Web Heroes

I’m currently stealing wifi from Gaz’s work in Shrewsbury having spent the day at the last Shropgeek (r)evolution conference.

As the last talk – by Andrew Clarke – came to an end I got thinking about my origins in web development.

In some ways it doesn’t seem like 5 minutes since I was publishing my poetry, fangirling over Zelda and other games, and telling the world about Neopets, all on Geocities. And yet technically I’ve come a long way: thanks to the likes of Andy Clarke, Jeffrey Zeldman, Jonathan Snook et al.

Shropgeek has introduced me to some of my ‘web heroes’ over the past few years, for which I’m grateful. They paved the way for the likes of me, stirred up passions that it’s easy to forget when you’re knee deep in bugs and trying to figure out how to get the maximum value out of a project to ensure you actually make a profit.

It’s so easy to forget why I started this web stuff, and I love that days like today remind me of the spark.

3 comments so far

  1. Louise said:
    On 26 Sep at 12:19 pm

    I’ve known you since The Quilting Bee Days, and have seen you grow as a web developer. I’ve always admired your dedication towards clean code and design.

    I doubt we’d make good friends (I have weird views on things, and to be honest, nerves kick in when I’m typing a message to someone I see as “superior”) but, Jem, you’re one of my “web heroes”.

    • Jem said:
      On 26 Sep at 7:54 pm

      Thanks Louise, that’s really sweet of you to say so. I love that I’ve managed to help and inspire people over the years. :)

  2. Andy Clarke said:
    On 26 Sep at 2:29 pm

    Hey Jem. It was lovely to meet you at the conference. Please keep in touch.