Month: February 2016

By Debra Ruh

I am an advocate of using social media to bring awareness about the community of people with disabilities (PwD) and accessible Internet, Communications and Technology (ICT). I believe that the community of PwD is starting to find their voices via social media. However, there are some significant accessibility problems with social media. There are leaps in accessibility that have been made and are in progress. Yet we find that many social media tools and applications are not blending accessibility into their products and when they are, it does not seem to be a priority. PwD are often left out of the social media conversation and movement  because the devices are less accessible.

We find that many social media tools and applications are not blending accessibility into their products. PwD are often left out of the social media conversation because they apps are inaccessible. This is difficult to deal with due to the fact that most don’t seem to have accessibility in mind until there is a problem, instead the devices and applications need to be thought of as opportunities for universal access.

Social media has to be accessible or we continue to widen the Digital Divide, it is as simple as that. As long as there are access problems we run the risk of alienating a portion of our community.

The Internet has opened up many opportunities as well as greatly improving the quality of life for these users, but there are still barriers. Many people think of disabilities in extreme terms such as blindness and deafness, but it also includes many others with visual or hearing impairments that are increasingly common in our aging population, and other challenges such motor and cognitive impairment. The spectrum of ability for all users is variable.

Can an organization really afford to lose this audience?

I think not, and this community is chattering on more accessible platforms, about the good and the bad. If social media tools are not accessible those platforms stand to lose out on major benefits, or risk being singled out as not worried about the less able part of the population and their advocates.

Sometimes we hear that it is too hard to make an application or platform accessible. This makes sense only if the organization wishes to put forth the message that their customers are not worth a re-tool of an app. Accessibility should be built into the system similarly to building in privacy, security or usability. The second thought of accessibility as “not an easy add on” and will be noticed by those left out.

The good news is that Social Media applications can be made fully accessible allowing everyone to use them; all aspects of use just need to be considered.

In years past, developers were afraid that making the application accessible would make a system less creative or innovative or other security issues. The good news is we have seen amazing strides with accessible social media and now it is innovative developers take pride in blending accessibility into the process level. This seems to be the future of technology and it should be our end goal to reach universal access.

Is participation for all out of the question? If we don’t make social media accessible than we continue to widen the “Digital Divide” and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) one in seven people are impacted with disabilities worldwide. Plus 1 out of 3 households in the U.S. are impacted by disabilities, there for this is an issue that affects family and community. Worldwide, this group numbers 500-750 million people and is a key influencer of the public’s perceptions.

There is NO excuse to not make your Social Media applications fully accessible so that everyone can use them. In years past, developers were afraid that making the application accessible would make a system less usable or “dummy” the system down. Once again, ridiculous – we have seen amazing strides with accessible social media and now it is BAD design if you do not blend accessibility into the process level.

By Kevin Ruh, Ruh Global Communications, Marketing Director

I am a fan of twitter and it helps me get to the point since I am limited to 140 characters. Hashtags can also help me spread my message. I tweet about many things but accessibility and disabilities inclusion is my main topic since I am the marketing director at www.RuhGlobal.com. Many people use the hashtag #A11y as a shortcut for #Accessibility. Let’s face it – 4 characters versus 13 characters can make a difference in a tight tweet. However The hashtag #A11Y has coming under fire recently by many in the #accessibility and #disability field.

Some people think this hashtag is a time saver to refer to accessibility as an all-encompassing term. The mashup is from the fact that in the word accessibility there are 13 letters, so if [A] the first letter and [Y] the last letter are left off, the count becomes 11 letters.

Thus adding back the anchor letters to the numeric representation of the middle section of the word accessibility, we get a11y! This is a roundabout way to go I know, but now that the term makes sense we can start to understand the criticisms of the hashtag.

Some of the complaints that I have observed are from users do not know what the hashtag means. Not sure if I agree with those complaints because if you observe any internet culture since the inception of the internet. We have used slang to get out message across since we were limited by 140 characters. So that excuse reminds me of my parents years ago saying, “What does LOL (Laugh out Loud) mean”?

Since the internet landscape is constantly changing it will help for us to be flexible and try out different things including slang hashtags.

Telling people that they cannot use a certain hashtag seems to go against the fluidity of the internet and social media. I’m not intending to have a harsh tone, this situation just seems a bit like a child who doesn’t get his way and so decides to just take his ball and go home in other words “I Quit”.

