Now that we have a greater understanding of what social networks are and how they are accessed by desktop computer users who are visually impaired, it's time to get on with the business of exploring a platform on which social networks truly shine. When social networks came into existence several years ago, iOS and Android handsets and tablets as we know them today were virtually non-existent. While smartphones were prevalent, these devices lacked the hardware horsepower as well as the robust operating systems to support the expanding functionality of these virtual communities. What a difference a few years make.
Today's handheld alternatives dwarf their predecessors with smaller hardware alternatives that rival the speed and efficiency possessed by most desktop computers. Both the iOS and Android operating systems provide constantly evolving software platforms for developers to create portable alternatives for interacting with cloud-based social networks.
This article focuses on using iOS devices, but that is not to suggest that the three major social networks discussed in this series of articles can't be made accessible to Android users. Apple has had a few extra years to cultivate its access to its iOS devices, which makes them excellent vehicles for providing universal access to the cloud. This article assumes that the reader is well-versed in accessing these portable touchscreen devices while using their preferred operating system along with its corresponding screenreading and screen enlargement utilities. Previous issues of AccessWorld are rich with content relating to accessing both iOS and Android devices.
Cost and Battery Life
Connecting to the cloud via a portable device can have a profound effect on your monthly phone bill if you exceed the download limits associated with your cell phone plan. Make sure to purchase a service with adequate monthly downloading/data privileges if you plan to use your phone to regularly interact with social networks.
Keep in mind that wireless and cellular connectivity can have an impact on your device's battery. Manufacturers make a variety of solutions, such as secondary batteries and alternative charging devices that are lifesavers for hardcore portable social networkers.
Components of Portable Social Networking
There are four primary components to social networking on portable devices that require a bit of explanation: connectivity, social networking apps, location services, and integrated multi-media.
Connectivity: Wireless or Cellular
First and foremost, it's important to understand the differences between connection methods on a handheld device. Portable handheld devices provide their users with two ways to connect to the cloud: traditional wireless networks and cellular networks. Each method has its advantages. Connecting to a wireless network is fast and secure, but the device must be in range of a wireless network in order to access it. Connectivity to a cellular network is more readily available, but cellular is not quite as fast as wireless. Connectivity speeds of cellular services have vastly improved over the past few years, and this market-driven trend is expected to continue.
Social Networking Apps
Once you've connected to a gateway to the cloud, you'll need to install a social networking app. Accessing social networks on a desktop or laptop computer usually relies on a web browser. Developers have created apps designed to maximize the hardware of portable devices, making interacting with social networks faster and easier. The three social networks described in the previous article have corresponding apps for smartphones and tablets. Search for and install these apps via your device's app store. These apps maintain all of the ingredients of your social networks discussed in the prior article but present this information quite differently than a desktop web browser. We'll discuss these differences later on in this article.
Location Services
A third component to social networking is location service. This feature can be enabled or disabled within your device's settings options. When you enable location services for a social network, that network can automatically ascertain your current location. Information about your surroundings can be gleaned and presented to you while you're on the go. You can "check in" to various locations within your immediate vicinity, and the network can notify those in your network of your whereabouts. You may receive notifications from your social network about a friend being close by to you if the friend allowed this information to be public. Your social network may make suggestions to various pages of interests and base advertisements on your location. While this may feel like a slight invasion to your privacy, enabling location services gives you access to more functionality.
Multimedia
A final component to social networks is the integrated multimedia capabilities possessed by these portable devices. Most handsets and tablets have built-in cameras and audio recording capabilities. This means that, if you so desire, you may take a photo or a video and share the results with a social network. Desktop computers rely on receiving these media files from peripherals, such as a camera or media storage device like a memory card. Having this multimedia functionality built directly into your portable device alleviates a step in the sharing process and provides a much more instantaneous experience.
Push Notifications
Once you have installed the app or apps for the social networks you'd like to use on your portable devices, you will need to log in using your user name and password. Once you've logged in, you'll be asked by the social network to allow push notifications to your device. A push notification will notify you of activity within a social network even when you do not have the app open. An alert will appear on the screen and you'll have a short amount of time to double tap the notification and review or respond to it. Push notifications may include but are not limited to the following types of information when used with LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter:
- Someone wishing to connect with you.
- Someone mentioning you in a tweet or post.
- A response to your post, tweet, or status update.
- A direct e-mail message to you through the social network.
- Someone sharing your update or tweet with their network.
Push notifications can be disabled, and notifications for each social network can be individually disabled and re-enabled. Keep in mind that there are often sounds associated with these notifications, so if you have this option enabled on your cellular phone, be mindful of these noises if you're in an important meeting and have a rather active social network! Lastly, the social network will have a number displayed adjacent to the network on your screen that your screenreader will read when it speaks the name of the social network prior to you opening it. This number is the number of notifications that you have not yet reviewed since your last visit to this online community.
Checking In
A fun little feature that Facebook offers is the ability to check in to a given physical location. This is a particularly flexible, engaging feature when using your mobile device. Simply select the "Check In" option from the main screen of your Facebook app, and Facebook gives you the option to search for locations within your immediate vicinity. If your current location (your house, favorite bench at the park, or most used bus shelter, etc.) isn't listed, you may label it. When you select your desired location, you are presented with an edit field to make a statement about or write a comment concerning your activity at this location. You may also tag other Facebook friends, which associates them with your post. When you check in, everyone on your Friends list is able to see where you are or have been. If you are checked in at a location near another Facebook friend who is checked in at a nearby location, this individual might receive a push notification that you are nearby. You're not going to net any jobs or win any scholarships using this feature of social networking, but it's a neat way to have some fun and allow others to virtually follow your adventures!
