Visually impaired

How I’ve Made Pinterest Work for Me

July 15, 2019

Last year, I wrote a post about all the reasons I didn’t use Pinterest. As I said in that post, I wanted to use it. I knew that Pinterest drives traffic to blogs. I knew that there were Pinterest users that would be interested in the topics that I write about. Topics related to motherhood and activities for kids are huge on Pinterest. Unfortunately, for me, there were a lot of barriers. When I tried to use Pinterest, I became very discouraged and didn’t know if I’d ever be able to use it properly. If you’ve been reading my blog at all this year, you’ll have noticed the pins on the newer posts and I’ve gone back and updated some older posts as well. I’m happy to say that I am now able to use Pinterest, but it took lots of learning and researching, trial and error and waiting for features to become accessible. Now I will explain how I’ve made Pinterest work for me as a visually impaired blogger. Plus, I’ll give you some Pinterest tips for beginners.

Pinterest Strategies

One of the things that put me off about Pinterest was that I had no idea how to use it. At first, I was just pinning my blog posts and other things at random. I wasn’t sure how many boards to have, how to organize them, when to schedule pins, how often to repin the same items etc. There is a lot that goes into pinning and promoting your posts. That’s why this free Pinterest Course for New Bloggers is so valuable. This is a free E-mail course that gives you step by step instructions on how to set up your Pinterest profile, set up your boards, find appropriate keywords for Pinterest SEO, create pins that convert and more. It’s free, so it’s definitely worth checking out and it’s a great starting point. Especially if you are new to Pinterest! One lesson from the course focuses on Pinterest group boards which are important for your blog content reaching a wider audience. If you’re not sure how to find or collaborate on Pinterest group boards, Marina from Tinylovebug has you covered. Check out her post, Everything You Need to Know About Pinterest Group Boards.

Equal Access on Pinterest

While I was researching and learning about Pinterest strategies, I was waiting for Pinterest to become accessible. If you’ve read some of my previous blog posts, you might know that I’m visually impaired. I use a screen reader to access everything on the web and sometimes, websites or apps are broken. Meaning, they do not function well or at all with a screen reader. I happen to use Voiceover which is built into all Apple products, but there are other Windows based screen readers as well. Some common accessibility problems with websites or apps may be that buttons or links are not labeled, buttons or links are not clickable or in some cases, websites or apps may be completely image based which means the screen reader cannot read the text or any of the features that may be clickable. Even though a link may be labeled visually for you with some text or an image, the screen reader may just say the word link or it may be a string of letters and numbers that don’t tell us what the link leads to. There are lots of accessibility bugs that we may face on a daily basis which I won’t get into here, but unfortunately, Pinterest has many.

Last year, Pinterest was almost completely inaccessible to me. I was able to create an account, but that was about it. I couldn’t read pin descriptions, the blog posts after clicking through a pin, the notifications tab, anything in the following tab and so much more. There was a huge laundry list of features I couldn’t access. When I asked other visually impaired bloggers about this problem, they just told me not to bother with Pinterest since it is so visual anyway, but that answer wasn’t good enough for me. Pinterest is the largest source of traffic for blogs these days. Why shouldn’t I be able to participate in that? It frustrated me, but I waited. Every now and then, I’d try again. One day, it worked!

I found that I was able to upload my pins, read the pin descriptions and blog posts of others, save and send pins, collaborate on group boards and access most of the profile settings. In the beginning, I could barely do any of that, but Pinterest still has a ways to go. There are still a lot of bugs. I can’t read my messages, so what I do is take a screen shot and then export that photo to an app that can read text from photos. I still can’t read anything in the notifications tab unless I’m in Safari. When I add hashtags, a menu pops up with other hashtags that I can’t read. I can’t read or respond to comments on my pins. The scheduling feature on the Pinterest app is completely inaccessible with Voiceover. Today, I discovered that I could finally read most of the items in the following tab. If a pin doesn’t have a text title, I can’t read it. In order for me to read an image, I have to zoom in and make it bigger and even then in a lot of cases I have difficulty. I’m happy that Pinterest is becoming more accessible over time, but I worry that coding will be updated and those features will be broken again. Is the frustration worth it? Right now, I’m thinking yes because it has brought more traffic to my blog, but time will tell.