Most of us learned at a young age this methodology of thinking helps no one including the person that Quit. There is also a danger of stunted the conversation. Let’s be pioneers and trailblazers instead of fighting about an abbreviation. I believe that the internet and social media should be a place where we can create new terms and use them without having a negative “backlash”.

Okay maybe this was a bit of a rant (smile) but I hope it will create a meaningful dialog about this topic. I would love to hear your feedback – positive and negative – because social media is a social conversation. So let’s talk about it.

 I have one sibling, my sister, who is 18 months older than me.  I am 25 years old. People often think that I am older because I’m 6’2 and my sister Sara is 4’8. But it is quite the opposite, and Sara is never afraid to correct someone when they ask “Are you the little sister?” Sara was also born with Down syndrome, and she has been a great teacher to me.

Having a sibling with disabilities is full of highs and lows. The way she sees life is so interesting and seeing her positive outlook on life every day is inspiring.  Sometimes I have to weigh her optimism with the real world.  Society seems so filled with disillusionment and disappointment.  Her innocence makes me scared sometimes, because it is hard to look at a world that is so ready to take advantage of her.   I worry that some people may take advantage of my loved one.  Will she be safe without someone to watch over her, protect her, and supervise her so no one takes advantage?

Part of me wants to trust the world and thinks that people are genuinely good.  However, can I take the chance and risk that Sara will get hurt?   I like to imagine that Sara can go into the store by herself.  She can buy something small for four dollars and hands the cashier a hundred dollar bill instead of a five or a ten dollar bill.  In this situation Sara would not bat and eye if her change came back as a dollar and some change instead of the cashier explaining that she has given them a $100 bill.  I must learn to rely on the cashier to not take advantage of the situation.  Sara is so trusting and maybe I need to be more trusting of my fellow man.  However – I feel so protective of my sister.  Sometimes Sara gets annoyed with me trying to protect her and reminds me that I am her little brother.

Once Sara, a friend and I were awaiting a table at a restaurant which was crowded.  We were waiting for our table outside because the restaurant is small inside.  It was a cold day but we were all dressed appropriately for the weather. A group of women were also waiting outside for a table.  We were sitting right outside the restaurant and the group of women decided to cross the street to stand in the sun.   One woman from the group walked up to Sara and asked her if she was cold.  She insisted that Sara take expensive pair of gloves from her. Sara happily accepted and said thank you.  The situation made me feel very uncomfortable.  I wondered if the woman did not think that I could take care of my sister.  I felt ill intent and judgment coming from the woman about my capabilities to ensure that my sister was not freezing.  Sara on the other hand took it as an act of kindness.  I quickly realized that Sara was teaching me to accept the kindness and not assume it was anything other than a woman being kind.  As I thought of my reaction versus Sara’s reaction my feelings of uncomfortable feels abated.

Sara is always teaching me that most people are kind and accepting.  Sara is good, she is kindness embodied and that is humbling to me.  I have learned a lot from my sister and see the world as a kinder place because she is part of it.

—Kevin Ruh

 I would like to challenge the community of persons with disabilities (PwD) and all stakeholders associated with the community.  The stakeholders include families, friends, wounded warriors, and baby boomers that are aging and acquiring disabilities for the first time in our lives.  Plus people not impacted by disabilities that believe that this is an important social issue.  PwD deserve to be fully included in all aspects of society, especially in the employment arena.

 We need to change our buying behaviors and document and track our stories.  My challenge to the community: Help me tell our stories so we can PROVE that we are a buying power to be considered and catered too. 

Studies show that the community of PwD is a huge, untapped market place with access to trillions of dollars in discretionary income.  According to a recent report by Gartner, PwD are an underserved market segment with one billion people worldwide. They and their immediate friends and family have an annual disposable income of more than $8 trillion.

“People with disabilities make up 15 percent of the world ‘s population and some of the assistive technology marketed to people with disabilities can also be sold to the other 85 percent of the population that is “situationally disabled” by their environmental conditions, at work and at play,” said Andrew Johnson, managing vice president at Gartner.1

The numbers speak for themselves but we need more proof that this community will change our buying behavior because a company does or does NOT include us.  I am eager to capture these stories for my next book.

