iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 29/09/2026

Snapshot of my morning.

The sun behind a tree on Palm Drive on the Stanford campus

The Stanford oval, as seen from the side

Voyager Coffee in the Stanford Computer and Data Science building

Sitting outside at the Stanford Computer and Data Science building, laptop open

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 15/09/2026

When I was first in California, having freshly (and a bit traumatically) ripped up my UK life, I attended a session on news design at the d.School. Boy, was that foreshadowing for the fifteen years that came afterwards. Today I’ll be spending the day there again.

A Foursquare checkin saying I haven’t been to the Stanford d.School since July 2011.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 11/09/2026

A phone with one fold isn't cool. You know what's cool?

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 06/09/2026

Our kid's first movie in the theater was the Paw Patrol Dino Movie this morning. The thing I appreciated most about it is how long and hard the team behind it clearly spent thinking about how dogs wear trousers. These are the details that matter.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 28/08/2026

Hard to believe I’ll be in Palo Alto this evening, but I will. After six days I’m very excited to not spend all day in a car.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 24/08/2026

Cloud Walking Cafe in South Bend, IN is my kind of place.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 18/08/2026

I want one of these that saves every drawing to a memory card, like a Remarkable for toddlers. Is that a thing? Can it be? iPad apps etc don’t really cut it - I want a dedicated device.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 13/08/2026

I’m really going to miss the view from my living room.

Big picture windows with a crape myrtle in full pink bloom outside

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 02/08/2026

Any classic phone nerds here? I think this is a ringer extension, but I'm not positive. I need to buy a cover (it's 4.75"x3"). Any thoughts?

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 30/07/2026

I retrieved a valuable possession from the office.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 29/07/2026

I don’t mean to brag, but … this is a miracle for me these days.

Ben slept for 7:08, including 2:54 of deep sleep.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 26/07/2026

Didn’t have “fully replace my bath faucets a few weeks before we leave” on my agenda but here we are, I guess.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 25/07/2026

Packing is really hard. After my mother had a double lung transplant, she took a singing class, and did a solo performance of The Elements Song. These were her notes. I had them framed - for everything they represent. They ordinarily sit next to her ashes.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 21/07/2026

Kind of fun: all 5051 posts are indexed. standard-reader.app/p/did:plc:77...

Ben Werdmuller's site, encoded in standard.site, represented in Standard Reader.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 14/07/2026

While packing up the house I found the comic books I wrote when I was a kid. I guess this is normal eleven year old stuff.

Comic strip. “Hell. Or heaven. Depends whether you’re a masochist or not. Either way, it’s a place where everything that has, will, or could have happened runs together.”

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 03/07/2026

Eating at John Parson’s BBQ, about 30 mins north of my house. Easily the best BBQ I’ve ever had, and I’ve spent a lot of time in Texas. Just absurdly good. And there’s a 0% chance I would have found it were it not for the @inquirer.com. Local journalism works!

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 03/07/2026

Huh. Photo didn't upload. Let's try again:

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 03/07/2026

My Great Grandfather, David Monas, was General Manager of the Pennsylvania Joint Board of the Amalgamated Shirt Workers. I grew up with union songs. To this day, I believe being anti-union is one of the worst things you can be.

David Monas with the Pennsylvania shirtworkers.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 02/07/2026

Today I learned that my mother’s master’s thesis, for the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, was an equity lens on women’s role in the tech industry. Circa 1982. I cannot believe I’ve never read this before. I wish I could ask her about it.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 01/07/2026

Packing up my office and carefully storing the various mementos I keep on display.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 16/06/2026

Congratulations, Pittsburgh, you’re beautiful.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 13/06/2026

Every so often my high school year book emerges, like a cicada. Today was one such day. Not sure how to feel about it.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 12/06/2026

I love the diversity and messy beauty of people, of communities, of outsider art, of the things we can do when we work together regardless of background or social strata. I genuinely love humanity and I believe there's a ton of good in it.

What's the thing that you love most about the world?

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 11/06/2026

A lot of work was done by insurance company PR firms a while back to undermine perception of universal healthcare - the emphasis was on long wait times etc. That work was unfortunately really influential. But the details of real-world NHS issues don't typically surface.

