Blog |
It's Friday!!!
Time for a little fun!
And we can do so much more.....
Have a great weekend!
0 Comments
Yeah, I know I sound like Sheldon Cooper from "The Big Bang Theory", but seriously how many times those of us with handicap parking placards try and find a parking spot and find some idiot in it instead?
The excuses these people give:
Copied from Viral News Gossip Site
One large misconception is that people seem to think that because there is a picture of a person in a wheelchair on the sign, if you're not in a wheelchair you're not entitled to park there.
C'mon folks there are a multitude of reasons those that seem to be able to walk need a placard too. Some are:
Now for those of us who do have a legit parking placard, what can we do when we see people parking in our spot? One way is to use an iOS app called Parking Mobility - Report disabled parking abuse to your city in less than two minutes. When you see a vehicle parked illegally, simply launch Parking Mobility, take 3 photos and submit. We tell the city and they ticket the vehicle’s owner. If your city isn't located in the app above, or you don't want the app, the way to report illegal parking is:
Let's make it easy on everyone and park where you're supposed to! Tell me your parking stories!
For many people when they hear the word "Deafblind" they automatically picture Helen Keller - completely deaf and completely blind.
I'll let you in on a BIG fact - it's a SPECTRUM y'all! What is a Spectrum?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Spectrum as:
"Used to classify something, or suggest that it can be classified, in terms of its position on a scale between two extreme or opposite points." The Deafblind Spectrum
In the case of Deafblindness, the two opposite points are:
Completely Deaf (no sound registers) --- Hard of Hearing (mild hearing loss)
and Completely Blind (no light registers) --- mild vision loss
So,, if you meet someone who labels themselves as Deafblind (like me) it could mean a whole world of things....
Keep in mind there are spectrum ranges within Deafness and Blindness alone too. It's all individual too, 2 people with the same hearing or vision loss will be able to use it in different ways. For example, 2 people both have the same level of severe hearing loss - one can still comprehend speech with hearing aids or a C.I. while the other can barely identify sounds. What causes Deafblindness?
There's a wide variety of causes of Deafblindness, either caused at birth or during some time in their life.
Some simple causes are:
Why is Deafblindness Different?
You may now see it as "Deaf + Blind" when in reality it is "Deaf x Blind".
Here's what I mean:
Now think about it...how much of the environment around us everyday is solely tactile? Not much eh? People who can see and hear often take for granted the information that those senses provide. Events such as the approach of another person, an upcoming meal, the decision to go out, a change in routine are all signaled by sights and sounds that allow a person to prepare for them. A deafblind person will miss these cues because of limited sight and/or hearing and either need someone or technology to compensate. Now, now..... don't start the pity party! Many people with deafblindness can and do lead fulfilling lives with relationships, jobs, families, hobbies, adventures and everything else! Sure we need a few adaptations but Pffft! I've listed some successful Deafblind people in a previous post, but here are some Deafblind folks leading ordinary lives:
This is in BSL (British Sign Language) but you can see the various communication styles and activities.
Now you have a small example about Deafblindness. We can and do everything we'd like to do and find ways to do it.
Some of us talk, some don't. Some get around fine, others prefer a sighted guide, white cane, or guide dog. Some know sign and use it exclusively, some don't sign at all. Some have a positive outlook on life, some don't and want pity and attention. We. Are. Just. Like. Everyone. Else. We just do things a bit diffferently, or take longer to do. That's all. Take me for example, I'm a mom of a teenager and a college student (oh Lordy), I work from home as a freelance writer and ASL tutor, I travel, I watch movies, I listen to music (all the time). The only things I "don't" do is drive or talk on the phone. If you want to know more about deafblindness, drop me a comment and I'll be glad to help!
No, not you political reporters - go back to your petty squabbles.
I'm talking about those reporters who write about people with disabilities. Yeah I called you dumb and ignorant. Hurts don't it? Then maybe you should stop using such bullshit terms when writing about us, hmm? The words you use to describe people with disabilities are very patronizing and paint us in a negative light. Let me give you a few examples:
Forget the stupid "clickbait" title. Here's some of the wording that's cringe-worthy:
I already shared my disdain about the viral post of the student helping the Deafblind man on the flight. It was great she helped, but the writing was blatantly patronizing and belittling of the Deafblind man. Some other words I've seen used are:
When you're writing these words you're saying - "glad it's not me" "I wouldn't be able to do that" "how can they live like that" or "Look at what we nice people did for them" "Look at how special and different they are" You get my point?
