Accessible Insights Blog Posts

In an effort to be as accessible as possible, I have subscribed to a service that will enable my readers to become listeners. The service is called Odiogo.

For my screen reading friends, it is spelled O D I O G O. Cleverly named, in my view, because it turns your blog into an audio feed that can also be podcast on iTunes and other feed directories. Just click the “listen” button, and you can hear the blog post spoken in synthesized speech, and if you subscribe to the RSS feed of this blog, you can download it to your phone or iPod.

Rocked my world. You?

To give credit where credit is due, I discovered this cool plugin while browsing through the Fred’s Head blog at American Printing House. I wrote to the Fred’s Head blogmeister, Michael, and he filled me in.

Thank you, sir, and be flattered. My blog wants to be like yours when it grows up.

Just go to Odiogo.com and read up on it, and add the listen feature to your own blog.

I’ll reveal a little secret about how I believe being a screen reader user gives me an advantage over others: Hearing your writing spoken aloud will make you a better writer. Or, speaker. Don’t tell anyone I said that.

It’s true. Once you hear your own words spoken aloud by someone else, or in this case, something else, you will be pained to discover your sloppy writing habits. If you suffer from comma-itis, rambling run-ons or dangling prepositions, the writing maladies will suddenly leap out at you. “Leap out at you” being a good example of a dangling preposition. Horrifying.

Okay, that entire previous paragraph consisted of the worst grammar ever.

anyway, give it a try. It adds a fun new dimension to your otherwise silent cyberspace.

Go to:

www.odiogo.com/

Visit the American Printing House for the Blind blog:

FredForum

American Printing House for the Blind:

Home Page

LL

In the interest of full disclosure, I get paid absolutely nothing to write
my blog. So, when I write about a person or enterprise that I find to be
very helpful, useful or otherwise incredible, it is my pleasure to sing
their praises. Anger is a great motivator, and statistically more of us are
inclined to write a nasty letter than an affirming one. Just read the
comments at the bottom of almost any news story, and you’ll see what I mean.
Maybe it isn’t as much fun to write a note of encouragement or support,
maybe it just makes me a chump. However, I like to help others, and if I
find something wonderful that I believe might be a benefit to someone else,
I’m happy to share.

My most recent find is a little consulting firm called Word Press Help
Center. I discovered them while I was surfing the sea of Word Press plugins
that I might want to use to enhance my blog. On one of the myriad lists of
“best SEO tools,” “must-have Facebook apps” or “mission critical WP
plugins,” I found them.

After choosing the plugins I wanted, I realized that I didn’t have the
faintest idea how to install them. So, I resorted to surfing the endless
“how to” articles on the task. After consuming everything I could find on
the subject, I realized that I still didn’t have the faintest idea how to
install a Word Press plugin. So, I called the number on the Word Press Help
Center web site.

Amazingly, an actual human being answered the phone, and when I sent email,
that same human being wrote back, almost immediately. the novelty made my
head spin.

Matt, one of the consultants with the WP Help Center, relocated my blog to
my web site, copied over every one of the posts, installed my handful of
plugins, and dispatched each requested task with courtesy and efficiency.
What’s not to love there? His boss may not be thrilled that I say this, but
Matt was generous with his time, and his prices were very reasonable.

I asked Matt if he wouldn’t mind adding just a few words to my post, so you
can get a sense of what kind of great guy he is.

“I work hard for my money and when I spend it, I want to feel like I’m
getting value for that money. I expect our clients to feel similarly,
so we take a customer first attitude in our approach. As long as a
client is willing to compensate us fairly for the work we do, we’re
willing to do everything in our power to make sure the job gets done
right and that they are taken care of.”

Word Press Help Center
p: (303) 395-1346
w: wphelpcenter.com/

You can hire them on an ongoing basis via retainer, or hire them by the
job/hour. Good humans, good service, good job.

LL

Building the Accessible Insights blog wasn’t exactly the most well thought-through undertaking of my business life. Seems that while I was struggling to dream up captivating posts week after week, I neglected to dream up the accompanying categories that should be attached to them. thirty posts later, I realized that a little organization probably would have improved the overall readability of my blog. Gee, you think?

(Insert Homer Simpson sound here)

Unfortunately, what I also overlooked was that by not self-hosting my blog, I would be unable to add those really cool plug-ins that everyone is using, also enhancing the blog’s readability. Well, if there was ever an opportunity to remedy that, the time is now.

The entire Insights Empire is being relocated to a new web host. The previous web hosting company suffered from an abundant lack of service, support, accessibility, features or benefits. They did manage, however, to excel at infuriating me with their utter disinterest in my customer satisfaction.

I’m one of those people who tends to vote with my wallet, so it didn’t take too long for me to come to terms with the hassle factor, grit my teeth and decide to move all five web sites, my parked domains, and whatever else was in the junk drawer to another web host. Enter Host Gator. they are the new, only somewhat more interested landlords of the Insights Empire. Actually, to be honest, their service and support have been stellar. they have gone out of their way to make my experience as painless as it could possibly be.

(I would proudly display my affiliate link here, but I can’t find it right now.)

