ABOUT:
Access Information News. The world's #1 online resource for current news and trends in access information.
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Publication:
➜ Description: Founded in 2022, Access Information News is the world's leading not-for-profit access information news publication that reaches over 16,000 blind, low vision, deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, neurodivergent and/or disabled professionals, educators and enthusiasts, all over the world, each week. Subscribe here. Review the most recent issues here.
➜ Definitions:
Access Information refers to informational topics that directly affect the lives of people with disabilities. Access Information includes any and all information related to bettering the lives of people who are blind, low vision, deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, neurodivergent and/or disabled.
There are several other terms that can provide a more comprehensive view of the strategies used to support individuals with various needs. They are:
Accessibility: The practice of making information, environments, and products usable by people with a wide range of abilities. This includes adapting physical spaces, creating accessible digital content, and providing assistive technologies.
Assistive Technology: Tools and devices designed to aid individuals with disabilities in performing tasks that might otherwise be difficult or impossible. Examples include screen readers for visually impaired individuals, speech recognition software for those with mobility or dexterity issues, and hearing aids for the hearing impaired.
Universal Design: The design of products, environments, and communications to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.
Web Accessibility: Refers to the inclusive practice of removing barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to, websites by people with disabilities. Key principles include ensuring that websites can be navigated and understood by everyone, regardless of hardware, software, language, location, or ability.
Screen Reader: A software application that converts text displayed on a computer screen into audible speech. This is particularly useful for individuals who are blind or have low vision.
Closed Captioning: Text displayed on a television or video screen to provide additional or interpretive information, primarily used by individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Alternative Text: Descriptive text added to an image on a website or document, which can be read by screen readers. This assists individuals who are blind or visually impaired in understanding the content of the images.
Braille: A tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired. It represents letters and numbers using raised dots, allowing individuals to read through touch.
Sign Language Interpreters: Professionals who facilitate communication between hearing and deaf or hard of hearing individuals through the translation of spoken language to sign language and vice versa.
Text-to-Speech (TTS): A type of assistive technology that reads digital text aloud. It's beneficial for individuals with reading difficulties, visual impairments, or learning disabilities like dyslexia.
➜ Mission: Our Mission here at Access Information News is to provide ongoing, high-quality, free and low-cost educational resources to persons seeking current information about living with a specific disability.
➜ Cost: There is no cost to receive the Access Information Newsletter. The ongoing distribution of the Access Information News weekly newsletter is made possible by our Sponsors, our Supporters and Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd.
➜ Funding: Our Supporters donate a small amount either one time or annually in support of the continued distribution of high quality, human-curated access news articles each week.
Our Sponsors pledge an ongoing amount of $100 per month. In return they receive the exclusive ability to sell or promote their products and services to over 16,000 readers each week. No one else can sell or promote within the newsletter except for Sponsors.
Any time the Access Information News Publication carries less than its Sponsor limit, Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd. donates the remaining dollars necessary to keep the publication running.
➜ Not-For-Profit: The Access Information News Publication is operated as a not-for-profit project by Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd., a leading international provider of professionally outsourced digital marketing services. All of the funds generated by the Access Information News publication, from both Sponsors and Supporters, are held in escrow and used only to fund the ongoing distribution of the publication.
➜ Publisher: Access Information News is a Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd. Publication.
➜ Trusted: Access Information News is trusted by over 16,000 blind, low vision, deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, neurodivergent and/or disabled professionals, educators and enthusiasts, all over the world.
➜ Editorial Direction: Our Sponsor / Supporter structure allows our Editorial Team to focus on the needs of the reader. These needs are represented by the more than 16,000 blind, low vision, deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, neurodivergent and/or disabled subscribers that receive the Access Information Newsletter each week. We engage with and listen to reader feedback daily and use it to shape future weekly editorial decisions. In this manner the publication's editorial direction is always dictated by readers.
➜ News Aggregation: Access Information News is a news aggregation service. We aggregate high quality access news articles each week, package them up into an incredibly easy to read format, screen readers included, and send them to you every Thursday morning at 6:00 AM ET. Could you read all of the news articles found in the Access Information Newsletter somewhere else? Yes you could. But that's not likely. Why? Because locating all of these articles and determining their quality each week would take far more time than most people have. If your time is precious, but so too is your need to stay current in access information, then a high quality, human-curated news aggregation service like Access Information News can give you the best of both worlds.
