“Can you recommend another speaker who gives presentations about social media accessibility?”
This is usually the first question folks ask me after I tell them that I’m on hiatus from new speaking engagements. It’s a weirdly stressful question for me because I don’t actually know a lot of people who are currently giving presentations about social media accessibility with the exception of my friends Meryl and Emily. And even then, I don’t like throwing everything at them, because like me, they lead incredibly busy lives.
So really, we can all thank my ever-present anxiety for the creation of the Accessible Social Experts Directory, if you really think about it.
I started thinking about creating a directory a few weeks ago when I asked my LinkedIn community if anything like what I needed already existed. People responded with some really great resources and websites, all of which I’ve added to the External Resources page of the site. I mulled over the idea of creating a directory for a couple more weeks before finally deciding to just do the dang thing.
After creating a rough draft of the directory, I shared it on LinkedIn and asked for community feedback. Once again, folks were incredibly helpful with their comments, suggesting things like different filters and categories as well as a search bar. I continued to update and share the in-progress directory, and now, I think it’s finally done.
The goal of the Accessible Social Experts Directory is to showcase experts, speakers, trainers, and presenters who primarily specialize in subjects related to accessibility and disability and educate others about said subjects.
Someone could be looking for an expert to:
Like the Accessible Social website, the directory is meant to be a useful starting point for anyone using it. The directory should not be considered an exhaustive source of information about the experts listed within it.
Basically, you’re not going to learn everything you may want to know about an expert, but you will get just enough information to make it easier to find an expert, contact them, and start a conversation about their work.
To be added to the Accessible Social Experts Directory, you submit your information through an online form.
It is requested that experts only submit their own information. You should not submit another person’s information unless you have been given explicit permission to do so.
Entries are manually added to the directory (by me) in the order they are received and then listed alphabetically by the first letter in an expert's name. A date indicating when the directory was last updated is listed on the directory webpage. There is no schedule for when the directory is updated. I’ll do my best to keep up with entries.
Listed experts can request at any time that their information be updated or removed from the directory. All you have to do is contact Accessible Social at hello@accessible-social.com via the email you used when originally submitting your information.
Each directory profile has fields for their name, pronouns, location, languages, expertise, and a short bio. They also include symbols indicating if an expert is open to virtual engagements, in-person engagements, and/or traveling to engagements.
Unfortunately, I cannot allow experts to manage their own profiles in the directory right now, but if I can figure out how to do that, I’ll be sure to make it possible in a future update.
There are filters set up for modality, country, and languages. You can choose more than one option for the modality and languages filters, but only one location for the country filter. All the filters can be combined for more refined results.
There is also a search bar so that anyone using the directory can search for specific words and phrases in the entries. Reset buttons are included for the search bar and the aforementioned filters.
At this time, rates, fees, and current availability are not listed for experts due to variability. Fair compensation for an expert's time, talent, and travel is encouraged and expected from anyone using the directory.
While I encourage experts to advocate for themselves, everyone should readily be offering compensation when reaching out to someone and requesting their expertise. Like honestly, that should be in your very first email.
Direct contact information is not provided for the listed experts. Instead, their names link to the website or social media profile of their choosing where you can learn more about them and find their contact info.
The Accessible Social website is pretty basic in terms of design and security (because I built it myself), so I didn’t want to be responsible for a bunch of people’s email addresses. I’d feel horrible if folks were suddenly being spammed because of me.
I went back and forth on whether I should include a filter or field for identity, but ultimately decided not to for two reasons.
However, everyone can include a short bio in their expert submission form that will appear in the directory. I felt it was better to give experts the power to decide how much they share about themselves. A short bio is your opportunity to share a few more details about yourself such as information about your identity, a notable publication you've written for, a favorite event you've presented at, your lived experience, or even just what you like to do in your free time. The search bar can access any information listed in a submitted bio.
Just remember that the directory is meant as a pseudo ice breaker. You shouldn’t feel like you need to include every single detail about your life if someone can learn more about you on the website or social media account that your directory profile links to.
I am well aware that the Accessible Social Experts Directory will never be perfect. Hopefully, though, it will become a useful resource that helps more people connect with and hire accessibility and disability experts.
Like with everything on the Accessible Social website, feedback is always welcome and ultimately makes the site better. If you have any questions or feedback about the directory, please do not hesitate to reach out to Accessible Social at hello@accessible-social.com.
And thank you, thank you, thank you to the numerous people who gave feedback and suggestions that helped shape the directory while I was building it. Your insights were deeply appreciated and so helpful. I'm incredibly grateful to all of you.
