Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · 1d

A long-time client contact tells us she's leaving her job - all five people on the call become friends on Finch before moving on to practical transition matters. I love the people I work with/for 😍

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · 1d

I had the delightful honor to be on @bph.social 's Gutenberg Changelog podcast last week. We had fun - check it out! :)

gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gute...

Gutenberg Changelog #122 - Gutenberg 21.8 and WordPress 6.9 - Gutenberg Times

In episode 122 of the GT Changelog podcast, host Birgit Pauli-Haack is joined by Beth Soderberg, CEO of bethink Studio, to discuss the latest updates in Gutenberg 21.8 and WordPress 6.9. The conversat...

gutenbergtimes.com

3

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · 13d

Amphora!?!! Honestly, excellent read.

www.bbc.com/future/artic...

The 3,000-year-old story hidden in the @ sign

In Taiwan they call @ "little mouse". It's "strudel" in Hebrew, "dog" in Russian and "monkey's tail" in Dutch. The @ sign is a mirror, and its story goes back thousands of years.

www.bbc.com

2

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · 21d

Autism was first identified in 1912. Acetaminophen was first marketed in the US in 1950.

Some of my closest friends have autism. I love you and don't think that anything is "wrong" with you.

Pregnant people need access to safe medication for their own health.

What about the Epstein files again?

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · 22d

Solidarity kiddo: “I’m going to be very tired today because i have lots of yawns.”

1

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · 24d

I just love how kids say things sometimes: “I was just resting in my bed for a couple minutes to see if I could make a dream. But I didn’t.”

2

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · 26d

Our deliberate "don't come to meetings if they'll waste your time" culture leads to it being OK to ask questions. Yay for a developer not wasting an hour!

Dev: I got an invite to the [sales] meeting, did you want me to go?
Me: I don’t think you need to go, save yourself 😉
D: will do, thanks!

1

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · 27d

Makes me like my glasses even more than I already did 🥰

1

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · 28d

Thank YOU! What you wrote made me realize that this is what I've been doing with my glasses for decades :)

1 1

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · 28d

I read this excellent piece by @camikaos.bsky.social over my lunch today. For me, the "mask" that really is "real" is all about my glasses. Without them I look at myself and think it must be my sister for a moment. I've had many pairs of "almost the same" glasses since sometime in middle school. 🥸

Cami Kaos (she/her) @camikaos.bsky.social · 29d

Natural is overrated.
Pink is better.
Masking Monday: Not Natural, But Real
camikaos.com/2025/09/16/m...

Masking Monday: Not Natural, But Real…

I’m realizing only now, as I near 50, that I haven’t actually hated my hair my whole life. That sounds dramatic, so I should explain a little. I love my hair now. I really do. It’s crazy and wild a…

camikaos.com

1 6

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · Sep 10

My fave moment of my day thus far: when my coworker and I faked a "very important meeting" so that a salesperson knocking at my door would feel awkward and leave without bothering me.

2

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · Sep 10

I had SO MUCH FUN catching up with @seriouslybud.bsky.social . We'd been talking about doing this for a long time and finally did. YAY :)

Seriously, BUD? @seriouslybud.bsky.social · Sep 10

Very excited to tell you that this Friday, you can hear what @bethsoderberg.bsky.social had to say on Seriously, BUD? This unexpected conversation was a long time coming, and the pleasure was all mine!

4

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · Sep 8

This morning, I started singing "oh it's a beautiful morning, oh it's a beautiful day..." to one of my kids while driving him to school. His response: "Mom, that's not a song. That's just noise."

1

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · Sep 8

Ok the lantern fly experience just got grosser. They are dead on the floor INSIDE my clients’ office building.

1

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · Sep 8

Just in case anyone has been wondering where the spotted lantern flies are: Arlington. There are at least a few dozen dead (many squashed - yay humans) outside of my fave little bagel place. I squashed the ones that looked alive

Reposted by Beth Soderberg

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · Sep 6

“So, the rise of these industrial-scale computing facilities that are needed for A.I. and other Internet applications is certainly one of the factors driving up prices.”

“And I think there’s a chance that A.I. is going to drive our bills even higher in the future.”

How AI infrastructure is driving a sharp rise in electricity bills

Electricity bills are climbing nationwide, rising faster than inflation in many places. The explosive growth of AI and the massive data centers behind it are driving demand and straining the grid. To ...

www.pbs.org

73 520 1.1K

Reposted by Beth Soderberg

Tiffany Bridge @tiff.is · Sep 3

DC residents pulling jury service continue resisting.

Scott MacFarlane @macfarlanenews.bsky.social · Sep 3

NEW: DC grand jurors reject more Justice Dept cases

Former DOJ attorney: “Not only have I never heard of this happening, I've never heard of a prosecutor who's heard of this happening”

www.cbsnews.com/news/d-c-gra...

D.C. grand jurors reject latest wave of Justice Dept. indictment requests

One former federal prosecutor said of the indictment denials by D.C. grand juries that he's "never heard of this happening."

www.cbsnews.com

3 13

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · Sep 3

For the love of all things, please do this!

Courtney @courtneyr.dev · Sep 3

Implementing Namespaces and Coding Standards in WordPress Plugin Development #WordPress

Implementing Namespaces and Coding Standards in WordPress Plugin Development – WordPress Developer Blog

Add namespacing, autoloading, and linting to your multi-block plugin for clean, scalable WordPress development.

developer.wordpress.org

3

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · Sep 2

new post-WordCamp sleeping record: 14 hours Sunday into Monday!

Finally feeling like a real person again :)

2

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · Aug 29

"The best systematic improvements come from actual users, not internal teams. Proprietary systems create short-term advantage. Open systems create long-term value. Systems that belong to everyone are by ... just being, also maintained by everyone."

@karmatosed.art #WCUS #WCUS2025

1

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · Aug 29

"This fundamental shift in thinking about systems isn't technical; it's actually cognitive. Instead of asking how do I solve this problem... we need to start thinking: how do I build a system that prevents this class of problems?"

@karmatosed.art #WCUS #WCUS2025

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · Aug 29

"Good systems, they don't eliminate all friction, they place it strategically... friction in the right places creates quality, prevents errors, and builds user confidence."

@karmatosed.art #WCUS #WCUS2025

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · Aug 29

"Confusion is actually optional. The art of system design is revealing complexity progressively so users never feel overwhelmed, but never hit artificial limits."

@karmatosed.art #WCUS #WCUS2025

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · Aug 29

It IS so great. I'm sad you weren't able to be here - let's talk soon and catch up IRL <3

1 1

Beth Soderberg @bethsoderberg.bsky.social · Aug 29

cognitive limits, emotional triggers, learning preferences

"If you don't design for these psychological realities, you end up fighting human nature instead of working with it. Because big ideas: they don't scale on inspiration alone."

@karmatosed.art #WCUS #WCUS2025

1 1