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Ben Werdmuller
 

CBS News Pauses Twitter Posts 'In Light of Uncertainty' Over Platform

“In light of the uncertainty around Twitter and out of an abundance of caution, CBS News is pausing its activity on the social media site as it continues to monitor the platform.”

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Ben Werdmuller
 

I’ve been thinking a lot

“Web people can tell you the first site they ever saw, they can tell you the moment they knew: This, This Is It, I Will Do This. And they pour themselves into the web, with stories, with designs, with pictures.” This piece on web people vs startup people resonates for me, hard.

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Ben Werdmuller
 

It Was a Bad Week for Billionaires With Delusions of Saving the World

“The money Mr. Bezos is now so magnanimously distributing was made through his dehumanizing labor practices, his tax avoidance, his influence peddling, his monopolistic power and other tactics that make him a cause of the problems of modern American life rather than a swashbuckling solution.”

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Ben Werdmuller
 

Twitter Architecture, annotated on Miro

A whiteboard diagram of Twitter’s architecture from a photo taken by Elon Musk, annotated by Justin Hendrix, Luke Dubois and Mark Hansen. Fascinating!

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Ben Werdmuller
 

There Is No Replacement for Black Twitter

“One former Twitter employee I spoke with described this next phase in grim terms: It’s “the end of Black Twitter and Black people at Twitter.”” And so far, the replacements don’t come close.

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The long-awaited US broadband internet maps are here — for you to challenge

These broadband maps are an important inclusion issue - and here we’re still talking availability rather than accessibility. Right now some of the most vulnerable in society are left offline.

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Eli Lilly CEO says insulin tweet flap “probably” signals need to bring down cost

“"It probably highlights that we have more work to do to bring down the cost of insulin for more people,” Ricks said of the Twitter fury.” Amazing that this is what they needed.

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Ben Werdmuller
 

Octavia Butler’s Science Fiction Predicted the World We Live In

“What readers, fans and scholars often note about Butler’s work is its predictive qualities: Her vision about the climate crisis, political and societal upheaval and the brutality and consequences of power hierarchies seems both sobering and prescient.” She was brilliant. And this tribute is beautifully done.

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Ben Werdmuller
 

The lost thread

“The speed with which Twitter recedes in your mind will shock you. Like a demon from a folktale, the kind that only gains power when you invite it into your home, the platform melts like mist when that invitation is rescinded.”

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Ben Werdmuller
 

The unbearable lightness of BuzzFeed

“In 2016, BuzzFeed stories posted on the platform had 329 million engagements; by 2018, that number had fallen to less than half. Last year, BuzzFeed posts received 29 million engagements, and this year is shaping up to be even worse.” I had no idea it had fallen so far.

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Twitter as representation of the relevance and value of “Word People” in oral culture

“It’s interesting to divide the internet into Word People and Image People because the Internet is a modern evolution of oral culture — and technological/bandwidth limitations have enabled text to serve as the leading means to transfer information online up till now.”

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Ben Werdmuller
 

Most media predicted a red wave. Here’s how The 19th got the election right.

“The media missed the concerns and the motivations of many voters and failed to capture the full electorate. At The 19th, we remained focused on you.” I’m proud, as always, to work here.

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Ben Werdmuller
 

What’s Twitter’s Future? The Former Head of Trust And Safety Weighs In

“It was for this reason that I chose to leave the company: A Twitter whose policies are defined by edict has little need for a trust and safety function dedicated to its principled development.”

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‘People underestimated them’: Advocates for Black women in politics want the Democratic Party to learn from the midterms

“We need early investments for these Black women candidates – Black candidates in general – but especially for Black women, who we know receive less financial contributions than a White woman or a White man running for these positions.”

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Ben Werdmuller
 

Tech Titans Like Elon Musk Want to Save Earth by Having Tons of Children

“We are the Underground Railroad of 'Gattaca' babies and people who want to do genetic stuff with their kids.” Go ahead and tell me this isn’t white supremacy.

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John Fetterman and Social Media: How His Campaign Built a Winning Strategy

“The entire time I was running this program, I was like, “This is going to be a presidential-[campaign] level team in the content we produce and money we raise and folks who organize.” I do think it will be an example for other campaigns. I hope what we do sets an example for the upcoming presidential cycle.”

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Ben Werdmuller
 

Interview: Fallen crypto CEO Sam Bankman-Fried opens up about FTX, Alameda Research, and his regrets

“It was past midnight Bahamas time, where Bankman-Fried is reportedly still located, and we went back and forth on Twitter for more than an hour.” Remarkable interview.

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Why Meta’s withdrawal from journalism will hurt local media companies

“Looking beyond LMA, any guesses on who is the largest funder of Report for America? That’s right. The Meta Journalism Project donated $6.5 million. I believe that’s a little more than 40% of the total raised to date. That means 120 reporters could go away if other funders don’t step up.” Repeat after me: don’t depend on Meta. For anything.

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Ben Werdmuller
 

Farewell from Protocol

This makes me so sad. I really loved Protocol.

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Ben Werdmuller
 

FTX’s Balance Sheet Was Bad

“The problem was in its balance sheet, which was full of snakes, and its governance, which put all the snakes there.”

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Ben Werdmuller
 

If You Want to Understand How Dangerous Elon Musk Is, Look Outside America

“Musk is right that the world needs a digital public square; unfortunately, he seems to have little idea that creating one involves balancing free speech against abuse, misinformation and government overreach.”

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Ben Werdmuller
 

Is Elon Musk a bad boss? Ask Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter workers

“But there’s plenty in the public record. Personal attacks. Union busting. A casual attitude toward factory floor injuries and other health concerns. A dismissive approach to workplace racism. And an allegation involving a horse and sexual favors.”

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Ben Werdmuller
 

Media Companies Are Having Their Worst Year in Three Decades

“Advertising and affiliate fees are the two biggest revenue streams for most traditional media companies. Now they are both in secular decline.”

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Ben Werdmuller
 

Facing a call for climate reparations, wealthy nations propose an insurance scheme

“Advocates for loss and damage warned that insurance schemes like those promised by Global Shield are an insufficient solution to loss and damage, and they worried that such programs will distract from the demand for separate direct funding.”

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Ben Werdmuller
 

Legal right to request remote working to be delivered by end of the year (in Ireland)

“An amendment to the bill is now expected that will allow all workers to request remote working.” In Ireland right now but expect it everywhere soon.

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