Typically, the question of accessibility online is considered in technical terms: How does this website need to be designed? What ALT text is appropriate for this image? Are captions available for this video? And obviously, knowing the technical aspects of accessibility is important.
But if accessibility stops at the technical requirements, we forget that there are people on the other side of those checklists and manuals. We forget that even the most rigorous checklist can’t account for everyone and their experiences. We forget to ask critical questions that seem obvious when it comes to a backstage pass but are readily dismissed when it comes to most other social spaces.
In the 3rd episode of my 5-part series on Decoding Empathy, I talk with Erin Perkins, an accessibility educator and the founder of MabelyQ, and draw on the work of disability studies scholar Tanya Titchkosky to theorize the overlap between access and empathy—and what it means for you.
Footnotes:
Every episode of What Works is also available in essay form at whatworks.fyi
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EP 405: What causes work stress? And what can we do about it?
EP 404: What lights your fire?
EP 403: Have your values been hijacked?
EP 402: How do you crack the code on goal-setting?
EP 401: Do we really all have the same 24 hours?
EP 400: The Power of Practice
EP 399: Self Help, LLC: The Politics of Hustle Culture with Jadah Sellner
EP 398: Self Help, LLC: Good Bodies With India Jackson, Tiffany Ima, and Jessica DeFino
EP 397: Self Help, LLC: Bad Usage With Samara Bay
EP 396: Self Help, LLC: #MakingMemories with Sara Petersen
EP 395: Self Help, LLC: Instagram, the Algorithm, and Personality Types with Steph Barron Hall from Nine Types Co
EP 394: Self Help, LLC: The Paradox of Self-Help Expertise with Patrick Sheehan
EP 393: Self Help, LLC: Selling Empowerment with Kelly Diels
EP 392: Self Help, LLC: Winners & Losers
COMING SOON: Self-Help, LLC
EP 391: How do human decisions shape the economy? with Stacey Vanek Smith
THE BOOK: Do your Big-G Goals Serve You?
EP 390: Context Clues: Is a recession inevitable?
EP 389: Context Clues: Does everyone need a personal brand?
EP 388: Extra Context: Not Getting Paid
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