So, if you want to write about people with disabilities it's best to 1) interview them and show their story as they tell it, or 2) Learn the proper terminology - read blogs by people with disabilities, look at web pages of various agencies serving people with disabilities, or ASK that group!
Because all it comes down to is that people with disabilities are just like everyone else that do things just "a bit different". So just stop putting us in a bad light and using us to make yourself feel better! Now if you have any questions, feel free to comment below or . I'll be happy to help!
The fifth and last part in my series "How to Start your Freelance Career"
So far we've learned: Today I'll tell you how to recycle your old posts and still make money off of them. Organize your Files First
If you've been blogging and writing articles on the web for a while you're sure to have a large folder of saved articles now.
Organize your folders by client for easier access and this also helps you to remember which article was printed where. For example:
Documents:
This is easy to do on your PC and on your Mac.
Recycle your old Blog Posts
There are several ways you can reuse your old blog posts:
1. Link back to them in new articles When you write new posts, think of ways to incorporate your old posts into them. You can do this by either quoting a section of your post (with the link), or hiding a link in a sentence. Be sure the post is relevant to what you're writing about now. 2. Convert them into a new format Take your blog post and change them into a different format to repost. Format ideas such as:
3. Turn a series of blog posts into an eBook Have a great teaching series of blog posts online? Collect them all and do a little rewriting and turn it into an eBook for some passive income. You can also address reader questions and comments from those posts as well. 4. Change the Hashtags and SEO keywords Have some old posts with keywords and hashtags relevant at the time of printing but times have changed and new hashtags and keywords have cropped up? Go back and refresh your posts with these new search words and your old posts will start appearing in web searches again. 5. Improve them A lot of things could have happened since you've published those blog posts. Such as:
Whatever the reason, go back and improve them and re-post as a brand new post. Now you have 5 new ideas on how to reuse and recycle your old blog posts. A little warning though, if these posts were posted on another site that's not yours do be sure that you have permission to still use it. Some sites will not allow republishing and the article fully belongs to them.
Remember in High School and College you were taught the APA writing style? To always have a title page, an abstract summary, the body with introduction, method, results, and discussion - yadayada.
Well, that won't work on the internet so toss all that out. People get bored easily with large paragraphs and information. Here's a secret - Internet readers are scanners. They want to read quickly and scan the page for interesting tidbits. So, I'm going to give you some easy pointers on how to write for the internet: The Best Blog Writing Practices to Know
When writing your blog post keep these pointers in mind.
1. Have a Goal Every blog post, whether its for a business or a personal blog, must start with a purpose. This purpose should have your audience in mind and either answer a question they have or address a need of theirs. 2. Have a Catchy Title I learned this a while ago. You need a catchy title to catch the interest of your readers, like I said, those readers are scanners. Which one would you be more likely to read? "My Annoying Day" - yeah, who gives a rat's ass? or "The Time I Blew Up at the Doctor's Office" - a little better, makes you more curious. But not good for search engines. or "Here's Why the Deaf Hate the Medical Community" - Much better for search engines and reader's interest. 3. Have a Relevant Image If you regularly read my posts you know I usually have an image relevant to my topic. This helps not only with catching reader's eyes, but with sharing on social media. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram prefer an image with any shared post, otherwise people only see a blank screen - boring. Three great tips for using images are:
4. Use Links Use links in your post. Use either your own related blog posts or external sites for references and "proof" for your statements. The best way to include a link is to just hide it in the middle of a relevant sentence. For example, "I am a Deafblind Mom." It's best not to use something like "More reading can be found here." (Even though I'm guilty of this sometimes). 5. A Good Layout Like I mentioned, internet readers are scanners, they scan the page for points of interest. So we need to layout our post for the optimal reading experience. How to have a good blog layout:
6. Share, Share, Share After your post goes live - share it on all your social media links. Create accounts just for your blog (separate from your personal account). I have a Facebook Page and a Twitter account for this website. Another thing to do is to join blog sharing sites related to your blog theme. Bloglovin', BlogHer (for moms), and I'm on Deafread for deaf related blogs. For more resources for free "learn to blog" classes, check out these:
|
CategoriesAll |