As an American publication/org do you ever hear the stories of failures and money wastage in our NHS over here in the UK? Is it something that makes Americans see the NHS in a bad light?

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 11/06/2026

100%. But rebooted, with a new cast.

Shouldn't there be a Red Dwarf movie? Everyone is focusing on Dr Who failing, Star Trek failing and Star Wars failing. Yet I've always thought the Red Dwarf material was strong throughout.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 11/06/2026

I think our information ecosystem is fundamentally broken and becoming more so. And that goes for across the political spectrum - but I do think parts of the left are more prone to read stories and research and engage with it all more analytically.

Do you think the left is slipping into the same trap the right did? Eg on socials spreading misinformation, focusing on the bubble rather than the facts and rounding on those with better information than their hearts and feelings.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 11/06/2026

I'm not a journalist and can't speak for editorial. But we work with a ton of amazing local reporting partners who help us with more local stories. We think in impact, not size.

Is there a level of whistleblowing on corruption that is too small to report on, like a point at which it’s just too small potatoes to devote resources to? If so, what’s the approximate size of a problem that is likely to get more than a rueful shrug from you? (Not referring to anything in particular, only curious where the breaking point is.)

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 11/06/2026

I'm beginning to think you people aren't taking this seriously

What is better?

A) A Dinghy House

B) A dingy house

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 11/06/2026

This is more of a comment than a question, tbh

"Every time I'm telling someone something about propublica I have to stop myself from calling it prorepublica."

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 09/06/2026

It really has, but I’m not ready to celebrate the death of my mother, thanks all the same, Apple.

A notification: has it really been 5 years? Time to celebrate.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 05/06/2026

Excited to hear @rude1.blacksky.team kick off the Open Social Awards - talking about building movements and everything he’s doing at @blackskyweb.xyz. “If you want to build for community, you should first have one.”

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 05/06/2026

As expected, @kissane.myatproto.social’s talk - about how to build structures that resist the dissolution of democracy - is phenomenal. Seek it out when it gets posted and spread it far and wide. We need it. #pubconf2026

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 05/06/2026

Here for the launch of the European Social Stack: “We [are moving] away from large monopolistic platforms with their authoritarian governance and editorial positions, and are joining forces to establish a diverse and resilient information infrastructure in Europe.” #pubconf2026 european.social

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 05/06/2026

“The time for dialogue with these people is long gone.” @robin.berjon.com’s opening talk is a call to action to build collective power in opposition to extractive big tech. #pubconf2026

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 03/06/2026

Also it makes sense that the Dutch would have this now, but I’m confused why Philly doesn’t have croquettes or deep fried gravy balls

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 31/05/2026

The garden absolutely wrecked me today. Lots done but I hit my limit. Dinner will correspondingly be “grazing from things we have in the kitchen” - luckily we’ve got a bunch of Fishwife tins that need to be open, crackers, etc etc. And wine. A decent way to end a good weekend. I hope yours was too.

The author, a mid gardener, mid gardening.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 30/05/2026

It is pronounced “America bouquet”

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 28/05/2026

I’m on an Acela this morning. This patriotic banner has all the coherence of stickers on a Windows XP laptop.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 21/05/2026

Do you think they’ll know it’s me

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 12/05/2026

There go my evening plans.

A hotel sign: no parties, running, screaming, loud media, smoking, or weed - because they could cause Nightmares to other guests.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 07/05/2026

Without downloading something new, where are you mentally?

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 12/04/2026

I appreciate that they're on the Atmosphere Account train!

Dialog box: "already have an Atmosphere Account?"

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 02/04/2026

I reckon it’s a whole head hat like Jay Kay from Jamiroquoi.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 30/03/2026

A decade ago, as part of Matter, I helped map out problems in news and media worth solving based on conversations with our partners (orgs like KQED, PRX, the NYT, the AP, McClatchy, Knight, Tronc). How many of these are still relevant? What else have we added? Source: medium.com/matter-drive...

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 05/03/2026

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.

It's a ZX81! A small 8-bit computer with a built-in membrane keyboard.

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Ben Werdmuller @werd.io · 17/02/2026

So this is very cool. I think these are the right things to focus on:

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