Seyfarth, a prominent Washington firm, has a series of three videos, each only a few minutes in length, that illustrate 30 tips to help improve accessibility. Find them, here.
30 Accessible Tips to Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the ADA
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Founder’s Note: How We’re Celebrating the ADA at 30
Getting over the crappy horror of Covid-19, we expect marketers will want to make the world better for all. In the future, our work will have purpose and business motivation baked into its model. The world got a warp-speed technical update during the pandemic—and that will continue in the recovery phase, too. It’s a movement for the future that will generate revenue and build opportunity. You’ll find this issue packed with links to learn more superstars like the author of Being Heumann and star of Crip Camp, plus actionable ideas and content from industry insiders. —Jake Steinman, Founder, TravelAbility Summit
To learn and share more information with colleagues about the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), we are sharing the link to their FAQ.
Reinventing TravelAbility Summit: Humanizing the Virtual Conference Experience
Our 2020 goal: Not the new normal or the next normal, but a case study to find the BEST normal.
(Oakland, CA, June 8, 2020) While some travel industry conferences and events are adapting and embracing virtual attendance, many are scaling back, canceling, or rescheduling to 2021. As the industry’s only disability-focused conference, the TravelAbility Summit team, supporters, and advisory board believe that the destination and disability-focused education, insights, and networking that takes place at this event is essential for the tourism industry and that the conference will go on.
Customizable Attendance Options
With a variety of customizable attendance options via the in-person/virtual attendee hybrid model, the TravelAbility Summit is further reinforcing its slogan, All Means All. The conference’s 2020 location, Orlando, Florida, provides easy access for many considering attending in-person and virtual event options elevate opportunities for European destination marketing organizations and others across the US to participate.
The Best Online Experience
“Over the past two months, our team has spent hours of screen time attending virtual conferences ranging from technology to education to comedy clubs, evaluating new Zoom-like platforms that best capture the experience of live events.” said Jake Steinman, founder of TravelAbility Summit. “And, we’ll be applying the best of the best of what we’ve found to our event and openly sharing the results with the industry.”
Turnkey Platforms, Innovative Tech
The online conference will serve as a case study for travel industry meeting planners who don’t have the time to research and evaluate all the of new self-service turnkey platforms and innovative technology that have been released. A few highlights include…
- Collaborating with pros: a former Broadway producer will direct both the live and virtual event; and a stand-up comic will serve as emcee, and a behavioral psychologist will help design in-person spaces where physical distancing protocols will feel less unnatural.
- Virtual tools: virtual whiteboards, virtual business cards, QR codes, games, holograms
- Shorter presentations/better takeaways.. 73 total presenters limited to 7 to 10 minutes + Q&A
- Random One-on-one speed dating: 3-minute sessions
- Testing flexible registration options–including a la carte options by the hour
- New insights about sponsorships, value proposition, and ROI
- New tools that make virtual conferences accessible and may help avoid litigation
- Several virtual reception ‘breakout rooms’ that emphasize human connection…
- Who let the dogs in? introduce your favorite pet
- My Covid crib: home tours
- Did you hear the one about? humorous stories/jokes
- The hot tub: attendees appear in bathing suit attire
Broader Reach
According to the Convention Industry Council (CIC*) $115 Bn of the $263 bn in direct spending of meeting in the U.S. is travel and tourism-related. Leading trade associations believe that virtual trade events will have a permanent role as a complement to broaden the reach for those who cannot attend in person.
Case Study: What Works, What Doesn’t
“We’re willing to do our small part to help the meetings industry, which has been decimated by the pandemic, understand what works and what doesn’t,” said Steinman. “While we understand that some of our ideas may fall flat, we’re willing to openly share our experience afterward to help the industry rise again, as planners may not have the time to do the due diligence or the appetite for risk.”
*(CIC summary here).
For more information go to TravelAbility Summit 2020, Find up to date news on TravelAbility Insider
Contact: Jake Steinman jake@travelabilitysummit.com
5 Accessible Design Changes Most DMOs Don’t Think About (but should)
Before writer Brad McCannell explains five architectural changes that work for everyone, he points out his pet peeve. That would be when someone he is meeting with about building accessibility says, ‘I’m already accessible because my building meets code’. His story focuses on making meaningful changes to buildings. Read his full post, here.
OUR TAKE: A few facts to keep in mind when planning accessibility design in the age of concurrent pandemics, wildfires, tornadoes, and murderous hornet invasions. First, you’d best have an emergency plan for everyone, including people with disabilities. (The ADA law doesn’t stipulate that you must.) Second, implementing a design that’s accessible for all should not only about wheelchair access. Second, according to the Centers for Disease Control, while it’s true that 13.7% of people with disabilities use a wheelchair. It’s on you to think about agility, hearing, vision, and cognition, too. Roughly 30 million Americans said they had difficulty climbing stairs or used a wheelchair, cane, crutches, or walker according to the last nationwide census.
To read more on this topic, visit our archive of disability advocates, here.
MUST WATCH! When Audio Transcription Fails (Hilariously)
You might think that YouTube can capture the exact words from your video. But their transcription tool has more than few loopholes. The only thing funny about it is these two tech guys who show you just how bad audio transcription can bungle your copy. The example here is a Jamaica tour video. Watch it on YouTube, here.
OUR TAKE: From a marketing point of view, this video makes clear that humor, truthiness, and great information make people sit up and pay attention to your message. Don’t be nervous to even make fun of yourself (and of course fix the problem). After watching it, you’ll really get why creating winning videos requires more than visual storytelling. All the moving parts need to be in place and double-checked before it will make a good impression.
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