• Background
• Fairness, Taxi
• Michigan to Florida
• Web Axe
• Accessible Twitter
• Concerns
• Lessons Learned
• Quiz
• Contact Info

• Married with two boys.
• From Michigan; now in California; also lived in Florida.
• Likes:
  • Espresso con panna (usually at Starbucks)
  • Motorcycling
  • '80s music (DJDen on Blip.fm)
  • Star Wars
  • Judge Judy

• Creator/author of Web Axe and Accessible Twitter.
• Recent freelance writer for DesignFestival.com.
• Day job at Research In Motion (RIM) – maker of BlackBerry.

My personal mobile device is an iPhone.

• BlackBerry for day job.
• Windows main desktop computer.
• MacBook Pro laptop.
• Android tablet (Samsung Galaxy).
• Ubuntu (Linux) on old Dell laptop.

• People often ask how I got involved in web accessibility.
• "What's your motivation?"
• "Are you or someone in your family impaired?"
• No, just believe in equality & fairness.

• Blind, color-blind, partially-sighted, or fully sighted.
• Deaf, HOH, or hearing.
• Memory loss or good memory.
• Native language, second language, low reading level.
• Mouse, keyboard, single switch, or head wand.
• Modern browser, IE6 or text-only.
• 800x600 or 1680x1050.
• JavaScript or no JavaScript.
• 14.4 kbps dialup or broadband.

Choice of technology must not create an unfair burden or provide unequal content to the user.

• New York city fails to pick an accessible taxi for new fleet.
• Has "bells and whistles" but can't accommodate all customers.
• Sound familiar?!

• Not equal access; not fair.
• People could also:
  • Call the airline to make a flight reservation.
  • Travel to the water company to pay a bill.
  • Get news from newspaper or radio.
• Who also missed the point (on NYC taxis):
  • Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
  • Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith
  • Taxi and Limousine Commissioner David Yassky

• Poor parenting?
• Poor environment?
• Poor education?
• Poor training?

• My parents raised me to be fair.
• Raised in Dearborn, Michigan.
• University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) 1992.
• Four years at Entertainment Publications, Inc. (Troy, MI).

• I don't have a degree involving computers.
• BA in Communications, Advertising/Public Relations.

• Moved to Orlando in 1997.
• Several jobs in marketing, tech writing, and web development.
• Yes, I worked at Disney. No, I didn't play Mickey Mouse.
• It's really, really humid.
• Fun for weekend trips and theme parks!

Photo of entrance to Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom at Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

I was laid off at two start-ups in Orlando.

• Web-based training.
• Mostly government and military contracts.
• Section 508 went into effect in June 2001, just after starting at Carley Corp.
• As first web developer at Carley, took on task of learning and implementing Section 508.

• Apply skills.
• Learn basics of web accessibility.
• Crossover
  • Accessibility
  • Usability
  • Standards

Went to England 6 times for 2 projects at Carley Corp, and never took my fiancée. She's (still) not happy about that.

• We got married.
• We got pregnant.

• Podcast and blog on web accessibility since 2005.
• http://webaxe.blogspot.com

It wasn't my idea to start a podcast.

• Detroit Podcasters Network
• Mike Pfeiffer of Most People Are DJs (alternative music podcast)

• Early Web Axe podcasts were brief, basic.
• Fewer blogs more podcasts (now opposite).

• Ross Johnson of 3.7 Designs (downtown Ann Arbor) joins Web Axe in 2006.
• Successful web design company.
  • GM
  • Michigan State University
  • AnnArbor.com
• Currently writing a book on design.

• Chapter of Refreshing Cities community.
• Co-founder with Ross Johnson.
• Still active: May 26th meeting on PhoneGap.
• Ross and I no longer have active roles.

• 5-Year Web Axe Anniversary podcast
  • Bruce Lawson
  • Denis Boudreau
  • Jennison Asuncion
  • Karen Mardahl
  • Mike Gifford
  • Paul Boag
  • Steve Grobschmidt
  • Terrill Thompson
  • Tom Babinszki

• Other guests and interviews.
  • Chris Heilmann
  • Jeremy Keith
  • Andrew Kirkpatrick
  • Paul Boag
  • Patrick Lauke
  • Everett Zufelt
  • John Foliot
  • Mike Cherim

3-time nominee for "Podcast of the Year" in .net magazine's Best of the Web awards.

