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#18: January 2022

accessiblesocial.substack.com

#18: January 2022

Rest is part of being a good advocate

Alexa Heinrich
Jan 6, 2022
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#18: January 2022

accessiblesocial.substack.com

So as you may or may not have noticed, I completely forgot this newsletter existed in December. Between the holidays, the end of the semester at the college I work for, having the worst sinus infection ever, launching an online store for Social Media Tea, and winding down from a year filled with numerous speaking engagements, I was mentally and physically depleted. I didn’t even realize I had forgotten to do a December issue until halfway through the month. At that point, I knew I needed to prioritize my mental health and resting over anything else, so I quietly skipped sending out a newsletter last month.

I’m still getting back into the groove of things which is why this issue is coming to you on a Thursday instead of Monday. The exhaustion I’ve been feeling has admittedly been hard to shake.

It cannot be stressed enough that everyone should place more importance on rest and mental health, especially if they work in social media or digital marketing. The amount of vitriol and bad news we’re exposed to every day is astounding and can take its toll on you. The desire to hustle and always be working on literally anything can also be incredibly draining.

And if you’re trying to be an advocate for any cause, you cannot give your all if you’re running on empty. Rest is vital and necessary. You cannot be a good advocate if you don’t advocate for yourself first and foremost.

Since I skipped last month, this month’s issue will be a round-up of November and December. Thanks again for sticking around and letting me rest, folks. The understanding is much appreciated.

Alexa


News and Updates

CVS withdraws Supreme Court case

Remember in my last newsletter where I mentioned that CVS was attempting to dismantle anti-discrimination protections under Section 504? Yeah, they finally gave up and dropped their case.

Twitter avatar for @maria_m_town
Maria Town 🍁🍂 @maria_m_town
“As a result, we will not pursue the matter further before the Supreme Court.” CVS is withdrawing its cert petition to SCOTUS for the CVS v Doe case, which could’ve gutted section 504. When the disability community pushed back, CVS listened. #CripTheVote aapd.com/press-releases…
CVS HEALTH WILL WITHDRAW ITS CASE BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT A BLUE BACKGROUND WITH YELLOW LETTERS
2:13 AM ∙ Nov 11, 2021
217Likes80Retweets

Discord makes meme sharing more accessible

I’m not very familiar with how Discord works, but it’s nice to see that they’re working to make their platform more accessible!

Twitter avatar for @verge
The Verge @verge
Discord now lets you send up to 10 (accessible) memes at a time theverge.com/2021/11/19/227…
Image
12:05 PM ∙ Nov 19, 2021
140Likes17Retweets

Facebook takes page from TikTok’s book

Are you familiar with TikTok’s text-to-speech feature? Yes? Well so is Facebook apparently, and they’re working to emulate it. It’s admittedly a great feature that every platform should implement.

Twitter avatar for @alex193a
Alessandro Paluzzi @alex193a
#Facebook is working on the Text-To-Speech (TTS) feature 👀
Image
Image
1:15 AM ∙ Nov 22, 2021
60Likes12Retweets

Twitter introduces auto-captions

This was an exciting update, and I like the bit of shade that Twitter threw in its announcement graphic. However, many users have reported that the feature is kind of buggy and doesn’t work that well when a video has embedded captions (open captions). Hopefully, Twitter will continue to tweak and improve its auto-captions feature because it’s certainly a nice one to have!

Twitter avatar for @TwitterSupport
Twitter Support @TwitterSupport
Where are video captions when you need them? They’re here now automatically on videos uploaded starting today. Android & iOS: auto-captions will show on muted Tweet videos; keep them on when unmuted via your device's accessibility settings Web: use the "CC" button to turn on/off
A cat speaking with auto-captions appearing that read, “Twitter now has auto captions for videos. About time, am I right?” The screen turns blue with text overlay that reads, “@ movie theaters, your turn 👀”.
9:29 PM ∙ Dec 14, 2021
899Likes345Retweets

British Airways adds BSL to passenger experience

Travel and transportation can be a huge hindrance to individuals with disabilities if there’s no effort being made to have it be accessible. British Airways has become the first UK airline to trial a new video service that includes British Sign Language (BSL) to make the passenger experience more accessible for Deaf and hard-of-hearing customers.