We need to prove to the world that we will actually take the time to shop, purchase and spend money at establishments that hire persons with disabilities, make their products and solutions accessible to us and market to us by using models that include PwD and use appropriate language that empowers our community.  We also need to prove to politicians that we will VOTE them in our out of office if they do not support our community.

My family is an average size family for the United States.  We have four members of our immediate family which includes parents and two grown children (daughter and son).  We are also like many other families because our daughter has a disability.  Our oldest child a daughter was born with Down syndrome in 1987.  At the time we did not realize that we were joining 1 in 3 families in the United States that have a family member with a disability.  This is not a United States phenomena because according to the World Health Organization 1 in 7 people globally have a disability.

Our daughter Sara Ruh has been a gift in many ways to our family.  She has helped us be a tight knit family that appreciates our blessings and are grateful for each other.  We recently included another person to our family our son Kevin’s amazing girlfriend Emily.

When Sara entered Middle School we realized that her employment options would be limited to non-existent.  She worked at a Wendy’s as a dining room attendant for several years during high school.  However when testing was done the “experts” told us she could not hold a real job with competitive wages because of her Down syndrome.  That confused us since she had been making a marketable salary at her job for three (3) years.

Sara now works at Nordstrom’s and has been there for over 8 years.  She also works with my firm Ruh Global Communications and speaks to large audiences all over the world about disability inclusion. She is working with Kevin and Emily to author several books about her life.  Her books will be a series about how she sees the world.  Her brother is working a series of books for siblings of persons with disabilities. Emily is illustrating all the books so these books are a family affair.

I have authored several books including a one on using Social Media to tell your story.  It is geared towards baby boomers that want to make a difference but do not know where to begin on Social Media.  My book explains how the community of persons with disabilities can tell their stories in a powerful way to attract supporters and funders.  “Find Your Voice using Social Media”  http://ow.ly/kxglR

My second book will publish in August or September 2014.  The title of my 2^nd book is: “Uncovering Hidden Human Capital: How leading corporations leverage multiple abilities in their workforce”.  The book follows multi-national corporations on their journey to employ PwD in their workforce. The book is being edited and published by G3ict with foreword by Axel Leblois. 2

I am working on a third book about Consumer Buying Behaviors. I would like to capture stories of families and individuals that have changed their buying behaviors because an organization included or did not include persons with disabilities.  My goal is to prove to companies that we will vote with our money.  We will buy your products and use your services if you include our community in a meaningful way.

Let me tell you one of my stories.  I frequented the same pharmacy retail store for many years (over 35 years and in multiple states).  The retail/pharmacy chain was amazing, great personnel, decent prices, good selection and caring pharmacists.  The problem was that they did little to nothing to include PwD in their marketing and employment efforts. Plus their website was terribly inaccessible to many of my friends that are blind or cannot use their hands.

I knew of Walgreens efforts to include people with intellectual disabilities in their distribution centers.  They are a huge success story and are paying these employees marketable salaries and benefits.

Plus they were making other efforts to assure accessibility of their products like large print on prescriptions and talking prescription bottles.  I decided that I had to change my buying behavior to reward their efforts.  My steps:

• Turn left at a light instead of right into the old store parking lot
• Meet the new pharmacists and her team members
• Transfer our prescriptions
• Update my insurance information
• Lose my points on my valued customer card from old retailer
• Open a new rewards card with Walgreens
• Notify our doctors to send prescriptions to new pharmacy
• Learn the stores layout
• Help my family change their buying behaviors
• Tell former pharmacy/retailer why I was leaving
• Let Walgreens manager know why I was changing to their location
• Write a letter to the CEO of Walgreens explaining my efforts

These seem like small points but it is amazing how much effort it takes to change a habit of 35 years.  I am also one of those impulse shoppers.  I understand that these retailers put the pharmacy in the back of the store so I will be tempted every minute of my journey to the pharmacist.  It works – I never leave the store with only my prescriptions. I am an ideal customer.

We not only have to make the change but we need to let both firms know why we are making the change.  I wrote a letter to my former pharmacy/retailer letting them know that I loved their team members, pharmacists, great service and store layouts.  However was switching to Walgreens because they were making a major effort to include my community.

