Diversability?

?? Adding captions to your videos is only half the equation for accessible captions. The other half is quality. Quality captions matter. The best captions are boring. "Captions are for information, not entertainment." — Jeff Frick First. The best captions are the user's preference. When that's not possible, then use captioning best practices. Second, 100% of caption users will never agree on best practices. Hence, these work for the widest audience possible. Here's a checklist to ensure your captions are most likely accessible. You can use this to help you find a qualified captioning vendor. They don't always know the best practices. I originally created these 10 guidelines based on my experience and knowledge of accessibility. Then, I tweaked them after interviewing users, finding Described and Captioned Media Program Captioning Key, referring to laws and guidelines, and conducting surveys. It can be a lot to read and follow guidelines. I developed the Caption 10 Guidelines to make it easy to check the quality of captions. If you do these things, your captions will most likely be accessible. 1. Captions are readable: Off-black background, off-white text, plain sans-serif font, and Goldilocks font size (neither too big nor too small). If you use closed captions, you're golden! 2. Captions are accurate including spelling and punctuation. Avoid bleeping bad words unless the sound is actually [bleep]. 3. Captions are in sync with the audio. 4. Captions are the right length. Use one to two lines. The number of characters per line depends on several factors: font style, font size, screen size, etc. Captioning Key recommends 32 characters each. Netflix does up to 42 characters. I aim for around 36 characters. Breaking points matter too. Captioning Key has an excellent guide on this. For the love of all things ... don't do one or two words at a time so fast. 5. Position captions on the bottom unless No. 7 applies. Then you can move them to the top temporarily to show text on the bottom. 6. Caption *relevant* sounds including mood of music and song lyrics. [Doorbell chimes], [Phone rings], and [Dogs barking]. 7. Captions don't hide credits or on-screen text. Viewers want to see both. 8. Caption voice changes. If a voice changes, it changes for a reason. This could be accents, making a voice higher or lower, becoming hoarse, or imitating something or someone else. 9. Identify the speaker. If it's not obvious who is speaking, put the name in brackets [Meryl] or use dashes like this: - Speaker 1 - Speaker 2 10. Use pop-in motion rather than moving captions that roll up like in live events. Please add captions to your video production process. Just like editing is part of the writing process, captioning is part of the video creation process. ?? Tap the profile bell for the next post ?? For captioning, social media, and web content training, contact me. ?? Follow #MerylMots #Video #Captioned #Accessibility

There's nothing "trendy" about being diagnosed with ADHD, autism, or any other neurodivergence ?? We're a lost generation of people who weren’t diagnosed when we should have been. When we deserved to be. Many of us "slipped through the net", especially: ? women and folks marginalised for their gender, ??queer and trans people, ? those with co-occurring disabilities, ? working-class people. Yet with more education/awareness, people have been able to discover their differences - differences which might not have been identified otherwise. ??These people have had these conditions their whole lives. ??But they were let down by the system. ??Now, by becoming more aware of how neurodivergences might show up in someone like them, they're getting the answers they've always deserved. Here's a simple comparison: is being left-handed a trend? A fad? A way of getting attention? Of course not. There have always been left-handed people. They might not have *realised* they were allowed to write with their left hand. (Perhaps they knew they'd be punished.) Yet as soon as people recognised it was okay to write with your left hand, the recorded rates of being left-handed increased. It just goes to show: societal perceptions can play a *huge* part in how people present and understand their differences. ?? Grab a copy of How to be You: https://lnkd.in/gqK6hMkW ?? Grab a copy of Unmasked: https://lnkd.in/etcBkyMP Image description: an off-white background with black/dark pink text. It says: "Oh my god." Then crossed-out text says "Everyone has ADHD/autism now." Pink text reads: "How did we let so many people down?" #Neurodivergent

In her recent article with The Guardian, Serendipity Literary Agency author and disability advocate Tiffany A. Yu, MSc shares her personal experience with the "disability tax", in which those with disabilities have to pay more for everyday necessities. Tiffany goes on to explain the common expenses of those with disabilities, both the direct and indirect costs of living, the unfairness of public assistance programs, and recent bills that point towards slow and steady steps in the direction of providing needed financial support to those with disabilities. You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eyUxE9Dy THE ANTI-ABLEIST MANIFESTO is available now from Legacy Lit / Hachette Go (Hachette Book Group). ID: Multiple square blue graphics with the white Serendipity Literary Agency in the bottom left corner and a black logo for The Guardian is in the upper left corner over an image of Tiffany Yu in the center of the graphic. The graphic reads "A cutting board costs me $75 - it might cost you $10. What to know about the ‘disability tax’” Diversability?

When it comes to workplace accommodations, complexity is the enemy of progress. ?? Companies don’t need overly complicated systems that create more confusion than clarity. What they DO need is a solution that balances automation and simplicity, empowering HR teams to navigate accommodations with confidence. If you're on the search for an accommodations solution for your org, look for tools that help HR teams—not overwhelm them. Check out Disclo's helpful guide to evaluating accommodations solutions (linked below)!

When we launched Difference Partners 3 years ago, there very few seed funds focused on investments in neurodiversity and disability tech. I'm encouraged to see how many specialized firms have come into the space since! A moment of gratitude for my new colleagues. Tanya & Youssef at AlleyCorp Christopher & Judd at K. Ventures Elana at Springbank Christopher Male at AIF Regina & Margaret at Enable Ventures Bret at LivEdge Capital Shahar & Ido at Good Company VC Amol at Divergent Investments Kate at Equal Opportunity Ventures James & Steve at Reach Capital Who else is spending time in this category? Would love to hear from generalist funds who are also investing here.

