Instagram Accessible To The Blind

A YouTube video has shown how a blind man can enjoy using Instagram to take photos, edit them, caption, and share the results.

Tommy Edison is blind but has been using the photo sharing app to capture images. Although he cannot see what they look like, he gets plenty of interesting comments on what he’s posted and how they look.

With the help of the “accessibility” feature on the iPhone, Edison can make Siri read out to him every button that he touches. The app itself, filters to select, and where to share the photo are all read aloud amongst other things.

The pictures can then be captioned by using speech recognition to complete the process. Instagram app availability for the visually impaired is just one example of how social media is expanding to be accessible for everyone.

Tommy Edison also has a YouTube channel where he discusses “the fun parts of being blind” as well as performing other general day to day actions.

This is one of many apps that are accessible to blind people with one app using data from Foursquare to help those who are visually impaired the find their way around the streets.

Tommy Edison’s Instagram profile can be found at blindfilmcritic.



What do you think of apps and social media being accessible for the visually impaired?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below

Facebook Adds Voice Messaging to Its Messenger App

Facebook added the ability to send voice messages to its Messenger app for iOS and Android Thursday.
To send a voice message, tap the + button beside where you traditionally type a message in the Messenger app. Then select Record, holding the button down to speak. When you release the Record button, your voice message will be sent to your recipient.

Along with today's update, Facebook has also started testing VoIP functionality in Canada. iPhone users in the country can try the feature by tapping the "I" button in the top right corner of a conversation with a person they would like to call, and then tapping Free Call.

Important to note: While free to use, these VoIP calls will use your existing data plan, which could get pricey if you use the feature often.
Messenger is one of several stand-alone apps developed by Facebook. The company often uses the apps to test new features with power users before deciding which features to include in the traditional Facebook app for the social network's general audience.

Late last month Facebook released a new stand-alone app called Poke, which allows users to send short photo, text, or video messages to Facebook friends. Messages sent via Poke expire after a certain period of time (one to 10 seconds).

Will you use Messenger for voice messaging with friends? Let us know in the comments what you think about the new feature.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, akinbostanci

Foursquare Updates Privacy And Makes Service Changes

Foursquare has sent an email to all users that describes updates and changes to its privacy policy and overall service that will happen later this month.

At the moment, usernames on profiles are shown with a first name and just the first initial of a surname (e.g. Daniel B.). But towards the end of January, the location-based social platform will show full first and last names.

The email said that users can edit their names by changing it under the “settings” tab. “We get emails every day saying that it’s confusing. So, with this change, full names are going to be public.”

Companies and business will now also be able to see more thorough details of those who have checked in throughout each day.

These companies can currently only see those who have checked-in during the previous three hours. The update will allow them to see statistics for check-ins that happen throughout the whole day.

Foursquare have also released a “Privacy 101” document that shows the social networks privacy policies in “an easy-to-read way” with businesses hoping to make privacy policies easier to understand.
 
The changes and updates are planned to go ahead on January 28th 2013.

What do you think about the updates to Foursquare?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below