So this is my challenge to other families like our family.  Let’s tell our stories!!!  We do not have the consumer behavior data to prove that our community is a buying power, a voting force and a community that cannot be ignored.  I would love to capture your stories so please consider visiting my firm Ruh Global Communications and sending me an email with your stories.

***

More about Ruh Global Communications and Debra Ruh.

Ruh Global Communications is a Strategic Marketing and Communications firm helping private and public organizations strategically include Persons with Disabilities (PwD) in all aspects of society.  Before becoming an entrepreneur I worked at the executive levels in the banking industry for over 25 years.   My firm understands the multifaceted opportunities, risks and interests of Corporate America and Multi-National companies.

We believe that it is critical for organizations to connect with and integrate the community of PwD and their families into their corporate culture.  We use this same paradigm for other impacted stakeholders including Wounded Warriors and Baby Boomers that are acquiring disabilities for the first time in their lives.

Companies know that PwD represent a very large demographic group that is underserved within typical corporate strategic, diversity and market programs.  My firm can help adjust plans already underway or help to develop new plans that fully include and integrate this community.

Join Debra Ruh on Social Media: twitter, linked-in, facebook, pinterest, tumblr, Google+

References:

1. http://www.itworld.com/mobile-wireless/398692/8-trillion-reasons-make-your-technology-accessible
2. http://www.G3ict.org

Most of us have experienced trouble sleeping at one time or another. I have struggled with sleep problems most of my adult life.  I am not alone because many of my friends have the same challenge. This is normal and usually temporary, due to stress or other outside factors.  But, imagine if your sleep troubles were not temporary, but rather a continuous presence in your life? This is the experience in some people who are totally blind and may be suffering from a condition called Non-24-Hour Disorder (Non-24).

 Non-24 is a serious, chronic circadian rhythm disorder that primarily affects people who are totally blind. Actually, up to 70% of people who are totally blind have Non-24. Wow! I have been working in the disability field for many years, focused on inclusion of people with disabilities in the workforce, including people who are blind, but I had never heard of Non-24 until I saw a post on a LinkedIn group.  As I read about the condition, it occurred to me that my blind friends and network needed to learn more about it.

Here’s what I learned: if you are totally blind and have trouble falling or staying asleep at night and fight to stay awake during the day, you likely experience periods of exhaustion and affected mood, as well as serious disruptions to your life, both at work and at home. These complications can make you feel caught in—and isolated by—a frustrating, sometimes debilitating, cycle of sleeplessness and exhaustion.

Sleep problems can interrupt work, affect day-to-day interactions, and make people less able to handle some of the normal stresses in their lives.  I can’t even imagine the frustration of people who are totally blind having the irresistible need to fall asleep in the middle of the day, a commonly reported symptom of Non-24.

It was interesting to learn about this circadian rhythm disorder, which is prevalent in people who are totally blind, and its impact on their lives.

Many of the symptoms of Non-24, including the inability to sleep at night and an overwhelming urge to sleep during the day, can have a negative impact on energy, emotional balance, productivity, and overall health.

To understand Non-24, you have to understand what circadian rhythms are.  Our circadian rhythms tell us when to sleep, when to eat, and when to wake, among other things. These rhythms are controlled by our master body clock. Apparently, most people’s body clock is a little longer than 24 hours—mine, yours, etc. Every day, light sends a signal to the brain to reset the body clock back to 24 hours. In people who are blind with no light perception, the body clock is left to run its natural course. So if your body clock is 24.5 hours, today you’re a half hour behind; tomorrow you’re an hour behind. This continues until your natural rhythms have you sleeping during the day and awake at night, and the cycle begins all over again.

Like any condition, the symptoms and severity of their impact can be different from person to person.  For some people, symptoms can be mild, and for others they are worse.  Symptoms may also become more disruptive during stressful times.

Though Non-24 is not a sleep disorder, in people who are totally blind it looks and feels like one.  Its primary effects are sleeplessness and exhaustion.  If you are totally blind and have Non-24, you could suddenly fall asleep at the wrong moment—such as at work, at a meal or in a class—potentially embarrassing yourself or creating stress about performance at your job.

People living with Non-24 often get disrupted sleep due to the stress and fear of sleeping through the alarm and being late for work.  You might be hesitant to make plans with friends, unsure whether your exhaustion will interrupt them.  It might also mean you fight to stay awake.  At work you might take copious notes just to stay occupied and to keep from nodding off.

