oz: the blog of glenda sims ( the goodwitch)
Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.
I recently had an hour long (very intense) debate with one of my web designers over accessibility. He knows I’m the “self-appointed accessibility goddess at UTâ€â€¦and yet, he still thought accessibility was optional on a specific project he was doing for me.
He thought, “no blind person will ever use this content†and it made him really angry that I would require him to add alt.
Am I dreaming? An Event Apart is coming to Austin, November 6th and the venue is the Alamo Drafthouse. Wanna spend a day with Jeffrey Zeldman, Eric Meyer and Jason Santa Maria? Think it can’t get any better than that? Well…how ’bout the marvelous Molly Holzschlag!
Imagine a web where everyone has access… regardless of their physical or mental ability. This is the vision behind the Accessibility Internet Rally (AIR) a friendly and fun competition that pairs web developers with local non-profits to create accessible websites. Even before the AIR awards ceremony, web developers win by receiving valuable technical accessibility training; Non-Profits win by getting a new and accessible web presence and we all win by moving forward on the path of web access for all.
Any one considering going to SXSW Interactive in Austin March 9-13, 2007? It is the most amazing web conference on the planet. I think of it as a great BIG IDEA conference. When explaining to others how to get the most out of SXSWi I have been known to say:
“SXSW is about the people. Go to the panels, go to the parties, introduce yourself to the person next to you. Seek out new people. Find out what treasures are overflowing in the brains all around you. Talk about your passions and then listen. I mean really LISTEN. Suspend judgement. Truly try on the perspective of the brilliant human being sitting next to you. Then let the magic potion of ideas, words and reality transform your thinking and open your eyes to new possibilities.â€
Some conferences are just so delicious they make me drool. Take d.Construct 2006 coming up September 8th in Brighton. The speaker list includes:
In this world of data overload, it is refreshing to find a site that gives you focused and useful information. Let me introduce you to, Bite Size Standards, one of my new favorites for concise web development tutorials.
A question arose on the way to dinner last night. What was the value of “getting naked” yesterday by stripping off our CSS to celebrate Annual CSS Naked Day?
One of my friends said (perhaps jokingly),
“So over 750 people had nothing better to do today than strip off their CSS. I don’t have time for these memes.”
I’ve always meant to read Tufte’s “Visual Display of Quantitative Information” but it wasn’t until recently that I got soooo busy that I just had to read it. You see, when things get very hectic and chaotic in my life…I find my sanctuary in a really good book!
If you are in the field of web design or development, I highly recommend spending some time with Tufte. In hopes of inspiring you to dive into one of his books, I’ll share just a few things I learned from him.