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Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

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  2. EP 294 - Content for Everyone with Jeff Adams and Michele Lucchini

EP 294 - Content for Everyone with Jeff Adams and Michele Lucchini

Mar 9, 2023

Mark interviews Jeff Adams and Michele Lucchini about their new book, CONTENT FOR EVERYONE: A Practical Guide for Creative Entrepreneurs to Produce Accessible and Usable Web Content.

Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, reminds listeners about sending THEIR reflections for forthcoming Episode 300, a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor.

 

You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.

 

In their conversation, Mark, Jeff, and Michele talk about:

  • Their new book, released March 1, 2023 entitled CONTENT FOR EVERYONE and who the book is for
  • Their backgrounds working at Useablenet and how it relates to this new release
  • Jeff's Big Gay Fiction Podcast, which has been going on for eight years now
  • Pioneering digital accessibility with UseableNet
  • Thinking about accessibility as an opportunity or a basic expectation
  • It being hard for Jeff and Michele to not notice accessibility issues out there on the net
  • The genesis of the book and how it became a collaborative effort between the two of them
  • Conveying a message in the widest way possible so that the widest number of people can consume it
  • The importance of color contrast for people with low vision
  • Considering the different ways different users interact with a web page
  • A good rule is "do not rely on a single sense when you communicate"
  • A theme running through the entire book: Being true believers in that if you know WHY you have to do something, you'll be a lot more committed in doing it
  • An approach to consider if it feels too overwhelming to take on the task of making one's work more accessible
  • Accessibility is about reaching as many potential customers as possible
  • All of the conditions that might be creating a temporary disability
  • How the only wrong thing to do is to do nothing
  • The oddness of the situation where someone who requests something in a more accessible format is asking a favor rather than just laying out a fundamental expectation
  • The idea of thinking of an accessible format as an "extra task" rather than a basic and fundamental task
  • The importance of progress over perfection
  • And more...

After the interview Mark reflects on a few specific learnings he took away from it and ways he can grow and improve/expand upon his mindset related to accessibility.

 

Links of Interest:

 

Jeff Adams is a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals. As the Accessibility Operations Director for UsableNet, a company focused on making the digital world more accessible and usable, he consults with clients around the world about digital accessibility. In addition, Jeff’s a creative entrepreneur as an author of queer romance and queer young adult fiction and co-host of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast.


Michele Lucchini is the Vice President of Delivery and Accessibility Operations for UsableNet and oversees the teams responsible for ensuring client’s success in their digital accessibility program. Michele’s background is rooted in software development first and moving to team and operation management later. Thanks to experience gathered in over two decades, Michele is an expert and helping companies, from the largest to the smallest, making their digital experiences accessible.

 

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0