Many people with Non-24 feel like no one else has this problem.  But many, many people do.  Since it affects 70% of people who are totally blind, that means between 65,000 and 95,000 people in the United States.  Unfortunately most don’t know they have it or that it even exists.  Many people are relieved to learn about Non-24 and comforted that it is a medically validated condition.

Little has been known about Non-24—but that’s changing. Every day, more people become aware of it, and research is well underway in an effort to help you—and your doctor—manage it.

It is not normal to wake up exhausted because you cannot fall asleep or stay asleep each night when your sleep cycle is out of sync.  Bottom-line: Non-24 could be negatively impacting your life and you don’t have to suffer alone. Please help me spread the word about Non-24.

To learn more about Non-24, please visit www.Non-24.com and sign up to stay connected.  You can also help others by sharing your Non-24 story.  The more we spread the word about Non-24, the more people can be helped.  You can also call health educator at (855) 856-2424 to find answers your questions about Non-24 Monday through Friday from 8am to 8pm Eastern Standard Time.  That’s (855) 856-2424.

Disclaimer: Ruh Global is a Strategic Communications & Digital Marketing firm helping corporations strategically include People with Disabilities in the workforce.  We also help clients assure their online communications are fully accessible.  I wanted to disclose that one of my clients works with Vanda Pharmaceuticals.  However, it is important to me to help spread the word about Non-24 and its effects on people with disabilities in the workplace.

http://youtu.be/PCWxenGjfho

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1UMk04eRBk

http://youtu.be/D-riolkmMAY

It is always sad to lose our friends and especially sad when they are Thought Leaders making huge positive changes in their lives.

We lost two great leaders, people, advocates and friends in 2013.  I had the pleasure to know both Stephen Wing and Cynthia Waddell.

Both of these amazing people made great contributions in our ongoing efforts to assure that people with disability are fully included in all aspects of society.   Their legacies cannot be properly captured in one blog.  I wanted to try and honor both of these wonderful people and be sure their legacies are never forgotten.

I also believe that it is a good time to review our own lives. Are we following our passion, leading our best lives and building a Servant Leader legacy?

Others helped pave the way for inclusion and civil rights for people with disabilities. Many leaders in the community of people with disabilities are “Paying it Forward” but we would not be moving forward without the support of the leaders that fought before us like Justin Dart, Michael Winters and so many other great leaders.

Sara Ruh is 26 years old.  Sara was born with Down syndrome.  We were stunned and did not know what the future held for this precious baby.  We did not understand the civil right fights and debates that were taken place to assure she has basic civil rights.  People got out of their wheel chairs and crawled up the steps of Federal buildings in DC.  They wanted to assure that Sara and other people with disabilities had the same rights as others.  The civil right to access to education, employment, transportation, technology, affordable housing, vote and other rights afforded to all Americans.

It is bittersweet as our country celebrates the 23rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in July 2013.  We have made progress after 23 years.  However, we still have so much more to do especially with employment.  It takes all of us to continue to move towards full inclusion.  It also takes leaders, advocates, families and individuals to step forward and demand that we all have equal rights.

The ADA was passed when Sara was 3 years old.  Our family is grateful for the leaders that fought for Sara’s rights.  Many fought and continue to fight for the civil rights of all Americans with disabilities.

Sara and I joined the efforts early on working with other leaders like Cynthia and Stephen to assure Americans with disabilities continue to be fully included in society.  I want to thank Stephen Wing and Cynthia Waddell’s family and friends for their efforts to include people with disabilities in all aspects of society.  Their legacies are making a huge difference in the United States and all over the world.

Our family supports the UN Convention of Rights for People with Disabilities (CRPD).  We are hopeful the US will fully adopt the UNCRPD and take our place as global thought leaders.  To learn more about the convention please visit http://www.usicd.org.

Please let me tell you more about both of these amazing leaders. They both have powerful legacies and terrific families. They will be missed!!!

Cynthia Waddell, a pioneer in developing and advocating for legal theories to support website accessibility for people with disabilities, died on April 3, 2013.   She was married a wonderful man named Thomas Waddell and had two brilliant daughters, Elizabeth Waddell and Christina Thompson.