➜ Human-Curated News Selection: Each news item submitted for publication to Access Information News is voted on by three people. Myself, Aaron Di Blasi, Computer Engineer and Publisher with more than 20 years of experience in access technology media, John Hanlin, Editor and attorney-at-law with more than 25 years of experience in long-term disability claims for blind and visually impaired persons, and Jenna Lang, Editor and long time education and disability advocate that has fought many hard-won cases and continues to expand access to learning resources for children with special needs. Including her own. This range of combined experience and expertise in technology, accessibility and advocacy is what we use to deliver the high quality, human-curated news that Access Information News readers count on each week.
➜ History:
November 7, 2022
After reaching its character limit for international compliance, Top Tech Tidbits spins off its Access Information News section into its own newsletter, sent on a completely different date, in order to give readers time to consume all of the new access information now being provided each week. Press release here. Almost 9.5K readers now receive Access Information News as a separate newsletter every Monday morning at 6:00 AM ET.
January 2, 2023
The Access Ready Reporter Newsletter, formerly published by Access Ready, Inc., merges with the Access Information Newsletter. Press release here. Readership grows from 9.5K readers per week to 10.5K readers per week.
November 7, 2023: 1 Year Later
Update coming soon.
➜ Sponsorship Packages: Access Information News offers a limited number of Sponsorship Packages that are used to support the ongoing distribution of the publication.
➜ Donate: If you would like to assist with the ongoing distribution of the Access Information News publication, but are unable to become a Sponsor, we also accept donations. No amount is too small. Each donation provides you with a listing in the Access Information News Our Supporters section of both the website and newsletter. Show the world that you support weekly access news today.
➜ Self-Description: The Access Information News Publication regularly discusses concepts of disability and functional diversity, a collective term for people with a special need, disability, impairment or handicap. All of the people and companies featured in Access Information News have chosen how they wish to be described.
The Access Information News Team:
Distribution: Sponsors, Supporters and Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd.
Distribution Since: 2022
As of November 7, 2022 the distribution of Access Information News is made possible by our Sponsors, our Supporters and Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd., a leading international provider of professionally outsourced marketing administration and consultation services.
Any time the Access Information News Publication carries less than its Sponsor limit, Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd. donates the remaining dollars necessary to keep the publication running.
Please help us to support the ongoing distribution of this publication. Learn more today at: https://accessinformationnews.com/dearsponsor.
Publisher: Aaron Di Blasi (Volunteer)
Volunteer Publisher Since: November 7, 2022
Location: Mayfield Heights, Ohio
Time Zone: Eastern Standard Time (EST/EDT) (GMT-5/GMT-4)
In addition to serving as Publisher for Access Information News Aaron also serves as Publisher for the Top Tech Tidbits Publication and is also the President and Senior Project Management Professional for Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd.
As Publisher Aaron oversees the weekly distribution of Access Information News on behalf of Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd.
Aaron also serves as a Volunteer Editor to Access Information News.
Aaron Di Blasi, PMP
Email: publisher@accessinformationnews.com 📧️
Toll-Free: +1 (855) 578-6660 📱️
Publisher (2022-Present)
Access Information News 🌐
The Week's News in Access Information
Publisher (2020-Present)
Top Tech Tidbits 🌐
The Week's News in Access Technology
Sr. Project Management Professional (2006 - Present)
Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd. 🌐
Innovative ideas. Solutions that perform.
Certified:
Digital Marketing Associate
Meta Certified (2022 - Present)
Social Marketing Professional
Hootsuite Certified (2020 - Present)
Email Marketing Professional
Constant Contact Certified (2019 - Present)
Specializing in:
Digital Strategy and Content Marketing
Social Media Advertising
Online Fundraising
ADA, WCAG and Section 508 Compliance
Editorial Contributor: John Hanlin (Volunteer)
Volunteer Editor Since: November 7, 2022
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Time Zone: Mountain Standard Time (MST/MDT) (GMT-7/GMT-6)
In addition to serving as an Editor to Access Information News, John also serves as an Editor to the Top Tech Tidbits Publication and is also an attorney-at-law specializing in long-term disability claims for blind and visually impaired persons.
