Re: Getting more people to a11y talks

[Stormy Peters <stormy gnome org>]

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.

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.

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
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