#16: October 2021

Allyship doesn't mean virtue signaling

Let’s have a bit of a chat about being an ally. By the dictionary definition, an ally is, “one who is associated with another as a helper, a person or group that provides assistance and support in an ongoing effort, activity, or struggle.”

Pretty straightforward for the most part. As an ally, you are present to support others. Hopefully, you’re also an ally because you want to learn and grow and expand your own view of the world. If you’re an ally, you should be open to new ideas, new experiences, and most importantly, the possibility that you will need to change in order to become a better ally. Allies act for the good of others and their respective cause. They don’t do things for clout or brownie points, and they definitely hate the act of virtue signaling.

tanya tagaq @tagaq

Everyone is an ally until they realize they will have to feel uncomfortable or get challenged or feel angry. It’s not going to feel “right” to you to dismantle a thing that was invisible to you before. You are going to feel it’s not fair. That’s part of the work.

This means listening to the people or group you’re acting as an ally to and accepting feedback as well as criticism, should the occasion arise. Having a defensive attitude when you’re given valid feedback or asked genuine questions isn’t part of the allyship credo. Listen to the people you claim to support and learn.

Alexa

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The Good Stuff from September

Twitter Testing Prompt for Alt Text

I am so excited about this feature. Once upon a time you had to opt into the image description feature on Twitter, and now, more than a year since the platform changed that, it looks like Twitter will soon be introducing an option where you can get a prompt if you go to post an image without alt text. Love that!

Alessandro Paluzzi @alex193a

#Twitter is working on the "Description reminder" setting 👀 ℹ️ This setting will send a reminder if images are missing a description before you tweet.

Jane Manchun Wong @wongmjane

Twitter is working on a prompt asking user to describe their image as they hit the Tweet button, when such setting is enabled

Jane Manchun Wong @wongmjane

Twitter is working on the option to remind people to add alt text to images before Tweeting in case they’re missing (alt text of this screenshot is included. i tried my best to describe the screenshot w/ as most details as possible. sorry if there are grammar mistakes sorry) https://t.co/2IkLRtORtf

TikTok UK Gets Auto-capations

Yay for more people getting access to captioning on TikTok! The app has been slowly rolling out the feature in different countries, and it would seem that users in the UK will now have access to it.

TikTok UK @tiktok_uk

Introducing auto-captions! 🙌 It's a new feature designed to help deaf or hard of hearing users enjoy TikTok. Big thanks to @RNID for their support on this one. Find out more about how you can add autocaptions to your next video here👇 newsroom.tiktok.com/en-gb/auto-cap…

newsroom.tiktok.comHow we’re making TikTok more accessible for everyoneMaking sure TikTok is a place where everyone feels welcome and included sits at the heart of everything we do. When people feel included, they’re more comfortable expressing themselves and when that h

Snapchat is FINALLY Getting Captions

Snapchat has been around for a full decade now (yes, that made me feel old), and it looks like the app will finally be getting a captions feature soon. Translation of tweet: New Snapchat feature where you can add subtitles to videos, and you can even correct them (but not customize them).

Romain Torres  @torresromain

Nouvelle feature Snapchat où on peut ajouter des sous-titres sur les vidéos, et on peut même les corriger (mais pas les customiser).

Teaching Accessibility to Middle Schoolers

We all know that most people find it easier to absorb and retain information at a younger age, so why wouldn’t you teach children and pre-teens about the importance of accessibility? This is an excellent idea.

Natalie L. Shaheen @nlshaheen

Former grad student, who worked w/ @NFB_voice & me on #STEM programs, is putting together a unit on document accessibility for #MiddleSchool students in her tech class. That's THE WIN for the week! Let's teach all the middle schoolers to make accessible docs and be allies #a11y

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Learning Moments

Spotify Forgets Captions

This was so disappointing to read about. For a major brand like Spotify to host a conference about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and then not make captions available is totally unacceptable. Accessibility is part of DEI work.

Autumn Driskill (she/her) @autumndriskill

Hey @Spotify - Where is the option to add closed captions to the #RaisingTheVolume event happening now? For an event that is focused on DEI, I’d love to see accessibility features more prevalent. @SpotifyUSA #Spotify

Stop Excluding People With Disabilities from the Spotlight

The disabled community was briefly hopeful that there would be a frontstage ramp at this year’s Emmys event after director James LeBrecht lobbied for one.

The Arc of Massachusetts @TheArcofMass

“James LeBrecht, the Oscar-nominated co-director of 'Crip Camp,' talks to The Hollywood Reporter about how and why he lobbied for a frontstage ramp for this year's Emmys stage — even if it appeared like no one needed it.”

hollywoodreporter.comThe Emmys Stage Will Feature An Accessible and ADA-Compliant Ramp — Here’s How It HappenedWhen the select in-person attendees get settled in their seats for the 2021 Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday night, they’ll see the stage feature a new addition: a ramp. The accessible, front-facing design was overseen by CBS Entertainment and the Primetime Emmys’ producers and follows an ADA complai…

Sadly, the Television Academy failed to keep its promise and continued to exclude people with disabilities from the stage and the spotlight. Even if no one that evening needed the ramp, it still should have been provided. Accessibility in any form should never be an afterthought.

