RE: outreach update - need help spreading the word...

Hello Shawn,
Locally we just had the Air California rally which had a pretty good size
turnout.  So we have a lot of interest here in San Francisco Bay Area IT
central.  I also think the Air Rally concept that Phil Jenkins of IBM (and
WAI) had a hand in starting in Texas gets a lot of attention.  I think what
I get from the Air California competition is the sense that excellence of
design is stimulated by the rally which excites people.  This then means to
me that a focus upon Good design that works accessibly is stimulated by an
emphasis on good design itself.

I wonder what you mean by getting what people need on the web.  When people
are face to face they get contact they can't get on the web.  In gaming
rallies people relish coming into some space together to work all weekend on
games together.  They could just be online at home, but they choose to
gather locally.  Where Laurence writes that there is more knowledge about
accessibility may be somewhat true, but the issue is still very far from
being known in my area (Corporate world San Francisco Bay Area).  I just
spent a lot of time with developers who came in cold with the concept.  I
tend to think the integration of accessibility into design is far from being
well understood.

I've looked at a lot of "accessible sites" and I think the work is massive
in sites that are supposed to be accessible.


I also think that the economy is slowing down significantly.  I am seeing
that a lot in California in the disability community.  Again the rally which
combines non-profits with corporate development teams showed how much the
non-profits as a whole are being affected by the State government budgetary
cuts.
Doyle

-----Original Message-----
From: Shawn Lawton Henry [mailto:shawn@UIAccess.com] 
Sent: Friday, September 27, 2002 8:29 AM
To: 'EOWG'
Subject: outreach update - need help spreading the word...


The "Web Design that Works for Everyone" conference
(http://www.adaptenv.org/webconference/index.php):

1. has a good line up (including our own Judy Brewer, and people from
Macromedia & Adobe, WGBH & NCAM, and the design community, including the
executive director of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA))

and 2. is relatively cheap ($300 for 2 days (early registration discount
through this coming Monday 30 Sept)).

However, registration is very low.

I am interested in the low attendance at such events. Certainly some of
it is due to the economy - conference attendance is way down for most
established conferences. However, I think there is something more going
on with accessibility. I know of a few different workshop that have had
to cancel in the last couple months because of low registration. Perhaps
one factor is that people feel they can get what they need on the Web?
I'm not sure what all is at issue. Interesting to speculate, anyway.

- Shawn

Received on Friday, 27 September 2002 13:12:18 UTC