She was also so thrilled to have a beautiful granddaughter named Julia Garcia.  She was so proud of her family and often talked lovingly about her husband and daughters.  She was so excited when her granddaughter was born.

I had the pleasure to work with Cynthia many times including sharing a spot on the G3ict Accessibility Expert Zone.  www.G3ict.org    I also joined her on stage at many conferences including to conference in Bangkok, Thailand.  She had a quick wit and a wonderful laugh.  I miss her expertise, contributions and friendship.

In the world of accessibility, Cynthia Waddell was an internationally recognized expert in the field of electronic and information technology as well as employment and construction.  She helped author the first accessible web design standard in the United States in 1995 that led to recognition as a best practice by the federal government and contributed to the eventual passage of legislation for Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards (Section 508).

In September 2007, the International Communications Union commissioned her to write a background paper on meeting information and communications technology (ICT) access and services needs for people with disabilities.  The ITU paper is entitled “Major Issues for Development and Implementation of Successful Policies and Strategies” and has been well-received.  She is also the co-author of UNESCO publication addressing access to the built environment and accessible ICT for telecentres and multimedia centers:  Accessibility Guidelines for Multimedia Centres.

She co-authored two books: Web Accessibility: Web Standards and Regulatory Compliance (Apress 2006) and Constructing Accessible Web Sites (Glasshaus 2002, reprinted Apress 2003). These best practices and technical resources include the first global surveys of laws and policies in countries addressing accessible web design.  Constructing Accessible Web Sites was selected by the Japanese Industrial Standards Working Committee for translation into Japanese for an ICT training event.

The free CynthiaSays™ web accessibility tool and portal was named after her and endorsed by the American Council of the Blind. The CynthiaSays™ portal at www.cynthiasays.com  is a joint educational project of ICDRI, The Internet Society Disability and Special Needs Chapter, and HiSoftware.  The tool enables web developers to post content on the web that is accessible to assistive computer technology utilized by people with disabilities as well as alternate Internet access devices such as cell phones, palm pilots and personal digital assistants.

Her seminal paper, “The Growing Digital Divide in Access for People with Disabilities: Overcoming Barriers to Participation” was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Science Foundation for the first national conference under President Clinton on the impact of the digital economy.  It has been translated and cited by governments, businesses, universities, and entities around the world, including an IMF/World Bank Summit and the World Economic Development Congress.   A collection of her papers are posted on www.icdri.org

A frequent writer and speaker, her papers have been translated and cited by organizations including the National Council on Disability, an independent advisor to the US President, in their 2001 report The Accessible Future.

Cynthia Waddell was a Lecturer in Law and holds a Juris Doctor from Santa Clara University School of Law.  She was designated a Public Interest Disability Rights Scholar and a Dan Bradley Fellow for the Employment Law Center in San Francisco, California.  In addition, she was a Rotary International Foundation Fellow at Exeter University, England, as well as an USC-Cambridge University Scholar at Cambridge University, England.  She received her B.A. cum laude, from the University of Southern California where she received Honors at Entrance.

Cynthia made so many contributions that it is hard to list them all.  To find out more about her work please visit ICDRI. www.icdri.org

Stephen (Steve) Wing was a close friend. I joined many people that were very sad when he passed away on May 25, 2013.  I remember the sad day that he called me to let me know he was ill.  He told me that it was serious but that he believed in miracles.

He was a newlywed and adored his new wife, Mary Lopez Schell.  He was also a grateful man and loved his family more than anything in the world.

He was blessed by his family. He had two sons Nicolas and Thaddeus Eppley, a beautiful daughter named Emily, two step children Kelsey and Nicolas Schell and five gorgeous grandchildren.

I had the pleasure to know his first wife Elinda.  We became very close friends after we met at the US Department of Labor’s ODEP Circle of Champions meeting.  We hit it off right away and it felt like reconnecting with an old, dear friend.  Elinda bravely fought brain cancer for many years.  She loved her family and adored her children and grandchildren.  She was an amazing woman, terrific mother and a dear friend.  I think of her often and continue to miss her.

Steve served in the Army National Guard and was the president of WINGS; former president of Corporate Voices for Working Families.  Steve had an amazing career and he always focused on helping other.  His goal was to help everyone including people with disabilities and people that we aging be included and retained in the workforce.