Twitter avatar for @debraruh
Debra Ruh @debraruh
#BritishAirways adds British #SignLanguage option to assist in passenger experience - Economy Class & Beyond #accessibility #PwD #disabilityinclusion #accessibletransit #transportation buff.ly/3mkS11k
Image
1:12 PM ∙ Dec 22, 2021
2Likes2Retweets

Learning Moments

Disability isn’t a costume or a prop

Once upon a time I found Ellen DeGeneres funny. Now I mostly just cringe at how willfully ignorant she seems to be at just about every turn. The on-screen stunt she pulled for Halloween last year was horribly ableist and offensive. Someone’s disability or the assistive technology they use isn’t a costume.

Twitter avatar for @emily_ladau
Emily Ladau @emily_ladau
You know, when I played dress-up as a kid, my wheelchair wasn't part of my costume because hey, I actually use a wheelchair and it's not a toy. This is wildly ableist and just all-around in poor taste.
Twitter avatar for @TheEllenShow
Ellen DeGeneres @TheEllenShow
A look into my future… and @Official_tWitch’s too. Happy Halloween! https://t.co/4DrIKn1qGe
1:21 AM ∙ Nov 4, 2021
168Likes26Retweets

Think beyond your own existence

It’s sad how selfish and careless some people can be, and so often at the expense or inconvenience of the disabled community. Just like the digital world, think about how your actions impact the physical world for people besides yourself.

Twitter avatar for @emswheellife
Emily Morison @emswheellife
This is my street, and a common sight. There is no way to get around it and it’s too heavy to move. If something that’s supposed to be good for a community makes it less accessible, I don’t think it’s good for that community at all.
Image
12:51 PM ∙ Nov 23, 2021
529Likes95Retweets

Accessibility shouldn’t be extra

Why is accessibility frequently treated like an afterthought or something you need to pay extra for? Something as simple and impactful as creating accessible PDFs should absolutely be free for everyone! It would make such a difference in digital communications, especially within higher education and marketing.

Twitter avatar for @merylkevans
Meryl Evans, CPACC 🦻 speaks at #PCMACL & #AxeCon @merylkevans
It bugs me that creating an accessible PDF @AdobeAccess requires Adobe Acrobat Professional. This is not realistic for many self-employed and small businesses. A lot of them don't want to pay for cloud services or $$$ for software. This is an #accessibility issue. Limiting #A11y
7:08 PM ∙ Nov 8, 2021
47Likes14Retweets

Have you recently spotted a major digital accessibility win, update, or learning moment on social media? Send it to me! I might just feature it in my next newsletter. Feel free to email me at hello@therealalexa.com or you can DM me on Twitter. My inbox is always open!


Alt Text Practice

I previously ran a weekly exercise on Twitter called #AltTextTuesday. Due to my increasing workload, I decided to move the exercise here, to my newsletter. Each month I’ll choose a different image from Pexels, and I encourage you to practice writing your best alt text for it. If you have questions or want feedback on your image description, feel free to email me!

Rows of blooming lavender bushes under a pink and purple sky.
Photo by David Bartus

Excellent Resources

I find some of the best tips, resources, and insights on Twitter from other creators and advocates, and I want to share them with you, too!