Trial and Error

Speaking of frustrations, there are the graphics. That’s another interesting part of this blogging journey for me. I have done lots of trial and error to figure out a way to create pins. I know Pinterest is about eye catching images that draw the reader in. You have to think about the colors, the layout, the font etc. This is not easy for me since I have trouble telling most colors apart and see better with a sharp contrast. I don’t know much about fonts, so I stick to the basics.

The first thing I do is search the stock photo sites for relevant photos. If I find a large enough vertical image that either has copy space or a workable place for text, I export that photo to the Phonto app. It’s a simple image editor. I’ll mention that it’s really not that accessible, but it was simple enough to figure out. My only complaint is that I wish the text color options were labeled. After messing with the text, background colors, fonts and sizes, the image is ready for pinning. Let’s go back to square one for a minute. If I don’t find a large enough vertical image that is related to my blog post, I use an app called MA Long Image. This way, I can make a photo collage with two or more images. After I have my photo collage, I upload that to Phonto and repeat the process. Most people use Canva to create their pins, but I tried Canva and it doesn’t work for me. Most of its features are not labeled or accessible. I’m just glad to have found something that works even though it may be limited.

I’m not writing this post to complain, but I want to raise awareness of accessibility issues. I’m also the kind of person who pushes the boundaries of what can be done. People might ask why I care about Pinterest since it is so visual. As I previously mentioned, Pinterest is a great source of blog traffic, but it’s also a search engine. Many of my coworkers use Pinterest for lesson planning. The activities you can find for kids is endless. Why shouldn’t I have access to that information? While Pinterest is meant to be a very visual platform, most of the links lead to blog posts with text, so there is no reason why that shouldn’t be accessible. Pinterest is more than pretty images. It’s a great marketing tool, not only for promoting blogs, but for selling goods and services as well. I also want my readers to understand how I create my content and the work that goes into it.

Pinterest Tips

I’ll leave you with a few quick Pinterest tips I’ve learned so far.

1. Create at least two or three pinnable graphics for each blog post. This way you can pin the same post to a board more than once, but be sure not to schedule those pins too close together.

2. Speaking of scheduling, find a way to keep track of your pinning schedule. Many people use Tailwind, but that is even less accessible than Pinterest, so I don’t use it. Some people use an Excel spread sheet or word document. This way they can follow which pins were posted to which boards. This will avoid multiple pinning too close together. You don’t want to look spammy.

3. If you can, try to get premium stock images for pins if you can’t take your own. This can effect how well your pin does on Pinterest. If many people are using the same free images, Pinterest picks up on that. If those same free images are used for different pins in totally different categories, it can cause those pins not to perform as well. I happened to see this tip last week.

4. Use Pinterest SEO. Search for keywords before creating your pin description and hashtags. Find out what’s popular related to the topic you are posting about.

5. Don’t be afraid to try different things to see what your audience responds to. Whether it be a different pin layout, color scheme, different types of headlines etc. It may take a while for a pin to get traction, so don’t be discouraged if your pin isn’t a hit in the beginning.
6. Don’t forget to spread the love and pin plenty of other content from other bloggers. It will help you connect and reach a larger audience.
Do you want to learn more about how Pinterest works? Check out this list of 9 Pinterest myths.

As always, thank you for reading. Do you have any great Pinterest tips? Feel free to share them in the comments.

4 Comments

Awareness, Parenting, Self acceptance,

The Same, But Different

March 12, 2019

There are a lot of misconceptions out there and sometimes I get questions about how I do things as a visually impaired parent. I don’t think my life is out of the ordinary, but sometimes I might have to take an extra step or think outside the box to get things done. When the idea to do this post popped into my head, I thought of a couple things immediately, but for others, I really had to think about. Here are five things I do differently as a visually impaired mom.

Reading

This is a big one because it not only involves reading stories to Rosebud, but I have to find alternative ways to read just about everything. Luckily, there have been so many amazing advances in technology since I was a kid and it has opened up the world to me, but generally, I just can’t pick up something and read it. There are several ways I read books to Rosebud. I have the regular books with Braille labels on them. The great thing about these books is that I can read them, but so can anyone else. They have the print as well as the pictures. I’ve found that this is the best way for me to read to her. That being said, the selection of books is somewhat limited and can get expensive. A great selection can be found here at BRL.

