Re: Getting more people to a11y talks

["Bryen M. Yunashko" <suserocks bryen com>]

On Mon, 2010-09-13 at 12:14 -0600, Stormy Peters wrote:
>     Hi Bryen,
>     
>     
>     Just some tidbits. I think most people attend talks because of the speaker and the title. As far as I can tell, very few people read the abstract. (I polled a couple of audiences.) I think most people are looking for "what's in it for me?" - either knowledge or entertainment.
>     
So, I gotta get people to like me?   That's a lot of work!  :-)

The "what's in it for me?" is the angle I need to build up on.  Particularly, getting the message out that (borrowing from my favorite line from Willie Walker) "accessibility needs to be baked in, not bolted on."  And that for GNOME to continue to remain relevant and competitive as a desktop environment of choice, accessibility IS "in it for me."  I was recently told about a government inquiry into using KDE, and when they realized that a11y wasn't KDE's strong suit, they ceased any further interest in KDE.   So, you want your GNOME apps or your GNOME desktop to get into a number of markets, you need to be concerned for a11y even if you're not involved in it.

And, as we know, there are other examples out there where lack of accessibility has derailed deployment of open source in some organizations.

>     
>     Also, if you created a short a11y presentation (like 5 minutes) with the key message, I bet many of us would be able to include it in our other GNOME related presentations.
>     
I really like this idea.  A cool way to build up an army of a11y evangelists.   :-)   Do we already have a set of 5-minute decks on other GNOME topics?  I'd love to look at what we have and maybe find ways to incorporate them into some of my talks as well.

Okay, so, here's what I'm gathering so far from this thread, and being pleasantly surprised at that.   "There's more than meets the eye!"  Several of you have mentioned you have given accessibility talks.  Which means... I want YOU as a part of our GNOME-A11y Outreach efforts.

Okay, I realize I haven't tooted the horn much yet about what Outreach is, so let me give it to you here and now in a nutshell.  Outreach is in its beginning formations and I'm hoping to make it a more well-defined mission after the upcoming GNOME-A11y Hackfest in Spain.  While essentially a marketing project, I think we're better defined as a liaison between the GNOME-A11y projects and the outside world.  We focus on marketing, fund-raising, writings, communications with other groups, including student projects, and so forth.  The goal of Outreach is to formalize the way we present ourself to the world.  Totally a non techie endeavor.  

I consider Outreach to be more of a subset of GNOME Marketing rather than a completely separate group.  I certainly have no intentions of being perceived as completely separate or even rogue with GNOME Marketing.  We're very small at the moment (myself, Steve Lee and Stormy) but we have, obviously, very specific audiences we're attempting to reach and we're focused on fine-tuning the message for those audiences.  Also to identify the messages we hear from the world about what they want from us.   I've got big ideas and plans, but rarely mention them out loud until I see they can be feasibly implemented.  

So... if you're interested in playing a more active role in promoting the goodness of GNOME's accessibility efforts, let me know.  There's more than enough room for you all!

Thanks,
Bryen M Yunashko
GNOME-A11y Outreach

>     
>     Stormy
>     
>     On Sat, Sep 11, 2010 at 9:11 PM, Bryen Yunashko <suserocks bryen com> wrote:
> >         Today, at Ohio Linux Fest, I gave a talk on GNOME-A11y.  The talk
> >         itself was good, but I encountered what is a re-occuring problem at
> >         just about any a11y session I've been to or covered in FOSS world.
> >         And i'd like your opinions on how we can change this.   Especially
> >         from those of you who may not have a more "peripheral" interest to
> >         a11y.
> >         
> >         While GNOME-A11y talks, or just general A11y talks, do well at a11y
> >         events, I've noticed that nothing seems to clear a room faster than an
> >         a11y talk at events that are FOSS-focused.  The session before mine
> >         today had probably 200 people in the room.   By the time I talked,
> >         there was only about 7 or 8 people.  :-(  the same talks brought about
> >         overflowing attendance at CSUN in April and I expect to see the same
> >         happening at AEGIS next month.  But again, different
> >         audience...different outcome.
> >         
> >         My talks are about why a11y should matter to you even if you are not
> >         involved in a11y or need accessibility.  It's meant to raise awareness
> >         in the general mainstream and hopefully build up a new stream of
> >         contributions to a11y.  However, as you all know, going to these
> >         events around the country (or even globally) requires an investment,
> >         whether out of my own pocket or through sponsorship.  Repeatedly
> >         traveling to events to give these talks becomes harder and harder to
> >         justify when we're not getting good headcounts at these talks.
> >         
> >         so, if you don't mind, I'd like to open up the floor here to a bit of
> >         discussion and hear what you guys might think are creative ways to get
> >         bigger audiences into these talks.  GNOME is a leader in the a11y
> >         movement and I'd like to make sure this is widely recognized and
> >         appreciated by all.
> >         
> >         One thing I am wondering if I should come up with more provocative
> >         titles for my talks.
> >         
> >         In November, I will be giving a keynote on GNOME Accessibility at
> >         LatinoWare in Brazil and I'd really like to get the ball rolling in
> >         thinking about how to ensure maximum audience attendance at events
> >         like this and making this a truly worthwhile trip.
> >         
> >         So....> Ideas anyone?
> >         
> >         Thanks,
> >         Bryen M Yunashko
> >         GNOME-A11y Outreach
> >         --
> >         marketing-list mailing list
> >         marketing-list gnome org
> >         http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing-list
> >     
>     
>