If you can’t see this video, click here: Anne Reuss on social media and accessibility.
Stop what you’re doing and watch this short video. In under two minutes, you will receive a very powerful message.
When I first connected with Anne Reuss on Twitter, of course I didn’t know she was deaf. But I did notice that she was looking for a job, so I did what I could to help her. Connecting Anne to my friend Sean McGinnis led to her first big social media networking event in Chicago. She later told me that she was nervous about being deaf at a business event like this but felt immediately comfortable when she realized that everybody had their head down, communicating to each other through Twitter! Twitter. The great equalizer!
For Anne, and many with disabilities, social media has become an amazing connection point. And ever since I was introduced to Anne, I have been trying to see the social media world through the eyes (and ears) of the disabled … How would this work for a deaf person? A blind person? Not always easy.
“I’m working in Social Media because being deaf is not detrimental in the wide world of the web,” Anne said. “I’m madly driven and focused despite what may be noisy settings for other people!”
I invited Anne to make this video for you so you will begin to think about accessibility issues too. She put a lot of work into making this video for {grow}. Please tell her what you think in the comment section.
Read more: The Curious Art of NYC Social Media