Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller's avatar
Ben Werdmuller
🛡️ werd.io_at_bsky.brid.gy@momostr.pink
npub1tvkw...hkn6
Senior Director of Technology at ProPublica. I write speculative fiction and think about the future of news and technology at [werd.io](https://werd.io ). 🌉 [bridged](https://fed.brid.gy/bsky/werd.io ) from 🦋 [werd.io](https://bsky.app/profile/werd.io ), follow nostr:npub1pqr3g2gk3vsnrqk9kwfqqcxc6d5cwjr0hyc0nlzz9py5nf92vd9sn02sck to interact Web site: https://bsky.app/profile/werd.io Link: https://werd.io
Just published a deep look at where open social networks stand in 2025: Mastodon’s leadership change, Bluesky’s trajectory, AT Protocol, ActivityPub, cross-network tools, and more. For newsrooms and public service orgs, this moment really matters. [werd.io/the-state-of...](
Ben Werdmuller
The State of the Open Social Web | Ben Werdmuller
A comprehensive look at Mastodon, Bluesky, and the growing ecosystem of open, interoperable social networks.
 ) [The State of the Open Social W...](
Ben Werdmuller
The State of the Open Social Web | Ben Werdmuller
A comprehensive look at Mastodon, Bluesky, and the growing ecosystem of open, interoperable social networks.
 )
The best way to have freedom of expression is to write in a space that you control, in a form and medium that you control, for an audience that you have a direct relationship with. It just so happens that when you have space for context and the form fits content, you have better conversations, too.
"It’s no accident that US political operatives have been singling out Bluesky as a target for political control and retribution for months." But the result puts protocol developers and the users of their networks in opposition. [Trump Administration's Arrival...](
Ben Werdmuller
Trump Administration's Arrival on Bluesky Highlights Growing Pains for Open Networks
"It’s no accident that US political operatives have been singling out Bluesky as a target for political control and retribution for months." But ...
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A personal post. [werd.io/telomeres-my...](
Ben Werdmuller
Telomeres, my son, and me
I bawled my way through Nowhere Special, a 2020 movie about a terminally ill man who needs to find a new family for his four year old son. I’ll ...
 ) [Telomeres, my son, and me](
Ben Werdmuller
Telomeres, my son, and me
I bawled my way through Nowhere Special, a 2020 movie about a terminally ill man who needs to find a new family for his four year old son. I’ll ...
 )
What if we built a LiveJournal-like system on ATproto? Long-form posts but in a feed, based on who you were connected to. Picking up the ball from Leaflet and similar tools but riding on the Bluesky social graph and resting heavily on updates from your friends. Throw in RSS for good measure.
I love how thoughtful the Mastodon blog post about introducing quote posting is. A way the team could be even more impactful on the open social web would be to share their research findings and thinking that went into these features - that's the sort of body of knowledge everyone could learn from. [Introducing quote posts](
Mastodon Blog
Introducing quote posts
Over the years, we’ve learned just how essential quoting is to many of you. Here
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Can newsrooms become social platforms themselves? Should they? The future belongs to organizations that understand their communities, not just their analytics. In this post, I dig into a reader question that speaks to the future of social, newsrooms, and AI. [werd.io/can-newsroom...](
Ben Werdmuller
Can newsrooms become social platforms?
How community-first thinking can help newsrooms survive AI
 ) [Can newsrooms become social pl...](
Ben Werdmuller
Can newsrooms become social platforms?
How community-first thinking can help newsrooms survive AI
 )