Weblogs: Miscellaneous

Moving on

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

My six years working as a Web Developer for Legal & General draws to a close. Four of those years was spent getting accessibility and web standards established. We got there, eventually, and we got there in style.

Pinnacle

Even two years ago, I'd have laughed if someone said that Legal & General's website would be lauded as an example of the business benefits and profitability of web accessibility. Yet, at the PAS 78 launch, the story we told stunned many accessibility experts.

Low-hanging signs

With a high, there often follows a low. And I hit rock bottom about a month later. A little too rapid. I don't think I completely understand the ramifications behind such a precipitous fall, but nevertheless, something was desperately wrong. That was obvious enough.

A sign of a good web developer is progression. A solid steady progression of new skills, experience, and new techniques. Looking back those four years, all I have to show for it is four years of accessibility experience. Somewhere in there I stopped learning. I stopped growing. I stopped.

Spending 4 years pursuing something that was really important to me encouraged a single-minded determination. And that itself has a massive drawback. Somewhere in that train-track towards a pinnacle, things went awry. Somewhere in there, Legal & General lost something special. It lost the Web Team. And I was oblivious to it.

Friends and challenges

Friday 28th June 2006 sees my last day as a Senior Systems Developer for Legal & General. I'm saddened to leave behind such an incredible group of friends. But we all know this is something I've needed to do for quite a long time.

August sees the start of new adventure - I'm joining Yahoo!'s talented and experienced Web Team. Yahoo! have gifted me an incredible opportunity, and offers a challenge I'm relishing to tackle. Excited just doesn't quite say it.


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