E118 - Accelerating audience growth through affordable accessibility (Ahmed Khalifa, Hear Me Out! [CC])

Oct 27, 2020

In today’s episode, Joe talks to Ahmed Khalifa of Hear Me Out! [CC]), a place where hearing people can learn how to connect and engage with deaf people better, plus work together to bridge the gap between the hearing and deaf worlds.

 

Joe and Ahmed discuss the level of accessibility of content in the deaf community, what makes a website more accessible, importance of Alt Text and descriptions in images, how to possibly improve WordCamp conferences, and optimizing websites with good transcripts. 

 

Listen in for more insight on global accessibility and transcription machinery!

 

Episode Resources

• Hear Me Out! [CC] - Helping The Hearing World To Hear Deaf People
• Ahmed is on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
• Leave an iTunes review or binge watch past episodes
• Send questions to [e-mail] for the next Q&A pod
• Visit the WPMRR website

 

What to Listen For:

• [00:01:15] Today we have Ahmed Khalifa on the pod!
• [00:02:57] Ahmed's deafness spectrum, backstory, and wonderful journey
• [00:07:14] Hearing impaired is not the right word for it!
• [00:10:34] "My accent is just my upbringing." - Ahmed Khalifa
• [00:12:14] Accessibility of content for people hard of hearing 
• [00:20:35] Easy action items to make content more accessible, captions more readable
• [00:24:40] Good audio quality is crucial to get good transcripts
• [00:28:43] What makes a website more accessible?
• [00:31:46] The power of Alt Text in images
• [00:35:50] How to make WordCamp conferences more accessible
• [00:42:24] How about post-production sponsorship to improve accessibility?
• [00:45:05] Where to find Ahmed Khalifa