Celebrating My First Audio Eye Blog Post

Hello again, I hope you have had a great week.

I’m writing today to share some cool news with you.

My first blog post for Audio Eye has gone live.

You can read the post here!

What I Wrote About

It’s mostly a welcome our new contributor Max Ivey to the team post.

I talked about my transition from carnival owner to online amusement equipment broker to becoming The Blind Blogger.

I shared about how having to hand code my website helps me understand the developer’s concerns about how challenging it would be to make their sites accessible.

I talked about Audio Eye’s comprehensive approach to making the internet accessible, and why using automation in concert with human reviewers is the only way to accomplish such a huge task.

And I talked about brand loyalty among visually impaired and other disabled consumers. Expressing that we really support and advocate for companies that recognize our value.

I mentioned that I was looking forward to trying out their software suite on my own website, and that I looked forward to sharing my experiences using it.

I closed by challenging people to give it a try and to share their stories about making their businesses more inclusive.

How This Came About

I think you will be entertained by the story of how I got here.

Especially as I tried to tell them no.

I had connected with Alisa Smith on Linked In. She happens to be an accessibility evangelist at Audio Eye.

After connecting, I sent her a short thank you note.

She replied saying they had a position that she thought I would be a good fit for.

It was as a digital accessibility ambassador. So, I clicked the link she sent me and took a look.

There were a lot of things I am good at, but they had some requirements I couldn’t meet. Especially concerning being able to use certain pieces of software on the Windows platform.

I wrote her and said I would love to apply but don’t believe I am qualified. I explained why I felt that way, listed the parts of the job I could fulfill, and offered to contract to support the eventual hire.

She wrote back saying that it sounded like there could be ways we could and should partner together, but I would still need to fill out an application.

This would add my information to their system which I learned is part of communicating with or working for just about any reputable company.

So, I updated my resume and used the quick apply feature on Linked In to put my name in the hat.

Less than an hour later I got an email from someone else in their HR, Human Resources, department.

It said Thanks Mr. Ivey for reaching out to us, however, you are not qualified for the position listed.

I got a good laugh out of that. As did Alisa.

In fact every time I was interviewed we had a good laugh over this story.

After a successful interview, we had to go through the legal stuff including my signing a NDA, non disclosure agreement. We had to discuss a publishing schedule. And finally we had to talk money.

They assigned me a wonderful editor named Jeff Curtis.

We established a method for him to review my posts and give me feedback.

Here, my previous work with my talented editor Lorraine Reguly prepared me for this question.

When we are editing one of my books, we use the following procedure.

She copies and pastes the line or segment needing improvement into an email message.

Below that she types the text the way she thinks the passage should read.

Then I reply to her either agreeing or suggesting another option.

She has gotten to know my voice so well that I rarely disagree with her editing decisions.

I was pleasantly surprised that Jeff didn’t have a lot of edits for me. And the ones he did have were minor. We were able to quickly agree upon the final post and schedule it for publishing on their website.

Joining A11iance Team

As part of the continuing conversation that lead to my being contracted to write for their site I was also invited to become part of their A11iance team.

I would be reviewing websites in real time to evaluate them for accessibility. Giving the site owners advice on how they could make their websites more inclusive.

I actually had to have an audition. But I passed. And I will be doing my first evaluation for them next month.

Interestingly enough I believe it is going to be about accessibility of job search websites and the application process.

Having My Eyes Opened

For the longest time I refused to recognize my value as an expert in the area of online accessibility.

I mistakenly thought that my lack of knowledge about the way to fix access issues disqualified me from giving advice to others.

Thankfully, my friend Alex Sanfilippo helped set me straight here. He pointed out that I had been providing valuable insights into making his website PodMatch more accessible.

He went on to point out that I also helped him understand more about what a sensible work flow looks like to a screen reader user.

He said “Even if you don’t believe it, you are my Accessibility Advisor.

Now I Believe.

About Podmatch

It is rewarding seeing how much his site has improved since I started working with him.

And how many podcast hosts have joined podmatch.com who have disabilities or whose focus is improving the lives of the disabled.

If you are a podcast host seeking more quality guests, or an aspiring interview guest seeking quality shows to appear on; you should definitely check it out.

That is an affiliate link, but you get a lot of value from his free plan. If you subscribe to a free account, I would earn points towards gear. If you subscribe to one of the premium plans, I would receive a few dollars.

One thing that is truly unique about his site is the ability to earn cash for interviewing people on your show. I’m not to go into that here, but it’s real, and you can read about all the detail on his site.

Alex has been a great friend for a long time, and we love supporting each other.

Future Is Bright

I am really excited about the possibilities of working with Audio Eye. We are off to a great start with my participating in the A11iance team and writing regular posts for their their website.

I have met some wonderful new people, and many of them have awesome back stories.

For example their COO Dominic’s family are in the amusement business in Ohio.

I foresee some great interviews coming for The What’s Your Excuse? Show.

Because of the links to my websites, I look forward to all the new people I will meet by being exposed to their community.

Heck, they even included a link to my song What’s Your Excuse in the post.

And who knows what might come from our new relationship in the future. I certainly had no idea it would come this far when I let myself be talked into applying to work for them.

Today’s Challenge

I hope this challenges you to go beyond saying thanks but no thanks when you feel less than perfect for an opportunity.

I hope this encourages you to state your case and give the other person the option of deciding to find a way to work with you.

And I hope this reminds potential employers and business owners what can happen when you decide to have a conversation and see if there is a way through the obstacles you are facing.

I would love to hear some stories of how you succeeded through communication, collaboration, and determination.

Thanks so much for your continued support Until next time take care out there, Max