I’ve been in business on my own as a corporation for 7 years now, and was a sole proprietor/freelance type for 2 years before that. With all the successes there have also been a few failures. Here’s some mistakes I’ve made. Here’s hoping they are helpful to someone out there!

Continue reading Five Business Mistakes I’ve Made

Many countries in the world require that public sector web sites be accessible. We all know that despite this requirement many of these public sector web sites don’t meet these accessibility guidelines, nor are they accessible to people with disabilities. This is not a good thing, but will hopefully continue to improve over time.

My concern today, though, is about sites that are not technically public sector sites, but in all likelihood their construction has been supported by public funds.

Continue reading Public Money on Inaccessible Web Sites

Last Wednesday night (March 22, 2006) I had the privelege of talking with one of our local user groups: the Ottawa Group of Ruby Enthusiasts (OGRE). I did a short presentation on Web Accessibility (surprise, surprise). I was really pleased to see that the group was interested in accessibility – they asked some excellent questions. After the session I had a number of people asking me more in depth questions looking for different possible solutions to making their web sites or applications more accessible. Yes – we were talking about making Web 2.0 applications more accessible. Awesome – it is great to find people that want to do the right thing!

Continue reading OGRE Meeting and Presentation

Spring Break for Geeks is on again in beautiful Austin, Texas. Take some 3000+ web developer and designer types, put them all together in a conference center and watch in amazement.

I had a blast last year, and suspect this year will be just as much fun. Here’s a few things that I’ve picked up about SXSW and conferences in general that may be of use to you:

Continue reading Getting the Most from SXSW 2006