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Byte size interview No 8: Julie Howell
- 9 Sep 07, 10:19 PM
Julie Howell is Director of Accessibility at website design and build agency . Prior to that, she spent more than a decade at RNIB, campaigning to raise awareness of web accessibility. In 2006, she was awarded the New Media Age Effectiveness Award for 'The Greatest Individual Contribution to New Media'. This was followed by a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 (at the age of 36). Julie has Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and founded , an online community for people with MS, 12 years ago.
Q: What are some of your favourite websites?
I don't spent much time surfing around the web any more. I've been using the web for more than 12 years, and have settled into a pattern of using just a few sites very often. I'd find it hard to live without the web now as I have come to rely on it to manage my finances, to keep in touch with people, to shop and to communicate my ideas. The web is most definitely an integrated part of my daily life. I do my banking online (), make travel arrangements (, , ), buy tickets () and rent DVDs (). I'm also moving house at the moment so RightMove () and Property Snake () are indispensable. The web has made me feel really empowered as a homebuyer, much more than in the past. The site I visit most frequently is . This is also the one site I regularly access via my Blackberry when I'm on the move.
Q: What are some of your least favourite websites?
Any site that is slow, that makes me go through a lengthy registration process or that is inaccessible to disabled people turns me off immediately. I don't mind registering with a site if it means I get something in return, such as the opportunity to buy tickets a couple of days prior to the general public.
It is an old bugbear, but I still get annoyed by websites that use Flash badly. In particular, any site that uses Flash in a way that unnecessarily excludes disabled people. When used the right way, Flash can deliver a fantastic user experience, but this often isn't the case. It annoys me because Adobe has worked hard to make Flash more accessible. But Adobe needs to do more to make developers aware of how to use Flash 'the right way'. Flash is used badly by H&M. Flash is used well by .
Q: What was the last thing you bought online?
In a typical week I'll buy concert tickets or music online. This week I did both! I got an email alert that The Mission will play some gigs in London next year. I bought tickets online, then went to Amazon and bought some Mission CDs. I spend the most money on Amazon, See and i-Tunes.
Q: If the web was taken away from me today I would...
Be annoyed! I use the web for a lot of things, from finding out the latest news, to managing my finances. It would take me much longer to get everything done, so I would have much less free time. Alas, this is what happens to blind people when a site they have used is redesigned in an inaccessible way and they find they are suddenly unable to use it. This is one of the reasons I campaign to raise awareness of web accessibility, because why should disabled people have to suffer in this way?
Q: What's the most adventurous thing you've done on the web recently?
The most adventurous thing I've ever done is start Jooly's Joint, an online community of people with multiple sclerosis, way back in 1995.
Doing that has changed my life, and that of others as well. More recently, I think it is probably writing my blog, "". The blog has created a way for me to encounter people beyond the MS and accessibility worlds, which has been interesting. My life is all the richer for it.
Q: What are your favourite blogs?
I've helped several members of Jooly's Joint set up their own blogs. Seven young women with MS anonymously write the Diary of Ms X blog and I find that fun to read. I really like Rachel North's blog about her life as a survivor of rape and – more recently - the 7/7 bombings in London.
My friends and both write very interesting blogs that I visit daily (it's fascinating reading the diary of people you know!).
Q: Have you ever heard of Joost?
Yes, I have access to the trial of both Joost and the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Archive trial.
I'm not quite ready to use my computer to watch TV though. I wouldn't describe myself as an 'early adopter' of technology, but I'm certainly not a luddite either. I guess I like to wait until a technology is really starting to take off before I spend my money.
Q: Do you have a favourite gadget?
Right now it's my ipod, and I'm planning to upgrade that soon. The thrill of having my entire record collection to hand all the time is what really won my heart. But I'm also very fond of my laptop, portable DVD player and Sky+. My PC always was, and always will be, a necessary evil however (it's always going wrong!).
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