• Critiques
  • CA.gov Web Site Accessibility Page
  • New Section 508 Web Site
  • Podcast #69: Recovery.gov Site Review
• Can consumers trust website accessibility declarations?
  • Study for ANEC by the University of Middlesex
  • "Only 3 websites out of 76 government and public body websites certified by a third-party were accessible, while none of the commercial websites out of 24 that had self-declared could be considered accessible"

I actually enjoy doing the critiques.

• Blog: Music About Web Accessibility (Feb)
  • WCAG 2.0 Theme Song by David MacDonald (YouTube).
  • Assistive Technology Boogie - fun, and it's accessible Flash!
  • "Man With Small F" (The Inaccessible PDF Song) by Terrill Thompson.
  • Inaccessible song by Daniel Davis.
  • Listen to the Web Axe theme song!

• Accessibility The Musical
• Tomorrow (Wed): 3:30 to 5 PM Sharron Rush
• Panel of people with disabilities on how they experience music, dance and media through rich internet experiences and events made accessible through the use of assistive technologies.

• "Fixing alt" series.
• So many comics and infographics still do not have alternative text.
• Fun examples of how to write.

• Social Media Definition by Peeing
  • Man in Twitter t-shirt, holding crotch, face strained:
    "I need to pee."
  • Man in Foursquare t-shirt pointing at pee on floor:
    "I'm peeing here."
  • Man in Slideshare t-shirt, arms raised:
    "Why I am Great at Peeing."

• Screenplaze
• Great Wedding Plans (never built)
• My Client Time

• Accessible web-based Twitter application.
• http://www.AccessibleTwitter.com

It wasn't my idea to create a web-accessible Twitter application.

• Gez Lemon's article Twitter Focus on Juicy Studio.
• Greasemonkey script makes favorite, reply and delete links keyboard accessible (Old Twitter).
• Doug Diego's suggestion.

• The Twitter Book
• By Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein

• Articles
  • Accessible Twitter: how it should have been done to start with by Andy Bryant, LessFuss Design
  • Accessible Twitter: Advancement through technology by Léonie Watson, Nomena
  • Accessible Twitter on .eduGuru by Nick DeNardis
  • Interview with Accessible Twitter creator Dennis Lembree by Accessify.com

• Recipient of the American Foundation for the Blind 2011 Access Award.
• Other recipients are CBS, Lexmark, and Walt Disney Parks & Resorts.
• Irony: Class-action lawsuit against Disney for inaccessible websites around same time.

I use Accessible Twitter for all my Twitter accounts.

I use HootSuite for timed tweets.
(And usually Seesmic on mobile)

• HootSuite owl mascot trying Accessible Twitter.
• Twitter Executive Conference, San Francisco, Nov 2010.

• No text link underlines.
• Lack of proper headings.
• Lack of keyboard access, focus.
• Redundant title attributes (pet peeve).
• Missing alternative text in comics (and infographics).

• longdesc attribute obsolete in HTML5.
  • My 2-part article about long description on DesignFestival.
  • John Foliot, Stanford alt attribute optional in HTML5.
• In the mix: title, aria-labelledby, role=presentation, figcaption, generator meta tag
  • HTML5 Accessibility Chops: the alt decision
  • Steve Faulkner, The Paciello Group.
• Change Proposals have been opened on both issues.

• Take opportunity when arises.
• Always consider all types of users; be inclusive.
• Use different types of technologies.
• Relationships rule; personal growth.
• A great user experience is ultimate goal; not complying with checklists and validation tests.
• Try, try again.
• Take your significant other to a foreign country with you when you have the chance.

• What's my favorite drink at Starbucks? (espresso con panna)
• In what year did I start at Carley Corporation? (2001)
• For what award is Web Axe a 3-time nominee? (dot net Best of the Web Awards)
• What Twitter celebrity tweeted about Accessible Twitter? (Alyssa Milano)
• From what university did I graduate? (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)

• @dennisl http://DennisLembree.com
• @webaxe http://WebAxe.blogspot.com
• @accessibleTwitr http://AccessibleTwitter.com