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Blind and Visually Impaired Community

Full History - 2018 - 08 - 04 - ID#94j0h6
1
Questions! (self.Blind)
submitted by lifeobserverrr
Hello redditors!

I have volunteered at the blind center for the past few years, and based on my experience, I am trying to develop an application for the blind.
If you could answer the following questions, it would be very helpful. Thank you so much!
1. Do you use a computer or a smartphone?
2. Is there anything that you have troubles using computer or a smartphone?
3. How do you meet other people? Is there a community among the blind?
4. Do you use other social media, such as Facebook or Instagram?
5. In your opinion, does Reddit, Facebook and other social media you use is easily accessible?
6. How do you gain information? Through radio, internet or others?
7. Are you comfortable with forming a relationship through internet? In other words, are you comfortable with internet friends?
8. Would you be interested using social media for the blind and have conversation with other blind?

bradley22 3 points 5y ago
There's an app out there called vorail that you may want to look into. I think it already does a similar thing to what you're thinking of creating. It's an app for the blind and sighted, although it's mostly blind people on there. You use audio messages instead of text or video to chat.
lifeobserverrr [OP] 1 points 4y ago
Thank you for your response. What is your primary reason of using Vorail? Is it to meet other blind?
bradley22 1 points 4y ago
No, although others might use it for that. I use it to mainly answer questions. Sometimes I'll create my own questions but that's quite rare.
ENTJ351 1 points 4y ago
1. yes, obviously, this is the only way I can type to you right? I use a mcintosh ' computer and this iphone, and currently with my braille display.

2. no real issues 90% of the time. Sometimes apps not coded properly for the screen readers can be difficult to use. However, this is not many apps. As long as the app is coded with screen reading in mind, it'll be fine.

3. a. I go outside and socialize? I have no issues and meet people daily. I get out and about. I am very extroverted. I mostly hang out among sited people. I am pretty popular on my community college campus.

b. yeah, there is blind communities, but I am not part of any of them.

4. I do. I use twitter, facebook, have an instagram, I am on quora, I use many. Again, extrovert.



5. yes, most of them are accessible actually. except soundcloud, but now there is a new one out call limor, which is mostly but not completely accessible. Instagram is okay, but it's mostly photos anyways. Reddit itself is not accessible, but bacon reader is fantastically accessible. I really enjoy using it. Facebook is 80 to o90 percent accessible. twitter is fully accessible and I love twitter clients. All the others I use seem to be okay. I can use it right.

6. I gain information in all sorts of ways. Internet is actually a huge parts of them. Google is wonerful isn't it? There are some nice sites out there with wonderful information. I go to scholarly sites. I like databases. I love the ibook and kindle stores. I read veraciously. Form posts are good too and discussion forms like this. I also watch a lot of speeches interviews and presentations other youtube users put up mostly by famous scholars or public official. I read the news through twitter a lot of times.

I have things like bible gateway u version.

I talk to people and find out about things. I engage in online debates.

7. I love online friends. I have more of those because it's hard to find people like myself in real life. I don't mean blindness. I mean personality and interests. I have no problems with socializing, but feel like people do not get my mind in real life. I am ambitious and scholarly.

8. I tho a blind social media is a bad idea. Great concept, but pragmatically it's a awful aide. There's many. I am on cafe random, vorail, use to on be zonebbs before they shut down, out-of-sight, use to be on blinknation before they too shut down, and there's others. There tends to be a lot of blind drama, infighting, much shallow topics, gossip, and backstabbing. It just isn't a good environment with just blind people. I prefer sites with blind and sited alike.
lifeobserverrr [OP] 1 points 4y ago
Thank you for your response. It was very helpful and insightful.
I have just one more question to ask. One of the main reason why I have come up with an idea to form a blind community through internet, or an application, was that YouTube videos I watched online - many shared their information that are for blind exclusively, such as how blind edit videos and how they go through obstacles living as a blind.
I understand that you are socially very active and capable, and comfortable finding new people whom you can interact with - regardless of whether they are blind or not- but, for others who do not know such opportunities exist, or share the feelings that only blind can share, I think, is important.
Maybe on this platform you could even suggest and teach that there are different ways to interact and make new friends to others. I just wanted to clarify that I do not think that blind should be segregated in such platform, but rather, flourish in a place for sharing information and feelings among them.
Again, thank you for your opinion, and I would appreciate any additional comment.
ENTJ351 1 points 4y ago
no problem, and others have pointed this out before, but there are already sites such as the one you're talking about. vorail is one, caferandom is another. out-of-sight is a third. There's app and a site made by afb too.
lifeobserverrr [OP] 1 points 4y ago
I see. Are there many people using these sites or application? Do other blind people know about these applications?
ENTJ351 1 points 4y ago
Usually a sufficient number. And the people hooked into the right sources yes. but, there are many others who haven't but what can you do. The sites attract similar crowds the online blind community is small. The others may not know about it, or just aren't interested. The question is advertising and what you do to get them to join. You'll always get a similar online crowd they advertise whereever and those interested join, as mentioned a standard crowd. Now how do you proceed? How do you reach these others there are people who wants to be part of each site and not want to be part of others. Others are not so inclined and don't really want to join them. Others are just not motivated, or have not tapped in the blind community online. They don't want to, they have not looked, or they lack motivation. So how do you get it to them? These platforms are all over the internet. People are sharing it rapidly across facebook and twitter. But, those others who don't know, aren't connected. In my experience usually older people or not interested in the blind community and not connected with other blind people anyway. anyway, the younger crowd dominates these places. How do you get an older crowd to be interested? They don't usually want to join, and the younger crowd don't want to mix with them. They are less informed with technology, website, just get on facebook occasionally, are limited to facebook, and just their regular contacts. They don't reach out to get to know other blind people or have a desire to search for it. The ones who have has found these various sites. Vorail is dying, but they are attempting to reach out to a older community. But, not succeeding. They are looking to make their own portable audio social media device that older people can work to, but it's expensive, and have not made it to the right hands. I suspected there is not much advertising to the right crowd. They are chasing both sited blind. Tom had this vision of older people joining, but for the sake of money has abandoned it. They are looking at offline blind conventions to spread the word. The blind members have done a lot. They bring it up in real life, and at their blind organizationso and when meeting up with friends. However it's still not reaching. You propose we do what? We can go find them maybe at these blind places and you can talk to the elderly, but you can risk them just saying no, and not being interested. Most of them can't use technology or get online anyway. And, now what?

Also, let me kind of tell you what others have found out who have ventured down the road of this market. It's not a market and not profitable. How do as sustain. Vorail is struggling, and so was something like the zone. Developers lose inerest. There is something like out-of-sight, but I am a little confused with how to join. I did join but they never approved my membership. I don't know too much about them. They are reaching similar crowds maybe., but they do a fair job I think. They're still around, but have not been on in a long time. I have an account with them somewhere. Have no idea what their administration is like, or their struggles. The sites Ive taken interested inand massively more popular just had issues and didn't last. The vorail thing is still well and alive, but I wouldn't say without it's struggles financially.

So, you have this at hand.
MaybeSuicidalRaptor 1 points 5y ago
I mainly use my phone for media conversations and consumption.


I'm comfortable forming friends online

Right now mt Collection is limited so the accessibility I use is negative colors and magnification
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