So, while the DNS is propagating throughout the globe (there’s just no end to the jokes that could be made here), I will become a blog grown-up and install the Accessible Insights blog onto the Accessible Insights web site.

While my email bounces like a superball across the digital cosmos and links get disrupted like the Earth’s crust in a subduction zone (sorry, the quakes are on my mind), and my search engine rankings go from 2,837,354 page rank to hovering just above 17 billion, I’m hoping the new and improved Accessible Insights blog will merit a grand reopening. thank you for your patience, and your patronage.

Gratefully,

LL

I’m in the process of putting together a list of accessibility and disability related Twitter users, with a 140 character pitch about who you are and what you do. Wish I could claim it to be an original idea, but imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, and all…

It’s just a list for the benefit of my readers…both of them…and it would be great if you were on it. So, either DM me or tweet at me @Accessible_Info, and help me build the list. You can also include the link to your web site, if you like. Thanks for being part of the community.

LL

If you are a self-described geek, tech-head, audiophile, gadget hound or a hopelessly addicted slave of all things electronic, you probably already know about or have attended two of the largest technology exhibitions held each year. Focusing on computer hardware, software and related, there’s COMDEX, the computer dealer exposition. For more general interest, in-home, music, mobile or gaming technologies, you can attend CES, or the consumer electronics show. Both are held in Las Vegas, Nevada, and both draw enormous crowds.

The equivalent of these events that showcases assistive technology devices for people with disabilities is called the CSUN International Conference on Assistive Technology and Disability. There are several AT conferences throughout the year, but the largest is held in March, and is sponsored by California State University, Northridge (CSUN). As long as I’ve been attending, it has been held in Los Angeles, spread throughout a handful of hotels near the Los Angeles International airport.

This year, there has been a change of venue. In celebration of the 25th anniversary, the CSUN 2010 conference is being held at the San Diego Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel. From March 22 through 27, you can attend demonstrations, presentations and workshop sessions, as well as wander through the vast exhibit hall.

If you want to go social, you can become a fan of the CSUN Center on Disability Facebook page, and even RSVP on the event page. You can also follow the CSUN Center on Disability on Twitter @CSUNCOD. When tweeting about the event, use the hash tag #csun10 to ensure everyone sees your tweets.

For all the details, including travel and lodging information, list of speakers, vendors and registration instructions, go here (I’ve shortened the URL):
:
tinyurl.com/yghsvo5

Hope to see you there.
LL.

It was 1991 when I first began using a white cane. Since my vision loss has been a slow progression over time, I did not experience the anger issues and resentment that can sometimes accompany a sudden loss of independence due to blindness. While I won’t go so far as to say I was so excited that I just couldn’t wait to get a white cane, I found myself trying to come to terms with my circumstances so that I could be at peace and be as independent as possible.

Almost immediately, I became rather attached to the cane. I realized that the cane was an important part of my well-being, and that learning to use it properly would enhance the quality of my life. I thought of the cane as an extension of myself, and as such deserved it’s own identity.

Truthfully, I’ve always been the kind of person who gave inanimate objects names. I’m guessing there’s a luxury vehicle to be had for the psychotherapist who analyzes this little fetish, but it’s true. I have always given names to things, I personalize them, I believe that there are some objects that have energy. So like, wow man, that’s so Zen. Let’s chill.

No, I don’t wear love beads or hang crystals over doorways. Maybe it’s one of those whatever-gets-you-through-the-day types of things. Still, it was natural for me to name my new companion, and the name I chose was Candy. Candy The Cane.

Well, isn’t that adorable? maybe not, but it sure gave me comfort, when just a couple of years later, I happened to be watching a news magazine program on television, and the program featured a school for children with disabilities. Most of the children were grade school age, and they carried the tiniest little white canes. Now, THEY were truly adorable. it was when one of the little ones was interviewed that I was delighted to learn that the children had all named their white canes. Well, I thought, I’m not so bizarre after all. Childlike, maybe, but not crazy.

Over the years, I’ve made it a point to ask other people who are blind if they have a name for their white cane. many do. I find this so uplifting and encouraging. I really don’t know why, but it pleases me to think about other people who are blind who also have a questionable attachment to their mobility cane. I’ve put together a short list culled from some of my twitter followers, simply because it’s easy to poll that group. Here are just a few:

Seymour (Get it? See More? I know, I know…)
The White Shaft (That cracks me up)
Jane
Mr. Yuk (this person prefers her dog)
Harry (Can’t help you on that one)
Sticky (no comment)
Abel (Cain’s brother)
Little John McCane )
Whisker (As in the way a cat’s whiskers help feel the way)
Moses (I’ve parted many a human sea with my own cane, so that one makes sense)
Gary and Russell (absolutely no significance whatsoever)

I’m sometimes asked why I use a cane instead of a guide dog. Truthfully, there are advantages and disadvantages to each. While my white cane may not be as cute as a dog (although that’s a matter of opinion), Candy gets me around just fine. I will admit this, however: Candy isn’t the best cuddle partner, and she doesn’t have that cool puppy breath. On the other hand, I don’t have to clean up after Candy The Cane.

LL