Derek Featherstone

Accessibility & Inclusive Design Leader. Author. Speaker. Teacher. #Woodworking for fun

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

👋 Hello new friends, and thanks for connecting here! Thank you to those that recommended me/my work on accessibility; I'm grateful for your trust.

A short thread to introduce myself:

Work: @salesforce, VP of Accessibility & Inclusive Design
Writing: https://t.co/snfddTnSn8

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

@fnthawar just listen to your episode on Lenny‘s podcast. Loved it! I also graduated UW co-op. I’m curious – have you ever read Joy Inc.? Great stories in there about hiring and work trials and I wonder if it inspired you in addition to your co-op experience?

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

There's a lot of cognitive overhead keeping track of simple things.

For example: "If I press Enter here, will it send this message or will it create a new line?"

Yes, I did just send a message prematurely because of this.

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

It’s been a while, but I busted out Chewie and Lando for today’s performance at #DF23

Understanding Salesforce GenAI and Accessibility.

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

@cardenonwheels @SFBART See you soon!!

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

Wow don’t ever post a thing asking for help with accounts. Instant overwhelm of bots and scams trying to trick me. Sheesh

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

I'm need some inspiration to write more things about accessibility and inclusive design.

What, if anything, would you love to learn more of from me? (If you don't have specific ideas, but generally want to learn, give this a like, and I'll take it as general inspo to share!)

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

Sadly I won’t be able to chat with some of the authors as they’ve passed away.

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

With sincerest appreciation, to all my author friends whose books I’ve purchased over the years…

I’m donating almost all of the books to a local library and/or thrift store in hopes that they’ll have a new life.

#webDevelopment #WebDesign #accessibility

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

With or without owning the books, I can say those things, have supported you, and have those memories (at least for now - who knows what aging will bring?)

Time to say goodbye to the books but wow is this making me want to meet up with people and just… talk.

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

@merylkevans @rikkipoynter Thanks for clarifying! 👋 @rikkipoynter

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

Had a discussion today around video and what it means to make that content accessible. Thoughts in a 🧵

Yes, we need captions. Real ones. Not craptions (👋 @merylkevans)

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

@tgerz @merylkevans I'm outta tweeting practice, so I may not have been all good at my communicationing there :)

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

Also, it has been a while since I've been on here, and even longer since I wrote a thread.

I felt very out of practice writing that thread!

Glad to know there are people still here interested in these things :)

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

@tgerz @merylkevans Audio Descriptions when in audio format... Media Alternative Transcripts when written. They serve the same purpose -- representing important things in the video that need some equivalent representation 👍

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

@merylkevans In closing:

Doing accessibility well isn't merely about meeting technical requirements. Doing it well includes understanding people's goals and what they're trying to accomplish, and aiming to facilitate that.

/end 🧵

[Derek Featherstone @feather]

@merylkevans I've experienced working with people using screen readers before and they're done the transcript before the video is even ¼ of the way done playing.

That screenplay might become the medium of choice for some people because they can get through it much quicker.