Having a so-called "#DEI Agenda" during a second Trump term will be hard. And yet, #diversity, #equity, and #inclusion work itself may not change much. Why? Because the depiction of "the DEI agenda" spun up by talking heads on the far-right was never more than an inaccurate caricature of the worst parts of this industry. Get too deep into this spin and you'll start thinking that "DEI" is a shadowy cabal seeking to undermine meritocracy by giving away jobs to underqualified candidates, create an underclass of straight White men to be blamed and shamed, and thought police people's opinions and beliefs. I'll tell you straightaway that any practitioner that pulls that kind of BS would get fired in a heartbeat. Done right, this work is a procedural—even mundane—practice of stamping out discrimination, challenging elitism, abuse, and exploitation, setting norms of respect and collaboration, and giving every worker a fair shot to succeed on their own merit. #Diversity work is about stamping out discrimination in the hiring and recruitment process, finding the best talent wherever it lies, and ensuring that the best talent is incentivized to stay. We all know a boss who dodged the hiring process to bring in their underqualified friend. We all know a hiring manager who hired the Ivy League grad over the diamond in the rough with an untraditional background. We all know colleagues who were so unsafe at work that they left for better prospects. #Equity work is about making a workplace fair for everyone, so that hard work actually results in better pay, status, and career growth. Fundamentally, equity work is anti-discrimination work. Equity work exists to end pay discrimination, bias and favoritism in promotions, retaliatory firing, bullying and harassment. We all know the colleague who does incredible work but is paid less and promoted less often than the loudmouth under-performer who knows the boss. #Inclusion work is about building workplace norms and expectations that make EVERYONE feel respected, where a critical mass of people have agreed that a safe, respectful, and collaborative workplace is better for everyone than a cutthroat, insulting, discriminatory, and free-for-all dumpster fire where incompetent a**holes get their way and hard workers don't. There's a real risk that the character assassination of "DEI" by the far right might very well result in the end of the acronym's viability in the workplace. Fine. ?? Your workplace still needs to fight discrimination. ?? Your workplace still needs top talent. ?? Your workplace still needs to upskill managers. ?? Your workplace still needs respectful communication norms. ?? Your workplace still needs fair pay. ?? Your workplace still needs to resonate with your customers. ?? Your workplace still needs worker support, career growth, learning and development, and wellness. The professionals who can help you achieve those things aren't going anywhere. The work will continue.

LinkedIn! We need your help spreading this simple accessibility message on World Kindness Day. ? If you post on social media, especially if it’s on behalf of a brand, you need to add alt text. Whether it’s an important company update or jumping on the latest silly meme, not adding image descriptions means blind and partially sighted followers aren’t getting the full story.? ? For brands, this means you simply aren’t going to get your key messages across. And when you’ve worked so hard on your content,?you want everyone to enjoy your updates. ? Adding alt text on LinkedIn is easy. Add your photo to your post then click “ALT.” Describe your image, including any text that’s written on it, then click “Add.” You can now post your accessible image??? [Image description: “Be kind, add alt text.” Our bold, central message has pink hearts in a hand-drawn style above it, and a?social media?share icon below with a reminder to “help spread the word.”]

Mother Jones reports it is still legal to pay workers with disabilities sub-minimum wage, as little as .25 cents an hour. More than 1/2 of U.S. states have introduced or enacted legislation to phase out this outdated practice. The study from JAMA Health Forum demonstrates eliminating these programs enables people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to gain competitive employment at a fair wage. That's a win for everyone. #DisabledAndCapable #EndSubMinimumWage #HumanResources ID: The image that comes with the article. A black sign with red lettering reads This is Not a WAGE with two dollars and thirteen cents. Photo credit is Noam Galai and Getty Images

?? Are you an investor, corporate leader, potential partner, or tech innovator with an interest in advancing solutions for disability and neurodiversity? If so, I’d like to invite you to join us at the Creo Showcase 2024 on 3rd December from 10am in London. Creo is the UK’s first springboard programme from Tech Nation for disabled and neurodiverse founders. The Showcase will spotlight some of the most pioneering entrepreneurs from our inaugural cohort. These founders are creating impactful solutions across accessibility, health, mobility, education, and more - and are ready to connect with those who may be able to support their journey and goals. ?? What to expect: ?? Fireside chat with Alex Mahon, CEO of Channel 4 ?? Founder Quickfire Pitches ?? Networking & Meetings with founders, investors, and industry leaders ?? If you’re interested in attending and connecting with these innovative founders, please drop me a message or comment below. I'd love to ensure you have the opportunity to experience first-hand the innovations redefining inclusion in tech. #TechForGood #InclusiveInnovation #DisabilitySupport #Neurodiversity #InvestInImpact #AccessibleTech #InclusiveBusiness Tech Nation Motability Operations Ltd HSBC Innovation Banking Founders Forum Group

Today is National Philanthropy Day, and did you know that only 0.1% of philanthropic funding goes to disability rights and justice? I cannot tell you the number of conversations I’ve had with funders and donors who fund things like democracy, movement organizing, climate justice, racial justice, criminal justice reform and abolition, repro, and more who have said something along the lines of “Disability isn’t in our funding portfolio, sorry.” Philanthropy, let me be clear: if you fund any of these things and disability rights and justice is not a part of that, then you’re not truly funding those areas. Disabled people live at every intersection of every other identity and are impacted by every social justice issue. On this day and every day, I implore philanthropy to stop thinking of disability through the lens of the medical model and pay attention to the liberatory and justice work that so many of us disabled folks are doing in the broader progressive movement.