In September 2020, I had the opportunity to give a flash talk about writing media descriptions for current events as part of the Protest Access-a-Thon, an event that focused on making content related to protests and current events accessible for users with disabilities hosted by…

Free options for blind/low vision users that can help with accessing online images that do not contain alt text or image descriptions that can be read by a screen reader

When I first created a BlueSky account, I couldn’t find much information about BlueSky accessibility settings or using BlueSky with low vision. To make it easier for new users to navigate the platform, here is an overview of BlueSky accessibility features for low vision and…

Over the years, I have been friends with many visual artists who create wonderful amateur art across a variety of mediums. One of these friends often creates unique art with lots of bold colors inspired by pop culture and their own original characters that they…

When people ask me if I have any tips for improving accessibility of social media posts, I like to ask them if they know how to add alt text on social media platforms. While a lot of people know how to add alt text on…

Everyone has different views on what language or words are appropriate to use at given times. Instead of changing or removing words, many writers choose to censor words using additional or alternative characters or symbols. A lot of these attempts at censorship are done without…

ASCII art and emoji memes are a common fixture of social media, incorporating creative arrangements of letters, numbers, symbols, and emoji to create mosaic-style art, convey a message, or for aesthetic purposes. Many of these images contain a message or reminder, or may contain references,…

Over the past several years, Instagram has added several accessibility features and tools for creators to make their images easier to see for users with visual impairments and print disabilities, with new features being added frequently. Many of my friends with low vision love using…

One of my favorite types of videos to watch on social media platforms is recipe videos that show someone preparing a food or drink item from start to finish, showing how the ingredients are combined and change over the course of the recipe to create…

One of my favorite things on the internet is described videos and pictures of animals on social media, especially when people are sharing their own pets or favorite animals. While I can see many details of a video or image when I zoom in, I…

When I attend professional conferences for assistive technology and computing, I often find myself overwhelmed trying to “do it all” by attending all of the sessions for a given day, trying to run around the exhibit hall to meet everyone, and attending networking and post-conference…

Learning to customize Tumblr themes often serves as an introduction to learning the basics of web design and designing spaces that can be accessed by many different types of users. However, I’ve noticed that while many of the custom Tumblr themes I’ve encountered on blogs…