#28: Accessible Social Updates

Distracting myself from all the Twitter drama.

Holy guacamole there has been A LOT going on in the world of social media. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just log onto Twitter (if you still can). I’ve been using humor to cope, but the idea of the bird app permanently shutting down is actually very serious, especially for the disabled community.

• Disabled people fear Twitter changes under Elon Musk leave them behind
  Amanda Morris | The Washington Post

• With Twitter Crumbling, It Feels Like The World Is Collapsing On Disabled People
  Imani Barbarin | Crutches and Spice

• Twitter Was a Lifeline for People With Disabilities. Musk’s Reign Is Changing All of That
  Megan McCluskey | TIME

• “Losing the Last Thread” What having to log off Twitter could mean for people in the disabled community.
  Louise Vallée | Slate

• Disabled employee sues Twitter over Musk's ban on remote work
  Daniel Wiessner | Reuters

• The Future of Access at Twitter Is in Jeopardy
  Alexa Heinrich | Adweek

Outside of all the chaos happening at Twitter, I’ve been busy making updates to the Accessible Social website and finishing up some projects and resources, which you’ll find below. Being productive has proven to be a wonderful distraction from the potential downfall of my favorite social media platform and this horrible gout flare-up I’m dealing with.

But I’m still sad and annoyed.

-Alex

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Accessible Social Website Updates

I’ve made two significant updates to the Accessible Social website.

The dropdown menu at the top of the site that was previously labeled “Accessible Learning Sections” and linked to the six main sections of the site has been revised. That menu is now labeled “Quick Links” and navigates to the most visited pages on the website like the ones for the guidebook and checklist, in addition to the site’s main learning sections.

The second update is one that I was getting a surprising number of requests for from followers. The Accessible Social website will always be a free resource, but for those who have asked about making donations to support it, I finally added a contribution form to the site.

Anyone who knows me well knows how much dealing with money in literally any way stresses me out, which is why I usually opt to make the resources and services I provide completely free, so adding this form was actually a big step for me to take.

Any gifts the Accessible Social site receives will help fund the various hosting and web services I use to keep it online and updated. Hopefully, I'll eventually be able to fund additional accessibility resources and professional development opportunities for marketers and content creators as well.

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New Accessible Social Resources

Excited to share some of the stuff I’ve been working on and have finally finished!

The Accessible Social LinkedIn Group

I decided to start a LinkedIn group for Accessible Social last night. One already exists on Facebook, but I know Facebook isn’t everyone's favorite platform to use, and with the future of Twitter very uncertain, I thought this would be a good idea.

The group is dedicated to helping anyone working in social media, marketing, public relations, communications, or advertising learn more about accessibility best practices for digital content. The primary focus is social media, but other topics related to accessibility are welcome.

Results of the Alt Text A/B Test

Yes, I finally, finally, finally looked over all the data from my year-ish long alt text a/b test and pulled a report of the results together.

To the surprise of no one, I concluded that social media posts with alt text earn more impressions and engagements and have a higher engagement rate than social media posts without alt text. The results of the a/b test as well as a full PDF report of monthly data can be found on the Accessible Social website.

Full Accessible Social Video Lesson

The final resource update I have is probably the most exciting one: a full Accessible Social video lesson is now available online! It offers a convenient way to receive a comprehensive overview of accessible best practices for digital content. A full audio transcript of the video can be found on the Accessible Social website.

The video lesson is also great for anyone who has ever been interested in having me present to their group but doesn't have the time or budget to have me speak live.

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