Notable links: February 20, 2026
Why aren't newsrooms sharing and innovating? And more.
Latest
Stop calling optimization "innovation."
"The problem is, if you’re optimizing a product that fundamentally isn’t working for how people get news in 2026, all you’re really doing is riding that buggy off of a cliff with style."
The political effects of X’s feed algorithm
"Feed algorithms are widely suspected to influence political attitudes." This study shows that some do - to significant effect.
In Graphic Detail: Subscriptions are rising at big news publishers – even as traffic shrinks
In a world where traffic is decreasing, publishers are moving more heavily into subscriptions - with very good results.
An increasingly dangerous world
My underlying model for everything that's happening
Building trust in the open
How Protocols for Publishers points to the future of journalism – and the web
Growing the open social web
A position statement for FediForum's unworkshop
Palantir vs. the "Republik": US analytics firm takes magazine to court
Switzerland rejected Palantir on security grounds after independent journalism shed light on fundamental issues. Now the company is suing to tell its side of the story.
Most Americans don’t pay for news and don’t think they need to
Only 8% of respondents believe individual Americans have a responsibility to pay for news. "I don't think that information should be a privilege," one respondent said.
Everyone is stealing TV
"Fed up with increasing subscription prices, viewers embrace rogue streaming boxes." The question is: what's on them?
A note about personal security
I made a mistake last month that hopefully others can learn from. There are rumors that ICE is turning its attention to the Philadelphia area, where I live. I’m a natural-born American citizen, but based on accounts from Minneapolis, I’m not excited to run into them, and I’
Journalism lost its culture of sharing
"The data are clear: The open-source culture that defined an earlier era of online journalism has collapsed."
AI
Hiring in an era of fake candidates, real scams and AI slop
"Red flags that both job seekers and employers should watch for, in an era of AI slop and application scams."
Notable links
Notable links: Jan 24, 2026
What does the future of engineering look like? And more.
Technology
On ICE, Verification, and Presence As Harm
"Bluesky built a verification system designed to distribute trust, and then didn't use it when it mattered."
AI
The Five Levels: from Spicy Autocomplete to the Software Factory
"I’ve now seen dozens of companies struggling to put AI to work writing code, and each one has moved through five clear tiers of automation. That felt familiar."
Business
The Forwardable Email
"A way to help others actually make that connection they said they would." I've used this for a decade, and it's probably useful for you, too.
Technology
Funding Open Source for Digital Sovereignty
"Open Source alone won't deliver digital sovereignty. Europe must fix procurement and fund those who actually build it."
Technology
Who owns your data?
A Supreme Court case about a bank robbery could redefine your digital rights.
Democracy
Remembering Beyond Vietnam on MLK Day
A good friend introduced me to Martin Luther King Jr's Beyond Vietnam speech some time ago. It was not well-received by the mainstream press at the time (more about that in a moment) but I think it's prescient and, unfortunately, timely. At the Riverside Church in
Notable links
Notable links: January 16, 2026
An occupation in Minnesota and finding your way to work that doesn't harm
Democracy
Remarks on the Federal Government’s Ongoing Presence in Minnesota
“It is a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government." So record it.
Business
The Curiosity Tour
"A way to approach a job hunt that uncovers extraordinary, unlisted opportunities" - using a distilled framework that makes something that might look daunting feel easy.
Democracy
‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid
"Internal ICE material and testimony from an official obtained by 404 Media provides the clearest link yet between the technological infrastructure Palantir is building for ICE and the agency’s activities on the ground."