Steve and I remained close friends after Elinda’s passing.  He was my mentor and friend and always encouraged me to Find My Voice.  I was thrilled when he told me that he had fallen in love with Mary Lopez Schell and had proposed to her.  He felt so blessed to have the opportunity to love two amazing women.

He married Mary and created an amazing life with her.
He formed a company with Mary called WINGS LLC. http://stephenmwing.com/

WINGS LLC engages corporations to develop partnerships with government agencies, non-profits, foundations, workforce investment entities, faith-based organizations, and educational institutions to create customized training programs to find qualified, skilled and talented workers. These partnerships enhance both companies and workers through increasing access to additional services, maximizing return on investments, and leveraging resources to create mutually beneficial results.  The goal of WINGS LLC is to become the leading firm bridging the American workforce system with diverse companies and organizations to put people to work and to enlighten employers to the long-term benefits and proven ROI that results from creating innovative workforce solutions with a diverse network of organizations.

Before founding WINGS LLC he was president of Corporate Voices for Working Families.  His responsibilities included managing the organization’s day-to-day operations and implementing its long-term strategic plan to improve the lives of working families and the competitiveness of American business.  Steve was formerly a member of the Corporate Voices Board of Trustees. He also served on the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

Steve also had 35 years of corporate experience with CVS Caremark, the country’s largest provider of prescriptions and related health care services in the nation.  During his tenure at CVS he built several profitable divisions and programs including CVS’s Workforce Initiatives Department.  His ability to establish partnerships for corporations with government agencies, non-traditional employment resources, educational institutions, and faith-based organizations has resulted in innovative employment and training programs that thrive and produce a quality workforce. He is a corporate advisor for numerous faith-based, disability, and educational institutions and coalitions.

Steve’s CVS Caremark initiatives have garnered attention and recognition, including: 2009 National Employer of the Year from the Clubhouse Coalition for People with Disabilities; 2009 Top 50 Employers from Careers & the disABLED magazine; 2008 Pioneer Award from Homes and Working Families; the Pillar Award from Smart Business magazine, and the U.S. Department of Labor’s prestigious New Freedom Award.

Steve was an amazing man, leader, husband, father, friend and mentor.  I was blessed by his friendship in many ways.  He always encouraged me in my efforts to help people with disabilities on the global stage.  I miss him and think of him often.  He blessed me and many others with his strength, gentleness and generous spirit.   I know his family is very proud of this amazing man.  His legacy and many contributions will continue to help millions of people.

I will try to live up to the legacy of these two powerful role models.  

Isn’t Social Media about Sharing and Interacting? Or is it about worshipping the Elite among us?

I find it interesting that some people/accounts collect followers but never follow back. I have decided NOT to follow people that do not follow others.

I do not mean someone that has 20,000 following and they follow 15,000.  I am talking about the person that has 2,230,000 following and they follow zero people or a tiny handful of other elite people.

Some people pride themselves on not following anyone but their elite buddies.

I do not begrudge someone from being popular and elite. It puzzles me when people are not social on social media.

I use the term “accounts” interchangeably with “people” because most of these accounts are not really the celebrity or thought leader but an account that a social media firm manages. Many social media firms recommend that the account/person not follow anyone back or try to follow as few as possible.

I see experts, magazines, news media, corporations, CEOs, thought leaders and other personalities that follow zero or a tiny ratio of people when they have thousands and millions of people following them.

I understand that some social media platforms like Twitter have ratios that most of us have to follow.  Plus there are some good reasons to care about your follow ratio.

Check out this great article by Neal Schaffer.  It is older post but still great data.

“So what is the ideal ratio?  It will change depending on how many Followers you have, but it has to be in a range near 1.0 (0.75 to 1.25?) if you want to grow you Twitter Followers.  Anything above that shows that you may not have anything interesting to say and below that range may indicate that you don’t care about who follows you and may not follow them back anyway (of course, if you are a famous celebrity you can get away with following nobody). Neal Schaffer”

http://maximizesocialbusiness.com/twitter-followers-following-quality-or-quantity-807/

Another good post about Follower Ratio can be found at Does the Follower / Following Ratio Matter in Terms of True Influence on Twitter? http://www.searchenginejournal.com/does-the-follower-following-ratio-matter-in-terms-of-true-influence-on-twitter-poll/40214/#

However to have a follower ratio you have to be FOLLOWING someone.

