I just got a phone call from Jacqueline Fernandez in New York City. She called because she wanted to know why a comment she left on my blog hadn’t yet been approved. I had been out of the office for several hours. What she said after that, blew me away.
Ms. Fernandez is a blind person who’s trying to navigate the Web, read blogs and leave comments. Here is her comment left on my blogging poll post, and I’ll share it with you because she deserves to be heard. If any of you out there have a suggestion to help her, please leave a comment, or go to her site and connect with her.
“I’m so frustrated and I’m about to throw in the towel with Social media. I am a blind person trying to make it on the internet for over two years now, but its been a total nightmare for me due to the lack of accessibility [for blind people] on the ‘Net.
“At the moment I’m using Posterous. This is the only blogging platform that works with my screen reader, but I am noticing that they are adding new features [graphics] and that means that I have to pack up my bags full of my content and find another Blogging site.
“I would love to be on the cutting edge and use WordPress so I can get indexed by Google and get traffic, but its so hard for me to set WP up with all the plugins and themes.
“For all those taking this poll try this little experiment. It can open your eyes a little bit into an unfamiliar world & hopefully you will understand the importance of having [enhanced] accessibility in your web sites.
“Are you ready? Here you go: take the test & experience my world of darkness . http://j.mp/9JYHHm”
Thanks, Jacqueline, for opening our eyes to your world. I’m glad you were able to read my posts, and to respond to the poll. You’ve given me, and others, something to think about…
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