John is also a long-time contractor and member of the Board of Trustees at Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd.
John Hanlin, Esq.
Editorial Contributor (2022-Present)
Access Information News 🌐
The Week's News in Access Information
Editorial Contributor (2020-Present)
Top Tech Tidbits 🌐
The Week's News in Access Technology
Board of Trustees (2006 - Present)
Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd. 🌐
Innovative ideas. Solutions that perform.
Editorial Contributor: Jenna Lang (Volunteer)
Volunteer Editor Since: November 7, 2022
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Time Zone: Central Standard Time (CST/CDT) (GMT-6/GMT-5)
In addition to serving as an Editor to Access Information News, Jenna also serves as an Editor to the Top Tech Tidbits Publication and runs her own advocacy foundation.
Jenna also serves as a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) for Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd.
Jenna's son was born blind and she is always seeking new and innovative ways to empower him through technology.
Jenna Lang, PMP
Editorial Contributor (2022-Present)
Access Information News 🌐
The Week's News in Access Information
Editorial Contributor (2020-Present)
Top Tech Tidbits 🌐
The Week's News in Access Technology
Project Management Professional (2022 - Present)
Mind Vault Solutions, Ltd. 🌐
Innovative ideas. Solutions that perform.
Editorial Contributor: David Woodbridge (Volunteer)
Volunteer Editorial Contributor Since: February 6, 2023
Location: Central Coast, New South Wales, Australia
Time Zone: Australia Eastern Standard Time (AEST/AEDT) (GMT+10)
In addition to serving as an Editor to Access Information News, David also serves as an Editor to the Top Tech Tidbits Publication and is also the National Commercial Assistive Technology Advisor for Vision Australia where he has worked since 1990. Over this time he has assisted people who are blind or vision impaired in their home, education, and work settings to take advantage of the benefits of using assistive and main stream technology.
In the last seventeen years, he has also been involved with evaluating technology for use by people who are blind or vision impaired covering both low and high tech equipment (including Microsoft, Samsung, Google, Amazon, and Apple). David is also one of the key spokespersons for Vision Australia relating to technology.
He has been an Apple Ambassador for Apple Australia since 2009 with a group of other Ambassadors / Apple Distinguished Educators (ADE)'s covering the range of Apple's Accessibility solutions throughout Australia.
David produces a range of podcasts (since 2011) covering Apple and other technologies which are distributed on his own podcast (http://davidwoodbr.podbean.com). In addition, he also has a regular Talking Tech program (since 2013) which can be heard every Tuesday at 4:30 Eastern Summer Time on Vision Australia Radio Melbourne (available online) or via https://omny.fm/shows/talking-tech-vision-australia-radio
David also runs a weekly Tech Monday where people can chat about assistive and main stream technology, share information, and any tips and tricks.
David lost his sight when he was 8 years old and had to learn Braille. Since then, he completed high school, went to Sydney University receiving a Social Work degree, spent 4 years drug and alcohol counselling, and then moved into his current job.
As a person who is blind, David believes that as a user of the technology that he recommends to others, that he is well situated to look at the strengths and shortcomings of the assistive technology that he comes across in both his professional and personal life, in particular, mainstream technology that is accessible.
X (Formerly Twitter): @dwoodbridge
Mastodon: woody@dragonscave.space
iSee Podcast: https://davidwoodbr.podbean.com
Vision Australia Radio Talking Tech: https://omny.fm/shows/talking-tech-vision-australia-radio
In addition to his weekly contributions to Access Information News and Top Tech Tidbits, David's regularly occurring activities are his weekly tech radio show, bi-monthly exploring tech webinars for Vision Australia, his iSee podcast when something of note grabs his attention, and the weekly Tech Monday chat sessions.