I will bestow on you the right to follow me (aren’t you lucky) and hang on my every word.  Obviously you will have nothing to share that had any value for me.  I do not care what you have to say and doubt that I could learn anything from you.  

We are allowed to adore them and hang on their every word but they do not care what we have to share.  It feels like the good ole “us versus them”.  Are they the popular kids in high school that do not have the desire to hang out with the regular kids?

This does not feel social to me.  So if you have little to no followers- your choice- however I choose to NOT follow you on social media.  I will buy your music, watch your films, buy from your services or products, read your blogs, watch your videos.  However, I have decided to NOT follow you on social media.

I am sure you do not care because there are many that will adore you and follow you.  You really don’t need me to follow you.   I choose to not become one of your adoring masses.  Instead I want to follow people that have something of substance to chatter about, have good content, and have or are finding their voices.  I also follow people that care about my content and I am grateful for my followers.

I am not saying that you should follow everyone but I do follow about 95% of people that follow me.  Here are my reasons for NOT following someone back.

Reason #1: I do not follow people that appear to be fake accounts.  I will also unfollow people that have never tweeted or chattered.  Or I will unfollow people that have not been active on social media for months or years.  I will confess that I am still following some dear friends and my father that have passed away because I cannot bear to unfollow them – I am nostalgic and miss them.  Maybe they will tweet me from the other side.  That would be a cool blog.

There are some good tools (most are free) that allow you to determine if an account or person is a fake.  My favorite is Manage Flitter but Social Bakers or Fake Followers also have tools.  Fake accounts can be used to spam or create viruses.  Have you ever gotten this notice from a legit follower?  “Someone is spreading nasty messages about you”.  I always contact that follower and tell them that they have been infected and suggest that they change their password.

Reason #2: I do not follow people that say mean things about others.  I also try not to hang out with people that say mean things about others.  I try really hard to not gossip or say unkind things about others.  I am not perfect but am trying hard to live my life authentically.

Reason #3: I rarely follow people that curse all the time even though I use inappropriate and colorful words now and again. My daughter Sara (@sararuh) born with Down syndrome always scolds me when I do use curse words.  So to honor her I try really hard to be disciplined and use other words to make my point but sometimes those words just seem to be the best fit.   I choose to never curse on social media.  Using swear words on social media does not really work for the content that I share.  For others it might make sense but it does not for me.

Reason #4: I also choose to not follow people that share porn pictures or insensitive or racially charged content. I try not to follow people that cram their political, religious or other views down my throat.   I do follow some people that chatter about religion and politics if it takes a mean or hurtful tone – well go back to Reason #2.

Reason #5: I rarely follow people that are always selling me something.  I do not mind you chattering occasionally about your service or product but if that is all you chatter about then I do not want to follow you.

Social Media is about being SOCIAL.  It allows all of us to have a voice.  It is my right to decide who that I will follow and you do NOT have to follow me or other pesky followers.

Here is a tip for the big corporations that are all over social media.  Follow your customers and potential customers back.   Allow us to interact with you.   You might learn something and sell a lot more products and services.  Plus we chatter so we can tell you friends about your products and services.

It really surprises me when social media tools and platforms do not follow back.  How ironic.

It amazes me that Social Media Thought Leaders think that they do not have to participate in the social part of social media.  I believe that things are shifting and others have decided to not follow you if you are not participating in the conversation instead of just chattering at me.

I was just wondering if other people felt the same way as me.  If you are going to chatter and share on social media – shouldn’t you be social and at least follow others back?

I adore social media and have written a book called “Find Your Voice using Social Media”.  If you care to follow me and have good content and something to say on social media – I will follow you back.  Plus I will share your good content as frequently as possible.

Not everyone will agree that Social Media should be Social but for the mere mortals among us maybe it makes sense to be social on social media.

You can follow me on most social media channels at @debraruh or check out my website at www.RuhGlobal.com.  I would also be delighted for you to buy my book on Amazon Find Your Voice using Social Media”  http://ow.ly/kxglR

Follow Me on SKYPE, twitter, linked-in, facebook, pinterest, tumblr: debraruh

Proud to announce my new book “Find Your Voice using Social Media”  http://ow.ly/kxglR

Follow @debraruh and @sararuh