oz: the blog of glenda sims ( the goodwitch)
Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.
Joe Clark is the king of captioning.
Joe’s quest: To run an independent accessibility research project focused on captioning, audio description, subtitling, and dubbing. After reading the clear and achievable goals of his research, I thought, “ya know, this is a great idea and I believe Joe is the perfect man for the job.” (click, enter dollar amount, submit)
If you’ve ever been to SXSW, you may have had the good fortune to meet Hugh Forrest, the event director of SXSW-Interactive. Hugh is a real prince of a guy, ever so humble, hard-working and full of heart.
From the moment I saw Jeffrey Zeldman, Eric Meyer, Jason Santa Maria and Molly working the conference registration desk, I knew that this truly was “An Event Apart“. Imagine walking in to the Alamo Drafthouse and having Zeldman hand you your badge and thank you for coming.
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€
In the midst of this far from perfect world, there is so very much to be grateful for. Today, I learned that Walgreens is actively seeking employees with disabilities for their new distribution centers. They have developed a site called Walgreens Outreach with accessibility in mind. Their goal is to have at least one-third of… Continue reading Walgreens Outreach – Outstanding!