This is just a quick post to get a sense of where to put my energies. I have been using the new After Gadget FaceBook page (we have over 25 “Likes,” which makes us an official fan page now! Thank you!) for the following:
- Photo albums — several pictures on a theme that supplement a single picture that’s appeared on the blog. The albums do not contain image descriptions;
- Brief status updates about something in my day relating to Barnum (a breakthrough in a new skill, a frustration relating to my illness, etc.);
- Resource documents — a training log, a grief resources list, and a new venture, “Tips for Tired Trainers.”
I like being able to use FB and Twitter to post short celebrations or humorous anecdotes or gripes that don’t warrant an entire blog post. And, because I’ve linked the blog and the FB page to Twitter, announcements of posts and status updates get tweeted with links to the original material.
In terms of the “Tips for Tired Trainers,” I’ve had this idea for several years — a handbook for people with fatiguing illnesses who want to train their own dogs.
But, I have about eight books in my head that may never be completed and published because being sick has made that sort of marathon functionality impossible, so far. Thus, it recently occurred to me that if I can just write one tip a day (or however often I’m able), readers/followers can use the tips as they appear, and the pressure is off me to do it all at once in book format. I can also field questions about tips that aren’t working right when people try them, and use that feedback to tweak the tips. (Tweak the tips that get tweeted?)
I have one concern, however, which is, how accessible is FaceBook? It seems to be a very visually oriented app, and I only know a couple of blind people who use it, which makes me wonder if it’s not that accessible to people who are blind or low vision.
I also know that I couldn’t use FB at all when I had dial-up Internet access. With satellite, I can, but it’s slow and glitchy. However, I also couldn’t really read blogs or use Twitter with dial-up, either.
Here is my two-part question:
1. If I post a status update or document on FaceBook, and you’re following me on Twitter, does the lead-in and link you get tweeted take you to an accessible version of the original? In other words, is what I post on FB accessible to those of you with dial-up or who are blind/low-vision?
2. Is the content I’m posting on FB, especially the Tips for Tired Trainers, of interest to you? If so, and you’re not able to access the FB page, would it make sense to periodically post a compilation of the latest installment of those tips here?
In a nutshell, I am trying to keep my content accessible to as many people as possible, while also respecting my need for conserving energy, and trying not to create so many versions of the same material that it annoys people and takes up your valuable time/energy. (Nobody likes reiterated repetitious redundancies.)
I definitely intend for the grief resources to all be included in the published pages here, but I’ve been trying to pull those together for over a year. Since I work slowly and sporadically, and there are always other topics to write about, I don’t know how long that will take. I decided it was better to post them somewhere, for now, in unvarnished form, than to keep sitting on them.
Thanks very much for your feedback!
-Sharon, the muse of Gadget, and Barnum (all tuckered out from his run at the pond)
After Gadget 