Twitter avatar for @TwitterBusiness
Twitter Business @TwitterBusiness
Want to make your content on Twitter accessible for all audiences? We've got you covered. Our head of Global Accessibility @GurpreetKaurSW, and Accessibility Content Designer Amber James share their tips and best practices.
6:26 PM ∙ Dec 17, 2021
35Likes16Retweets
Twitter avatar for @CatchTheseWords
Connor Scott-Gardner @CatchTheseWords
Here's what happens when you post a photo with no alt text on Twitter, because I think some of you don't understand what I have to do in response. First, it depends on what device I'm looking at it. 1/
11:51 AM ∙ Nov 12, 2021
5,552Likes2,548Retweets
Twitter avatar for @FrankElavsky
Frank ⌁ @FrankElavsky
"What are examples of accessible, effective chart descriptions?" I get asked this question a LOT, so I am going to make a thread here to easily link to later. (This thread covers both simple and complex use-cases for human-authored descriptions.) Feel free to share/bookmark!
This is a screenshot of NCAM's guidelines. It is more accessible at their site (later in the thread).

Bar Chart - Horizontal

Title: How people who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind or have low vision are alerted to emergencies.

bar chart

Guidelines:
While most bar charts should be converted into accessible tables, this simple chart can be presented as text in a list.
Provide the title and labels.
It is not necessary to describe the visual attributes of the bars unless there is an explicit need.
This is a screenshot of NCAM's guidelines. It is more accessible at their site (later in the thread).

Description:
The figure is a bar chart that has been converted into the following table. All data are approximate.
How people who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind or have low vision are alerted to emergencies.
Table:
  Response  	  deaf/hard of hearing  	  blind/low vision  
  Don't Know  	  70  	  79  
  Friend  	  59  	  62  
  Family  	  65  	  64
  Co-worker  	  33	  38
  TV  	  102	  65
  Radio  	  30	  80
  Email  	  36	  5
  Web  	  16	  4
  Landline Phone  	  25	  53
  Cellphone  	  8	  11
  Pager  	  17	  10
  Smartphone/PDA  	  18	  8
  TTY  	  47	  0
  Video relay service  	  4	  0
  Phone relay service  	  8	  0
  Other  	  7	  9
7:17 PM ∙ Dec 9, 2021
220Likes75Retweets
Twitter avatar for @SuenJonathan
Jonathan 君劭 Suen @SuenJonathan
Here’s a friendly reminder to conduct an Accessibility check on your Power Point (PPT) presentations using the built-in feature & thru following some design principles! More here: 🔗support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/m… via @Office #DisabilityTwitter @HashtagHeyAlexa
A screenshot from a PPT presentation’s overview showing that an accessibility check rated the slides as: “Good to go”. The screenshot is annotated with this point emphasized through highlighting and adding a check-mark emoji.
Twitter avatar for @SuenJonathan
Jonathan 君劭 Suen @SuenJonathan
…If I’ve hooked your curiosity today at @JHSPH_Hearing about the principles & lessons learned thru #R3ISEnetwork’s #SciComm webinar program, then check out our recordings here: 🔗https://t.co/c1Twlx98LZ via @JohnsHopkinsMMI #ScienceTwitter #AcademicTwitter @R3_GSI https://t.co/IK9Qm6IUjE https://t.co/diMT6IEnXn
8:42 PM ∙ Dec 13, 2021
5Likes6Retweets

Are you looking for an online community where you can learn more about accessible social media practices? Join the Facebook group I created! Accessible Social is a group dedicated to helping anyone working in social media, marketing, public relations, communications, or advertising learn more about accessibility best practices for digital content. All are welcome!

Join the Group


Recommended Reading

Longer pieces that are definitely worth reading through and learning from.

Ableism at COP26 Shows Disabled People Are Still an Afterthought

Rachel Charlton-Dailey | VeryWellHealth

“The conference was plagued with allegations of ableism after Israel’s Energy Minister Karine Elharrar, who has muscular dystrophy, was unable to enter the events compound in her wheelchair-accessible vehicle. The distance from the vehicle to the building was too far for her to travel in her wheelchair.”

Bojana Coklyat in Conversation with Shannon Finnegan: What can alt text learn from poetry? What can poetry learn from alt text?

