[Ohio-talk] Fwd: [Nfbnet-members-list] FYI Online dialogue on accessibility of social media

Mon May 19 19:13:16 UTC 2014

I thought people might be interested in participating in this.  I
believe accessibility of technology is as critical to those of us who
are blind as ramps and curb cuts were to people with physical
disabilities in the 70's and 80's.  We need to fight for this.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Michael Hingson via Nfbnet-members-list <nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org>
Date: Mon, 19 May 2014 07:45:50 -0700
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] FYI Online dialogue on accessibility of
social media
To: "Research and Development Committee (appointed)"
<nfb-rdcomm at nfbcal.org>, NFB of California List
<nfbc-info at nfbnet.org>, nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org

WASHINGTON: The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment
Policy <http://1.usa.gov/1knlvEo>  and the National Council on Disability
<http://www.ncd.gov/>  invite the public to participate in an online
dialogue on the importance of technology accessibility and usability,
particularly in regards to the universal design in the development of
workplace technology products. The virtual town hall runs from, May 15,
Global Accessibility Awareness Day
<http://globalaccessibilityawarenessday.org/gaad.html> , to Friday, May 30.
"Advancing Accessibility and Inclusion in Social Media - The Tech Industry
Perspective" is the second of three online events on social media
accessibility co-hosted by ODEP and NCD.

Universal design involves developing products and virtual environments in a
manner that can be used by the widest possible range of people. This month's
dialogue will explore how universal design can be incorporated at the onset
of social media development in order to create accessible and usable
technology; avoid expensive retrofitting; and foster a virtual world that is
accessible to all users, including workers, customers and job seekers with
disabilities.

Through the use of an innovative crowdsourcing tool, which itself has been
optimized for accessibility and usability, participants will share their
ideas on how universal design can be applied to social media, as well as the
challenges faced in the technology field when pushing the limits of
accessibility. Participants will also be asked to consider the input
received from the first dialogue in the series, which generated creative
user-driven solutions for making social media features and services more
accessible.

"Businesses of all shapes and sizes use social media," said Assistant
Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy Kathy Martinez. "It's in
the best interest of social media providers to ensure that their technology
is inclusive and accessible for all users, including those with
disabilities. By participating in this online dialogue, members of the
technology industry will help us generate new ideas for extending the power
of social media to all users."

"The National Council on Disability is delighted to be co-hosting this
second online dialogue with ODEP," said NCD Chair Janni Lehrer-Stein.
"Participants will help us understand how universal design can be applied to
social media, and how to go about promoting an accessibility mindset in
various stages of the product development process."

The national dialogue is coordinated under ODEP's ePolicyWorks
<http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exiturl=http://bit.ly/1hOZBdr&exit
Title=www.epolicyworks.org>  initiative. To participate, register at
http://socialmediatech.epolicyworks.org
<http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/leave-dol.asp?exiturl=http://bit.ly/1lDGe83&exit
Title=www.epolicyworks.org>

The Michael Hingson Group, INC.

"Speaking with Vision"

Michael Hingson, President

(415) 827-4084

mike at michaelhingson.com

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Michael Hingson's speaking availability for your next event please visit:

 <http://www.michaelhingson.com> www.michaelhingson.com

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-- 
Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
(513) 607-6053