David Woodbridge
Editorial Contributor (2023-Present)
Access Information News 🌐
The Week's News in Access Information
Editorial Contributor (2023-Present)
Top Tech Tidbits 🌐
The Week's News in Access Technology
National Commercial Assistive Technology Advisor
(1990 - Present)
Vision Australia 🌐
Live the life you choose. We're here to support all Australians who are blind or have low vision.
Editorial Contributor: Vicki Walton (Volunteer)
Volunteer Editorial Contributor Since: January 9, 2024
Location: Benton City, WA
Time Zone: Pacific Standard Time (PST/PDT) (GMT-6/GMT-7)
In addition to serving as an Editor to Access Information News and Top Tech Tidbits, Vicki works as a Web Accessibility Specialist / IT Quality Assurance Tester at Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges.
Vicki Walton
Editorial Contributor (2024-Present)
Access Information News 🌐
The Week's News in Access Information
Editorial Contributor (2024-Present)
Top Tech Tidbits 🌐
The Week's News in Access Technology
Web Accessibility Specialist / IT Quality Assurance Tester
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges 🌐
Better Jobs, Brighter Futures, a Stronger Washington
Schedule
➜ Access Information News is released every Monday morning at 6:00 AM ET. Sign up to receive it here.
Compliance
➜ The Access Information News subscriber database is managed using the Constant Contact Media Services Platform, ensuring 100% legal compliance worldwide, and providing each of our subscribers with the ability to opt out at any time.
Subscriber List Metrics:
➜ Accuracy: Please note that the metrics provided below reflect only those metrics that we are permitted to record under the CAN-SPAM Act (U.S.), The CASL Laws (Canada) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations of 2003 (UK). These numbers, therefore, will always be lower than their actual values.
➜ Last Updated: The metrics below are updated every 30 days on the 1st of each month.
➜ 16,000: Current number of opt-in subscribers to the Access Information Newsletter.
➜ 48.2%: Average Open Rate per newsletter over the last 12 months. This compares to a 16.22% Average Open Rate for the Overall Industry over the last 12 months and a 9.65% Average Open Rate for the Technology Industry over the last 12 months.
➜ 54.7%: Average Click Through Rate per newsletter over the last 12 months. This compares to a 7.17% Average Click Through Rate for the Overall Industry over the last 12 months and a 7.68% Average Click Through Rate for the Technology Industry over the last 12 months.
➜ 1.2%: Average Bounce Rate per newsletter over the last 12 months. This compares to a 7.75% Average Bounce Rate for the Overall Industry over the last 12 months and a 6.65% Average Bounce Rate for the Technology Industry over the last 12 months.
List Breakdown by Email Address Extension:
➜ 41%: Subscribers with a .COM email address extension.
(Approximately 4,920 Subscribers)
➜ 18.5%: Subscribers with a .NET email address extension.
(Approximately 2,220 Subscribers)
➜ 12.8%: Subscribers with a .EDU email address extension.
(Approximately 1,536 Subscribers)
➜ 12%: Subscribers with a .GOV email address extension.
(Approximately 1,440 Subscribers)
➜ 10.6%: Subscribers with a .ORG email address extension.
(Approximately 1,272 Subscribers)
➜ 3.6%: Subscribers with a .US email address extension.
(Approximately 432 Subscribers)
➜ 1.5%: All remaining subscriber email address extensions.
(Approximately 180 Subscribers)
Subscriber Location Data:
Based on an aggregate of locational data taken from the Access Information Newsletter and Website over the last 3 months below are the locations from which Access Information News readers read Access Information News each week:
Country | Subscriber Percentage | Subscriber Number
United States of America | 48.8% | 5,026
United Kingdom | 12.6% | 1297
Canada | 7.7% | 793
Russia | 5.2% | 535
India | 4.6% | 473
Finland | 3.4% | 350
Australia | 3.3% | 339
Brazil | 3.2% | 329
Other | 3.1% | 319
France | 2.6% | 267
Argentina | 2.2% | 226
Paraguay | 1.2% | 123
Phillipines | 1.1% | 113
New Zealand | 0.96% | 98
Subscribe:
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Information provided by Access Information News, the world's #1 online resource for current news and trends in access information. Learn more today at: https://accessinformationnews.com.