Posted December 15, 2006 at 2:46 AM | Tagged as: Accessibility, Meeeeeeee, Web Stuff | 2 Comments
Over at Accessify, Ian’s asked folks to tell the story of how they got into accessibility. Like Ian, I get asked this one a lot, so here’s my story.
Back in the summer of 1995, I was working as a student technician for Bryn Mawr’s Computing Services department. One day my supervisor told me I needed to install some special software on the library computers. I took the disks, went to the library, and started installing.
What I was installing, it turns out, was MAGic — screen magnification software. The software was requested by a low-vision member of the college community. She needed the software in order to be able to read our online card catalog — the Web, at the time, was still barely a factor for most of the folks that I interacted with. (That same summer I started teaching an “Intro to the Internet” course to adults and the focus was still on e-mail, except for a brief demo of Lycos and/or Magellan.)
Once the install was complete, I tried the software for myself. I was horrified; I wondered how anyone could adjust to using such a clunky application. As interfaces were enlarged, small flaws in certain apps stood out and attracted my attention. Words flew off screen, and I had to scroll horizontally in order to finish reading a line of text. As both a tech support person (I wondered if I had even installed the software correctly, for a while) and as a computer science student (I hadn’t taken any HCI courses, but clearly I was thinking about related issues) I was concerned on behalf of and for the user.
But I was also intrigued. I got one of the women that used the software to demonstrate it for me. We talked about other assistive technologies that were out there, and I tried to learn as much about them as I could. I installed JAWS for DOS at some point, to find out what screen readers were all about. I researched alternate input devices, and for a time used a Twiddler (chord-keyboard).
During this time I was also developing some rather amateurish Web sites, but I didn’t put much thought into making them accessible. Of course, at the time, the sites were just images and text, so there wasn’t much to think about! As sites got more and more complex, however, I learned about Web accessibility via that same community of users, which continued to call for tech support any time MAGic or JAWS failed to give them access to the content they desired.
In 1999, after I had joined AOL and learned they were being sued by the NFB, I had to chuckle to myself. When interviewing with them, I submitted a technical skills sheet in addition to my resume, on which I listed “Henter-Joyce assistive software” as something I was familiar with. I was clearly over-optimistic in thinking that AOL would already know of these products, since only one person asked me about that particular bullet point. Not only did I have to explain what the products did and who would make use of them, but I also had to explain why it was important for all people to be able to use computers and access the Internet. *forehead smack*
So, this story ends the same way many of my stories end… by crediting and thanking Bryn Mawr for the best education, opportunities, and community a school could offer to a student. When I say that I wouldn’t be where I am today if it hadn’t been for Bryn Mawr, I really, truly mean it.
Posted December 8, 2006 at 2:08 AM | Tagged as: Web Standards, Work | Just 1 Comment
It was through Steve Ganz, whom I met at SXSW, that I learned PayPal was making the move to Web standards — entirely due to the great job he’d been doing evangelizing them! It was also because of Steve that I got hired at PayPal. I was excited that we’d be working together… but disappointed when, after just 10 days on the job, Steve resigned. (As Ducky would say, “Do I o-ffend?”)
Despite Steve’s departure, progress must continue to be made, and PayPal is in need of a standards evangelist! I’m out to find the best person for the job — someone with great knowledge, passion, and commitment. Is that you? Someone you know? The job description follows, along with instructions for applying. Contact me with questions, or just submit your resume!
The Web Development Platform team at PayPal seeks a senior-level Web developer to work across multiple projects and teams to drive the adoption of Web standards. The ideal candidate will have prior experience working as a senior developer on a high-profile site with a cross-functional team under tight deadlines. The ideal candidate will also be well-versed in Web standards (HTML/XHTML, XML, XSL, CSS, JavaScript/DOM scripting, accessibility) and protocols, coding for multiple browsers/platforms, and current JavaScript frameworks.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Standards evangelism: Requires extensive knowledge of Web standards, a passion for advocating their correct usage, excellent communication skills (written and verbal), and a high comfort level speaking to large crowds.
- Code analysis: Candidate should have experience with reviewing others’ code, delivering constructive criticism, assisting developers with making changes/fixes.
- Prototype coding: Based on user interface and visual design specifications, rapidly create necessary HTML, CSS, and DOM scripts to produce working model.
- Documentation and training: Create and deliver training materials to groups of developers.
Job Requirements
- 5+ years experience in Web development, including hand-coding of semantic HTML/XHTML, CSS-driven layouts.
- 3+ years experience of DOM scripting, including DHTML, Ajax, and JavaScript frameworks.
- 3+ years experience with XML/XSL or a content management system with template scripting capabilities.
- Expertise with cross-browser, cross-platform development practices.
- Experience developing accessible Web sites that conform to WCAG 1.0.
- Solid understanding of Web protocols.
- Knowledge of software design principles, OO concepts, and/or C++ or Java programming.
- Excellent time management, problem solving, teamwork, and communication skills.
- Experience in internationalization/localization a plus.
Education: Bachelors Degree or Equivalent
Interested parties should apply online at www.ebaycareers.com under Req #13672BR. Please provide at least 3 web site URLs that showcase your work.
Posted December 3, 2006 at 12:16 AM | Tagged as: Web Stuff, Work | 6 Comments
Some of you suspected something was afoot when I added the disclaimer to the footer of my site; even more of you caught on when I added another location to the list of places I call home. Finally, here’s the big announcement!
Since November 6th I’ve been an employee of PayPal (an eBay company). I’m managing the Web Development Platform team — our mission is to create, document, evangelize, and assist in the implementation of standards that improve the user experience! (We also so some other very important stuff, but that all applies internally and ultimately still contributes to the larger mission.)
This job may sound familiar to some of you, because this role is very similar to the one I played on the Product Integrity team at AOL. Of course, one big difference is that I now have the benefit of experience, which should make things go a little smoother. Still, a new company will present new challenges, which is partly why I’m there. The other part is that I’m excited about what’s going on at PayPal. And that’s what matters!