I find a lot of great books being read aloud on Youtube. I know it’s not the same as having the paper book, but it’s another way Rosebud can have access to books. There are a few books that we have the print copies of that she can follow along with them being read aloud. Here are a few of her favorites.

If You Give a Mouse a Brownie

The Very Busy Spider

Sneezy the Snowman

Big Pumpkin

Recently, I was told of a program in my area called Books on Wheels. Volunteers from the local library have started bringing children’s books to me twice per month. Although I can’t read these books to Rosebud, we can look at them and other family members can read them to her. I don’t want her to get bored with the books we have and this is another great way for her to get access to a huge variety of books. As she gets older, I plan on introducing her to audio books as well. She loves books and I want her to keep enjoying books throughout her life.

Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks

Safety Rules

Since I can’t always see exactly what Rosebud is doing, I take safety very seriously. This is especially the case if we are in public, outside in a play area or walking down the street. If we are walking down the street or walking through a public place, she has to hold my hand with very few exceptions. As she gets older, I’ll give her a little more space, but for now, she has to hold my hand. That way I always know where she is. Sometimes she fights me on this, but it’s for her safety and my peace of mind. If we are out at the playground, she cannot run out of the play space. If she does, I give her one warning and if she doesn’t listen, we immediately go back home. I’ve had to do this a couple of times. It may sound mean, but I don’t want to have to chase her down in places I’m unfamiliar with and what if something happened before I got to her? I’d rather be safe than sorry. As she gets older, she will understand why I have that rule in place, but for now, she probably just thinks I’m a mean mom for five minutes. As she understands more and is able to explain where she wants to go, I’ll probably relax somewhat, but I think I’ll always worry a little extra.

Nursing

You’re probably wondering, what’s so different about that? Well, nothing really. I’ve heard a lot of people say that breast-feeding is such a visual thing and it probably is, but it didn’t work that way for me. Some of the hospital staff were concerned about my ability to breast-feed and at first, I had trouble getting her to latch. Partly because we were both new at it and because I was convinced that it was a visual thing so I wouldn’t be able to do it by feel. Of course, the visual aspect wasn’t working for me, so naturally I had to feel to help her latch. When I let go of the idea that I was doing it wrong, it worked much better. We found a way to make it work for us. As I thought about it more, I wondered how do moms get babies latched by sight in the middle of the night anyway? Do they turn a light on? I doubted it. Who wants to do that when you can role over and get back to sleep.

Measuring

One question I’ve heard before and even wondered myself before I became a parent was, how would I give my child medicine? I have different techniques for measuring medicine. Whether it is for a syringe or cup, I have either the pharmacist or someone else mark the dosage with a black line. I have to keep an eye on this as the line fades after several washings. One way I’ve found that keeps the mark there is to put clear tape over the black line. The little medicine cups work the same way. For those who can’t see at all, they use a tactile marker. I’ve heard of people using puff paints or making an indentation with a knife. Also, here is the thermometer I use.

Since Rosebud was having such trouble with getting enough milk before leaving the hospital, I had to start supplementing with formula. This was not a road I wanted to go down because I did not want to have to worry about measuring the exact amounts of liquid and powder. I didn’t want to be downstairs in the middle of the night making bottles, but for the first couple months of Rosebud’s life, that’s where I was. When I left the hospital, they sent me home with the pre-made 2oz containers of ready made formula. Those were expensive to buy so I bought a larger container of the powder. I’d measure out the water using a 2oz container and then add the scoops of powder. I was lucky I didn’t have to stick with measuring out formula, but I had figured it out and it was definitely an option when I needed it.

Identifying Colors

I have difficulty seeing color so sometimes I use an app called Seeing AI to identify colors. I use it a lot when I’m trying to match Rosebud’s socks. I try to get socks that are all white or that have distinctive patterns that I can easily match. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way so the color identifier comes to my rescue. For the rest of her clothes, I usually memorize or can see the colors, but occasionally if it’s a new outfit, I’ll use the app to tell me the colors. I worried about how I would teach her colors, but she already knows most of them. I’d point out colors of the items I knew, some of the tv shows she watches teach colors and other people would point out colors as well, so I really didn’t need to worry.

