an end soon so my monthly journal series (a.k.a. \"Captain\u2019s Log) entry has gone live. 'tis a fun way for me to summarize the past month, get a little personal and document things in a way that may not quite fit in a normal note/blog post. \n\nhttps://shellsharks.com/captains-log/2024/02/28/log\n\n#indieweb #journal"
    },
    "published": "2024-02-28T15:15:08+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40410964",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": true
}

Jeremy Keith adactio.com

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2024-02-28T14:57:29Z",
    "url": "https://adactio.com/links/20933",
    "category": [
        "indieweb",
        "community",
        "graphic",
        "design",
        "icons",
        "indiewebcamp",
        "homepage",
        "redesign"
    ],
    "bookmark-of": [
        "https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2024/056/a1/indieweb_dents/"
    ],
    "content": {
        "text": "Small dents in the IndieWeb \u00b7 Paul Robert Lloyd\n\n\n\nPaul has been doing so much fantastic work with the indie web community, not least of which is co-organising Indie Web Camp Brighton\u2014just ten days away now!",
        "html": "<h3>\n<a class=\"p-name u-bookmark-of\" href=\"https://paulrobertlloyd.com/2024/056/a1/indieweb_dents/\">\nSmall dents in the IndieWeb \u00b7 Paul Robert Lloyd\n</a>\n</h3>\n\n<p>Paul has been doing so much fantastic work with the indie web community, not least of which is co-organising <a href=\"https://indieweb.org/2024/Brighton\">Indie Web Camp Brighton</a>\u2014just ten days away now!</p>"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "Jeremy Keith",
        "url": "https://adactio.com/",
        "photo": "https://adactio.com/images/photo-150.jpg"
    },
    "post-type": "bookmark",
    "_id": "40410728",
    "_source": "2",
    "_is_read": true
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "@ellie",
        "url": "https://social.lol/@ellie",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://social.lol/@ellie/112009275838057745",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>It's awesome how, as the <a href=\"https://social.lol/tags/indieweb\">#<span>indieweb</span></a> is coming back, and corporate control is waning (at least my environment makes it easier to move in that direction), I get a faint glimpse of the internet in the way it was before the money people came and messed things up.<br />What were tales of the past is now becoming accessible to people too young to experience it the first time.</p>",
        "text": "It's awesome how, as the #indieweb is coming back, and corporate control is waning (at least my environment makes it easier to move in that direction), I get a faint glimpse of the internet in the way it was before the money people came and messed things up.\nWhat were tales of the past is now becoming accessible to people too young to experience it the first time."
    },
    "published": "2024-02-28T13:11:53+00:00",
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "40410021",
    "_source": "8007",
    "_is_read": true
}