Amy Berkowitz | The Believer

“Writing alt text tends to be viewed as a chore—something that must be done for compliance. Alt Text as Poetry rejects this idea and instead celebrates the expressive potential of alt text, encouraging people to explore writing image descriptions as a creative practice.”


Scroll Stoppers

Bits of wisdom, thoughtful moments, and maybe a few pointed remarks that made me immediately stop scrolling. Hopefully, they get you thinking as well!

Twitter avatar for @Imani_Barbarin
Imani Barbarin, MAGC | Crutches&Spice ♿️ @Imani_Barbarin
I’m happy for Britney, but to her supporters: if this is where your advocacy for people in conservatorships end, then what exactly were you fighting for. 1.3 million people remain at the mercy of this institution. Anyone can be under threat of one.
Twitter avatar for @PopCrave
Pop Crave @PopCrave
🚨 BREAKING: After nearly 14 years, Britney Spears’ conservatorship has officially been terminated. https://t.co/PiTDTLO6UB
10:33 PM ∙ Nov 12, 2021
15,368Likes5,484Retweets
Twitter avatar for @claudiaalick
claudiaalick @claudiaalick
@Imani_Barbarin The meta verse was not designed with disabled people in mind and replicates so much of the inaccessibility of physical design. Dystopia dysfunctional design that will serve the dominant class.
3:05 PM ∙ Nov 3, 2021
423Likes57Retweets
Twitter avatar for @mattmay
Matt May @mattmay
Alt text has a thing I call the Mona Lisa problem. The Mona Lisa's alt text could be its name, a reasonably detailed description of her face, or of the artistic strokes, even of the crowd around it in the Louvre. Lesson: alt text can be VERY different in different contexts.
6:31 PM ∙ Nov 29, 2021
188Likes42Retweets
Twitter avatar for @lingerie_addict
Cora Harrington @lingerie_addict
What is one thing that when you learned it, changed your perspective forever? Mine was learning that many of the gadgets I saw on late night TV commercials were made with disabled people in mind, but had to marketed to abled folks as well to stay in business.
9:24 PM ∙ Nov 2, 2021
7,948Likes1,040Retweets
Twitter avatar for @GHMansfield
Gregory Mansfield @GHMansfield
Disability rights are civil rights. Disability rights are human rights. Disabled people must be included in diversity efforts. If anyone has a problem with these statements, they are mired in ableism.
6:32 PM ∙ Dec 4, 2021
287Likes130Retweets
Twitter avatar for @norarahimian
nora rahimian @norarahimian
It’s not underrepresented. It is systemically excluded. It is institutionally oppressed. Accountability starts with language.
4:06 AM ∙ Dec 6, 2021
26,205Likes6,589Retweets
Twitter avatar for @blindandb0ujee
Carys @blindandb0ujee
Designing for accessibility only seems hard because you’ve spent so long in an industry where exclusionary design is the default.
1:08 PM ∙ Dec 6, 2021
647Likes161Retweets

One Last Chuckle

Both of these made me laugh pretty hard, especially the tweet about counting in ASL.

Twitter avatar for @hayxsmith
Hay Smith 🌈 @hayxsmith
I can confidently tell anyone who asks that I can count the men I've slept with on one hand. Ideally, they also don't know how counting and numbers work in ASL.
3:16 PM ∙ Nov 21, 2021
5,528Likes341Retweets
Twitter avatar for @signingmango
phelan • ᜉᜌᜎᜈ᜔ 🏳️‍🌈 @signingmango
In the effort to promote accessibility, here are the latest CDC guidelines in ASL:
GIF Description: Phelan turns around in an office chair, sipping iced coffee. They do a glance-over, puts their tumbler down, and signs, “NOT-MY-PROBLEM”. Phelan is wearing a gray sweater with black-rimmed glasses.
1:24 PM ∙ Dec 28, 2021
652Likes136Retweets
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#18: January 2022

accessiblesocial.substack.com
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