Hello Steemit!

Hello everyone! I found out about Steemit from @Riverhead. My brother invited me to dinner with him, and he opened my mind to the potential of this amazing platform and of crypto currency in general.

I became blind at birth, and started programming at age seven on an Apple II/e. Since then I've used all major operating systems. I have become one of the world's first blind iOS developers, and will shortly have my first app in the app store. I live in Philadelphia. I have spoken at local and international conferences about accessibility and its potential to help people with disabilities. I cofounded Philly Touch Tours, a business which provides tours of museums and other cultural institutions, as well as sensitivity training. Most recently I've really gotten back to my roots and want to fully explore the potential of open source software.

I'll have more to write soon, including some notes on Steemit.com's accessibility. I must say that I have great difficulty using the site with a screen reader. Briefly:

  • I can't follow or mute because the buttons don't act like buttons (either use standard HTML or ARIA).
  • The navigation menu could use a little work.
  • Screen updates need better handling.

We can address all of these things. This platform could really make a difference.

I'd like to learn of alternative interfaces. The other night I learned of a command line client but forget the name. An Emacs package would rock the house. Anything for Linux would prove useful at this point.

Thanks for reading, and sorry if I can't follow you...yet! Check out my web site or follow me on Twitter.

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Thanks for the actionable accessibility advice! I will see to it these issues are addressed ASAP.

Welcome to Steemit!

Wonderful! It feels encouraging to get a warm welcome. It'll make the platform so much easier to use, and then I can start promoting it in the blind community. And trust me, they will go bananas for this.

amazing story, programming blind sounds impossible, very impressive

Thanks @alphacore, I've done it for so long that it flows like a spoken language. And luckily, a lot of programmers still prefer the command line and an editor instead of a complex fancy development environment. I use Emacs, which bridges the gap.

Hi and Welcome @austinseraphin! Very impressive what you have achieved :) Following you now, would love to see what you can apport to the platform.
By the way, 2 other alternative platforms for Steemit are busy.org and https://beta.chainbb.com/. Busy.org have like a Facebook style and more possibilities than steemit.com and ChainBB i a forum style view of Steemit. Hope this is useful for you.
Cheers and Steem-On!

Welcome to Steemit @austinseraphin :)

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A big warm Steemit welcome goes out to you Austin! :-D

Upvoted and High Pawed.

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Flatrider

Hi Austin,

It's great to have you on Steemit!

Nice to meet you!

Hi I am new here as well. I'm going to be brightening up people's feeds with funny photoshopped faces!
Please follow me to see more of my work and I'll follow you back...

You should make funny text descriptions to keep them accessible!

You have an amazing backstory! Hopefully Steemit will work on making the program more accessible to all of its users. Best of Luck to you

Thanks! They will. Check my second post for more specifics!

Hello there @austinseraphin and welcome to Steemit! I just upvoted you!! I hope you enjoy your time here and make lots of $$$. If you're interested in lotteries, please check my profile out @steemitlotteries. I run FULLY TRANSPARENT LOTTERIES with promotional posts where I issue FREE TICKETS for those who help me curate my promotions. All the best! :)