I also use apps on my phone to identify items. This was especially helpful with reading baby food jars since the labels are relatively small. I wished I would’ve had these apps when working in the infant room. I’ve also tried to use the app when reading books to Rosebud, but it’s too hard to try to read and repeat anything other than simple board books. Anyway, the app also comes in handy for reading mail, the directions on food packaging and for reading the error notices on my tv or computer screen.

As a parent with a visual impairment, I do the same parenting tasks that other parents do, but sometimes I have to do them in a different way. I think that some people equate doing something differently with inability, but that’s not the case. If we all did everything the same, no one would ever come up with anything new and then how boring would the world be? Where would our world be without any outside the box thinking? Maybe my parenting journey looks a little different than yours, but my end goal is the same. We all want to raise healthy, happy well adjusted children.

2 Comments

Awareness, Self acceptance,

Donations Unwanted

April 22, 2018

It was late in the afternoon. You know, the time of day you start to fall asleep, but if you’re lucky, you get a second wind. If you’re not lucky, you can always get some coffee and hope for the best. So my ex and I decided to walk to Dunkin’ Donuts for ice coffee and a donut as we often did. Everything went as planned. The walk was nice, the traffic wasn’t too crazy and we had ordered our donuts and coffee.

As we walk out of the store, this older man stops us and thrusts a 1 dollar bill in my hand. I had never had this experience so I ask the guy what it was for. He says, “it’s for you.” I said no thank you. I don’t need any money. Keep it.” I said all of this in a nice way. He kept insisting and I kept saying no thank you. After a couple go arounds, I kept the money because he wouldn’t take it back and I didn’t want to cause a scene. I might have given it to someone else to pay it forward, but I was basically out the door.

I felt stunned and didn’t understand why someone would want to give me money like that. I didn’t look like I needed it. I was dressed in nice clothes, I clearly had purchased my food already and I certainly wasn’t looking for a hand out. If you give money to someone who obviously needs and is asking for it, that is your choice and there are different expectations around that, but you don’t go throw money at people just because you pity them. Some people say to just feel grateful because the guy was doing something nice. That’s all well and good, but when someone gives charity out of pity, it’s demeaning.

If the guy was ahead of me in line and paid for my coffee, I would consider that kind because lots of people do that as a way of paying it forward. I have been the recipient of that and have done that for others. It’s not based on pity or obligation. If this man wanted to do something charitable, there are millions of organizations he could donate to. There are tons of places doing research that he could contribute to if he wanted something related to disabilities.

Oh, another thing, what could I get with a dollar now days? You can’t even get a pack of gum or a candy bar for a dollar. If the candy bar is 99 scents, the tax puts it over a dollar so I guess I’d be out of luck. All joking aside, I work, pay my own bills and donate to organizations when I feel the cause is worthy. The sad part is I shouldn’t have to be telling people this. When I come across someone on the street, I don’t automatically assume that they don’t work or that they have a horrible life.

When I was a child, there used to be a blind man that sat in front of the grocery store usually with his accordion. Of course he had a tin cup sitting there for people to put money in. Whenever I’d walk by I’d be embarrassed for him. Everyone knew about this guy and occasionally people would mention him to me. I’d ask myself why he was sitting there basically begging and why he couldn’t get a regular job. I never liked that he was there because if people saw me with my visual impairment, they’d assume I was like him. Eventually he started appearing less and less, but perhaps that older man in Dunkin’ Donuts had that image in mind. The image of someone in need and not capable. I find that some of these assumptions are long-lasting and extremely hard to change even when there is plenty of evidence to the contrary.

I am generally kind to others and am grateful when people are kind in return. I appreciate gifts from those who know me, Curiosity that comes from genuine interest and I will accept help when it is given with kindness and understanding, but I am not and never will be comfortable accepting charity out of pity. I am a person who believes in hard work and caring for myself and others. I am a person not a charitable cause.

0 comments