Integration with Other Mobile Apps
Social networking apps are able to integrate with other apps on your portable device, particularly your contacts and calendar apps. Facebook can be set to integrate itself into your existing Contacts list should you wish to e-mail or call any of your Facebook friends using your phone. Secondly, when you either create or join a Facebook event on your desktop computer or mobile device, you may allow these events to be placed on your portable device's calendar, which is yet another way for you to keep organized.
Free Updates
Free updates can be a double-edged sword! Developers are constantly making adjustments and improvements to their apps. Updates are free and fairly straightforward to install. I recently installed a LinkedIn update for the iPad. For some reason, this update disabled many of the common VoiceOver gestures and corresponding braille display equivalents. Before installing a new update, it's always advisable to research various user groups and forums to learn about the experiences of those fearless souls who immediately install an update with little regard for their own social networking well-being so that we all might benefit from their findings. Once access bugs are reported to the manufacturer, screenreading fixes are generally on the horizon in subsequent updates. More often than not, the updates do not break screenreading and screen enlargement functionality.
Portable Social Network Layout
Social networking apps adopt a layout that takes advantage of a series of buttons that refresh and change the layout of the screen. For most activities, this layout favors the visually impaired social networker because the touchscreen on a tablet or phone is not cluttered with all the busy headings, frames, and landmarks present within a standard web page. Let's take a panoramic overview of the layouts of each of these three social networks from the perspective of the iPhone.
After you've logged into LinkedIn and decided whether you wish to enable push notifications, you are presented with a series of buttons. The first button is the "Menu Drawer" button. When this button is activated, you may quickly navigate to your messages, notifications, LinkedIn settings, updates from other LinkedIn users to whom you are connected, people you may know, and jobs that are suited for your LinkedIn Profile. If you decide not to activate the "Menu Drawer" button, you may read and comment on stories that LinkedIn suggests to you based on your interests and industry expertise.
After logging onto Facebook you are presented with your friends' status updates. The app also presents a series of buttons, the first being the "Main Menu" which allows you to review new friend requests, your groups, your pages, and what places are nearby. You may also select "Apps" to enter a screen where you may install the Facebook Messenger app, which offers a very accessible means of sending messages to mobile devices in real-time with other Facebook friends. From this main screen, you may also view pending friend requests, messages from friends, and notifications as well as send new messages to Facebook friends, update your status, and "check in" to a nearby location. If you've activated any of these options and wish to return to your previous screen, simply activate the "Back" button to move out of that particular option.
The Twitter app has four tabs along the bottom of the screen. Regardless of which screen is activated, you will always have access to the "Search" button and the "New Tweet" button. The first screen, displayed by default, is your home screen, showing recent tweets from everyone you are following. The Connect tab shows who is following you, who you are following, and who has re-tweeted your tweets. The Discover tab suggests individuals or organizations on Twitter you may wish to follow. Finally, the Me tab allows you to review, edit, or delete your tweets as well as change your Twitter Settings.
Protecting Your Privacy
While drafting this article, a reader wrote a message to AccessWorld asking that we address the issue of privacy for social networking. At the risk of stating the obvious, social networking is a very public affair. If you are a private person, keep in mind that anything that you post or share is out there somewhere floating within the cloud. Having said that, each of these three social networks have privacy settings that enable you to customize who sees your posts or tweets. You are also able to block unwanted requests from acquaintances who wish to connect with or follow you. You are able to set whether or not you wish to be tagged in posts or check-ins as well as whether or not individuals may view your date of birth, text message you, or call you based on information present in your profile. By default, once you have logged into these apps, you stay logged in until you either log out, switch accounts, or delete the account or app from your device. It's an exciting world, but it's not without serious risks should you lose your device.
Conclusions about Social Networking
To be sure, social networking for the vision impaired is not without its hiccups, but the benefits definitely outweigh the headaches. As far as browsing, reviewing, and sharing information with others, using desktop computers in conjunction with social networks truly promotes the free exchange of information between social networkers who are sighted and visually impaired, which further lends itself to greater equal opportunity within the classroom, workplace, and throughout our communities. Also, document management, such as sharing PDFs or posting a resume using Microsoft Word to create it are exercises that are most optimal when using a desktop computer with Microsoft Office and/or Adobe software.
With the advancements made on the mobile products front with regard to touchscreen access, this equality has been ported to devices that keep us in touch and connected in real-time. It's much easier to record a video using your device's integrated video camera, upload it to YouTube, and share it via YouTube to your contacts in your preferred social network. The process of taking a picture and tweeting it or sharing it with a Facebook contact is so much more intuitive using a mobile phone than the tedious process of pulling a photo off of a media device on your desktop computer and posting it to a specific location using your web browser.
When the community of the visually impaired can fully embrace these changes and use this technology to our benefit, we will realize what a powerful, inclusive tool social networking truly is. As you incorporate the use of social networks into your technology journey, you'll begin to know when to use which tools when faced with specific situations and circumstances. I invite those of you who are not yet a part of this evolving process to engage with the ever-growing sphere of social media.
