Why I'm Starting a Blog in 2026

Starting a blog in 2026 is an odd thing to do. AI-generated content and low-effort posts are everywhere. A site with no name attached to it is harder to trust than it used to be. I want to explain why I'm doing it anyway, and why it's faceless, at least for now.

What this site is for

I'm a developer. I'm also dyslexic. I bring lived experience with assistive technology to the work I do. That combination means I can usually spot an accessibility gap and know how to fix it.

This site is where I write about both. So far, that's meant looking closely at gen AI. It's popular and genuinely useful, but when people discuss what it's for, accessibility rarely comes up.

Focusing on AI isn't permanent. I'll write about other tools as I find them, and I want to highlight sites and products that get accessibility right too.

Why faceless, for now

I was diagnosed with dyslexia later than most. I hid the signs for years before my diagnosis, and kept hiding them afterwards. I was worried about being pigeonholed once people knew. I'm currently on a fixed-term contract, so I'll be looking for work again before too long. Stigma has a way of following a name.

With my current employer, it was different. I disclosed during the application process, and the interview was adjusted so it tested what mattered rather than working against me. That's the exception, not the rule.

I want more of that to be the norm. Until it is, I'd rather write under a name that isn't mine.

Where the name comes from

If you've spent any time around developers, you'll know the joke. "It works on my machine" is what developers say when their code runs fine on their own computer, but breaks the moment someone else tries it.

It Works Locally borrows that joke, but the name is also literal. A lot of what I write about is making your own setup work for you. Since I write about remote and hybrid work too, there's another layer: working locally, wherever that happens to be.

What to expect

Practical fixes. Honest critiques of tools and defaults that get accessibility wrong. I always aim critiques at the pattern and the fix, rather than at anyone in particular. And, occasionally, a post like this one, where I step back and explain why I'm doing any of it in the first place.

Thanks for being here this early. I hope it's useful.