David Kreps Blog

Ada Lovelace Day Profile: Julie Howell

When I signed up to write a blog post about a woman in technology whom I admire, I knew straight away it would be Julie Howell. Born in Hampshire, UK in 1971, Julie was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at the age of 19. Her first impact on the internet was described in Louise Proddow's book 'Heroes.com: the names and faces behind the dot com era', (2000) lauding Julie for creating and developing an award-winning online social network of people with multiple sclerosis - Jooly's Joint. Founded in 1995, membership of Jooly's Joint now exceeds 20,000 world wide, and was named 'Best Online Community' at the New Statesman New Media Awards (2000) and 'The Mirror Readers' Choice' at the Yell UK Web Awards (2000).
Julie Howell is currently Director of Accessibility at digital design agency Fortune Cookie. Before this she was Digital Policy Manager at RNIB. Julie has spent much of the last decade working with businesses and government agencies to ensure the usability by disabled people of digital information services - probably the most vocal and effective champion of Web Accessibility in the UK. She is Technical Author of BSi's specification for accessible web design, 'PAS 78' and Chair of BSi's Web Accessibility Technical Committee, that will hopefully soon produce a British Standard for Web Accessibility. I am not, of course, the first to applaud her work. Julie held the New Media Age Effectiveness Award for 'The Greatest Individual Contribution to New Media 2005/6' and in 2007, Julie received 'The Special Lifetime Achievement Award' at the Imperatives Digital Awards. Deservedly so!
I first met Julie in Preston in 2002 at one of her many seminars on Web Accessibility, and, inspired and enthused by her to the cause, immediately made it my own cause, too, and by April 2006 I was pleased to meet her again, as co-chair of a meeting of the Manchester Digital Accessibility Working Group to which we had invited her as part of her tour promoting PAS78. She has since become one of my Facebook friends where we talk about the much more important issue of cats : ) Not only is Julie a woman who has contributed a great deal to the world of information technology, she is also a very friendly and fun-loving person.

24 03 09 - 13:45 - da5idk - default| one comment No trackbacks - § ¶

The Incorporation of Commercial Facebook Pages

So Facebook incorporate commercial facebook pages as part of their new revamp. Now what used to be simple one-page ads become full-on profiles just like people. Companies are now people on Facebook, just like legal entities in the wider world. What a shrewd move. Their clever adverts will appear in our newsfeeds, thumbs of their antic photos jostling with teasing half-clues bristling with 'buzz'. The line beyond which the early populace of Facebook will suddenly enmasse desert to some platform less overtly a paragon of establishment corporatism could be crossed at any moment. Watch this space.

16 03 09 - 22:39 - da5idk - default| No comments No trackbacks - § ¶

Kutiman Holds Up Refined Mirror to YouTube Generation

Kutiman, an Israeli musician, has created a fascinating reflexive project - Thru You - in which using mainly instructional and performance videos, all on YouTube, he has created seven really rather sophisticated music-video mashups. These tracks don't just hang together they work musically and visually presenting an almost polished product from what is essentially found material. Ingeniously sidestepping potential copyright arguments by refraining from using professional video material from established artists, this project uses mainly amateur or instructional work, eschewing the music business itself and preferring school concerts and home movies! This is extremely creative stuff, very much in the spirit of the Zeitgeist. Congratulations Kutiman.

12 03 09 - 17:35 - da5idk - default| one comment No trackbacks - § ¶

Joining the Internet Blackout - Stand up against "Guilt Upon Accusation" for New Zealand - Digital Protest influences NZ Govt

"The New Zealand Internet Blackout protests against the Guilt Upon Accusation law 'Section 92A' that calls for internet disconnection based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without any evidence held up to court scrutiny. This is due to come into effect on February 28th unless immediate action is taken by the National Party." Let's hope not only that something is done about this in New Zealand but that this madness does not spread!!

STOP PRESS!! "3:18pm 23rd February 2009 - In a press conference today John Key announced that Section 92A would be delayed until March 27th. There is a lot of work ahead but I hope everyone involved takes some time out to celebrate this victory. This shows how modern online movements and efforts can result in real world change. We couldn't have done it without you -- we've been amazed and humbled by your support. Thanks everyone!!"




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22 02 09 - 23:21 - da5idk - default| No comments No trackbacks - § ¶

#uksnow in the twitterverse

Twitter is really becoming rather fun. Watching the tweets on #uksnow cascade on twitterfall.com, on tweetgrid, on tweetdeck, and on Spy, appearing in little white dots on googlemaps in a fabulous real-time crowdsourced weather mashup created by ben marsh, and joining with the twitterers laughing at the hilarious use of street-based web cams appearing on the BBC Nottingham home page, it is amazing to find that #uksnow is as popular in the twitterverse as the #superbowl this evening! [twopularFeed at midnight GMT - twopular 2 hours: Go Cards 1.55, Super Bowl 1.55, Superbowl 1.55, #uksnow 1.55, #superbowl 1.55, Steve Perry 1.45, #puppybowl 1.45] (more)

01 02 09 - 23:23 - da5idk - default| No comments No trackbacks - § ¶

The Time Has Come to Put Aside Childish Things

I am glad to have been among the 1.5 billion people who today watched the inauguration of President Barack Obama and to have both exulted at this historic moment and felt the steel of grim resolve in his tone. As his motto says, Yes We Can, and I hope that We - all of us, around the world, not just in the US - can step up to the plate and address the collective failure to take responsibility for our world. We must 'roll back' the threat of climate change, and with this leadership, I hope, We will.


Let us hope this is the day America, and the world in general, grows up


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20 01 09 - 20:44 - da5idk - default| No comments No trackbacks - § ¶

Hi-tech Venture Capital gets a cold and we all sneeze

I've read recently - (Will Hutton in fact) - that the great advantage of the West over the East is our aggressive entrepreneurial culture, and that because of this we will survive and thrive despite the greater numbers and economic power of China and India. Crucial to such activity, however, is a thriving Venture Capital sector, optimistically putting money into new ideas and new ventures that might just make it. In a leaked PowerPoint from one of the leading US VC companies - Sequoia Capital (funders of companies like Apple, Oracle and YouTube) - the true depth of the recession we are now in is laid out in dizzyingly scary figures. See The Daily Beast blog entry interpreting the slideshow, and the slideshow itself...

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14 12 08 - 23:22 - da5idk - default| No comments No trackbacks - § ¶