James LeBrecht @JimLeBrecht

Well, the @TelevisionAcad and @CBS decided that it was better to continue to have a stage that excludes people with disabilities from seeing the possibility that they could get on that #Emmys stage. I was lied to. just knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up for true equity.

The Importance of People-First Language

This is something I myself am trying to get better at in order to be a better ally. People-first language emphasizes the person and their individuality before their disability. Of course, if an individual has a preference for how they self-identify, that should always be respected.

Hollie-Anne Brooks ♿️ @HollieAnneB

Really disappointed in this, the term is “wheelchair user” and we once again refer to the social model of disability. No one is “bound” to their chairs, wheelchairs provide freedom not limits. https://t.co/ZmFW4FEdXG

The Telegraph @Telegraph

When Faduma Farah was left wheelchair bound after contracting meningitis, she realised how limited fashion options are for disabled people.⁠ ⁠ ➡️ Now, her accessible fashion prize has launched at London Fashion Week. https://t.co/KMwrFURxxQ

Stopping Doubting the Capabilities of Others

The below statistic was so disappointing to read. That 94% of people believe a person with a vision impairment could not do their job is truly astounding, but it’s indicative of how far we still have to go as a society.

Jurgen Donaldson @mrjd1984

Statistic I learned yesterday that really struck me as to the ignorance of people, 94% of people believe that somebody with a visual impairment could not do their job

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Have you recently spotted a major digital accessibility win 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!

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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!

Photo by James Wheeler

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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!

Caldatelier @caldatelier

Closed captioning is a must for the deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers! It allows them to understand and learn all of the nuances of TV shows or movies while getting the full experience of what’s happening on screen.

Alexa Heinrich (she/her) @HashtagHeyAlexa

In case you missed it last night, I wanted to yell about using alternative characters, or "fancy fonts", on social media again. They're bad branding, bad marketing, and bad accessibility. Stop using them. #Accessibility #a11y

alexaheinrich.medium.comWhy using fancy fonts on social media is a bad ideaUsing alternative characters or “fancy fonts” on social media is bad branding, bad marketing, and bad accessibility.

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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!

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Scroll Stoppers

These bits of wisdom made me immediately stop scrolling. Hopefully, they get your brain fired up and thinking as well!

Anna E. Spook 🎃 @annaecook

Accessibility is not a premium feature. Accessibility needs to be baked into your free and basic plan structure, otherwise your business is only amplifying systemic inequity.

Nina Tame 👩🏻‍🦽 @Nina__Tame

7/8 Disability isn’t a tragedy. It’s a neutral term but never viewed like that. What makes it worse is the challenges I do have often have nothing to do with my SB and everything to do with the lack of care I get for it and all the other ableist societal shit I have to deal with

Eddie Ndopu @eddiendopu

Y’all need new words to describe us. “Inspirational” doesn’t do us justice. Any disabled person who refuses to hate themself in a society that expects them to is glorious, sexy, iconic, magnificent, brilliant, splendid, radiant, genius. Don’t do us dirty with generic platitudes.

Quinn 🦻🏽✨ @Quinns_quirks

Looking at you ADA and disability discrimination cases 👀

Nombrero @Nombrero2

@srslyberserk If you need to pay for a lawyer to hold someone who did a crime against you accountable, that law only protects the upper classes.

Nicolas Steenhout @vavroom

I wish folks giving trainings and making tutorials about a variety of tech topic always touched on accessibility. “How can this tech be used to improve accessibility?”, or “How can we ensure accessible content?” We’ll keep having problems as long as #a11y remains silo’ed.

Patrick Garvin @PatrickMGarvin

3/x Add alt text to images, you should. #AltText #a11y

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Mark Your Calendar

October 14: World Sight Day is coming up, and I’m challenging everyone to make their personal and professional accounts 100% accessible that day (and every day moving forward, of course). Write alt text for every image and make sure your content doesn’t pose any obstacles for screen reader users.

October 14: Coincidentally, I will be speaking about accessible best practices for social media at Digital Summit Tampa on World Sight Day. This will be my first ever speaking engagement at an in-person conference, so I’m equal parts excited and nervous. If you’re in the Tampa Bay area, consider buying a ticket!

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One Last Chuckle

I’m just now learning that the Effin’ Birds account adds alt text to its images and for some reason it made me chuckle. It’s probably the cursing.

Alt text: A woodblock print of a bird beside the text "motherfucker what the fuck”.

Alexa Heinrich (she/her) @HashtagHeyAlexa

I need you all to know that Effin’ Birds adds alt text to its images and it’s hilarious and wonderful to see.

Effin' Birds @EffinBirds

https://t.co/ADphfzDz2V