Twitter+Resubmitted

Twitter is a very popular and influential social networking tool, that limits it’s users to expressing themselves in 140 characters or less This short hand comment is known in the Twitterverse as a Tweet and it is through these Tweets that lives are shared, and governments toppled  It is the fastest way to spread information worldwide regardless of the information’s value or relevance to society. However, everyone is free to voice their opinion on Twitter no matter what that opinion is. Let’s face it, Twitter is one of the ways people communicate in today’s society, as reflected by the over** 270 million active Twitter users **.( [|http://lorirtaylor.com/twitter-statistics-2015/)] Which means that if you want to be a culturally savvy individual you must be on Twitter, even if it is just to lurk. Which then begs the question, **how do those amongst us who are visually impaired participate in or interact with the Twitterverse?** After doing some research, I found that Twitter had not been very user friendly for the disabled in the past, so they created an interface called Easy Chirp. “Some of the features that make Easy Chirp more user friendly for the disabled are audio cues sound when you type in a tweet. As the number of characters you have left dwindles, the website simply tells you how many are left. The text can be increased to extra-large, there is a light and dark contrast feature for those with limited vision and when you complete an action such as following or unfollowing someone, a helpful alert message is displayed to let you know. The Accessible Twitter also features a fully keyboard accessible; marked up semantically with headings optimized for screen reader users, and; fully functional with JavaScript disabled.” [|(http://www.easychirp.com/)] The technology is still not perfect but, with this type of interface the visually impaired can access the same information as anyone else. One of the features that enable users to search for their special interest on Twitter is the #Hashtag (same as the number sign for older generation). With the #hashtag users can post a Tweet and using that #hashtag others can find that post. Conversely if you want to find those with your interest you can simply search Twitter with the appropriate #hashtags. For example if you are visually impaired and want to find discussion on Twitter dealing with disabilities you could try “using the #a11y and #axs hashtags, or to participate in broader disability discussion by using #disability. [|(http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/web/social-media/twitter)] Beyond this, if you like to keep track of a large amount of Twitter information often used in Windows applications. There are two accessible recommendations that include Chicken Nugget: Twitter client and TheQube designed specifically for blind users.” Twitter can be a great resource for those people looking for likeminded individuals or groups. People can share experiences, give each other support and even change opinions on relevant societal issues, without having to interact face-to-face. Part of Twitter’s success is that it allows the participants to voice their opinions with complete anonymity (if they chose). This appeals to mean people especially the disabled. It is difficult for some of the disabled to communicate effectively in person, Twitter provides the opportunity for them to express their thoughts and for those thoughts to “heard” without bias or prejudice. This can be extremely beneficial in an educational setting. Educators have had students in the past that are disabled in one way or another, and have watched them struggle to participate in social face-to-face interactions. But when given the opportunity to use technology, specifically Twitter, in the classroom as a peer review tool, amazing things begin to happen. Suddenly the student without a voice is the leader of the class discussion and everyone wants to be a part of their group. Finally, there is a cautionary tale to be told when it comes to the disabled or anyone for that matter, which plans to get involved with Twitter or social media in general. Be careful, when it comes to giving out too much personal information, it makes you easier to stalk. Do not post anything that you do not want out in the Twittersphere for an eternity, once posted always posted, no take backs. Most of all, beware of the Big Bad Bullies out there just waiting to pounce on you the minute you let your guard down, especially if they find out you are disabled. Bullying is the biggest downside to social media, there are about 15,000 bullying-related tweets are posted every day, meaning more than 100,000 nasty messages taint the digital world each week. Ultimately the good news is Twitter has come a long way in bringing a more user friendly Twitter App to the disabled, on the downside the Bullies that torment the disabled now have another tool in their arsenal, a fully accessible Twitterverse. http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/web/social-media/twitter [] [] ) []  https://twitter.com/a11yteam  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/bullying-on-twitter_n_1732952.html
 * Twitter’s Accessibility for the Visually Impaired **
 * __ Information Sources __**