There has been a lot of changes that have happened here at iAccessibility this month, and there will be many more to come. In this post, I want to discuss where we’ve been, and where we’re going as iAccessibility so that we are all on the same page.
The Past of iAccessibility.
iAccessibility started in 2010 as a blog to review apps called the iAccessibility Report. I, Michael Doise, reviewed apps with VoiceOver on this blog to determine what worked with VoiceOver. The blog then started to have other content regarding technology, and we started a podcast in 2015 called the iACast. In 2016, we started our WhatsApp Community and TeamTalk Server, which later became a Discord community server instead. iAccessibility has also had the chance to work with some amazing podcasters like Unmute Presents and many others.
Where We Are Going
iAccessibility has been a part of my life for the past 14 years, and the goal has always been to build a thriving community of technology users who help each other in the efforts of learning and using technology. The below items describe where we are, and where iAccessibility is going.
- iAccessibility has built an app directory so that blind and low vision technology users can find out if an app is accessible, or at least usable. This app directory covers Apple platforms, but also includes Windows and Android devices as well. We will have a similar layout to what may expect, but we will also have features like AI based search and more.
- The iACast will continue, and we will be improving it with more conversations, and interactive experiences. These may include town halls, and interactive calls on Zoom and Clubhouse
- iAccessibility has created a new forums system using Discourse. We plan to work with Discourse to increase the accessibility of these forums, so that other forum communities can benefit from these accessibility changes.
- Bug Tracking is very important, and we plan to start tracking bugs with Apple platforms. We are considering a plan to create a bug tracker with BugZilla for users to submit bugs through, and these will be reflected through a blog post on the iAccessibility website.
- We will also be opening up opportunities for users to contribute. Right now, users can contribute to the App Directory, but we will soon allow users to submit posts to the Report blog. or to submit podcast content. All posts will need to be approved, but this allows the site to be ran and driven by the community.
- iAccessibility can’t be ran by one person and one person should not run a site as big as iAccessibility. Therefore, the team has decided to create a nonprofit organization ro run and manage iAccessibility. The board has been named, and documentation will be filed to form the nonprofit in the coming weeks. This will allow the team and community to make decisions to drive the forward progress of the website, forums, and other services provided by iAccessibility.
Conclusion
iAccessibility has always been a place to help people to connect with each other, and learn to use technology. It is my hope that this roadmap will help everyone know where we’ve been, and to help you all know where we are going in the future. We have been around for 14 years, and I think the next 14 will be even more amazing with all of you building what iAccessibility is going to be. Thank you for reading this, and please feel free to reach out and ask us any questions you have have either on Mastodon at https://iaccessibility.social/@iaccessibility, on X as @iaccessibility1 We are still working on emails, but you can email mikedoise@icloud.com until everything is set up. Thank you again, and I look forward to speaking with everyone in the community.