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Top Tech Tidbits Publisher Updates
for June 23rd 2022

Released: 6/23/2022

Author: Aaron Di Blasi, Publisher, Top Tech Tidbits

Updates below for all members of the Tidbits community. These are general updates for the week of June 23rd 2022.

1.) A Final Update on Sponsorship Package Availability

You may recall about 3 weeks ago we made an announcement that we were adding two new Sponsorship Packages (taking us from 12 to 14) in an attempt to alleviate some of the frustration that many potential sponsors have felt from being on our waiting list for such a long time.

Following this announcement I was approached (via email) by several potential sponsors, readers and content contributors asking me what boiled down to a single question. How many Sponsorships, maximum, could Top Tech Tidbits support? And to be completely honest, from a marketing perspective, they were perfectly within their rights to be asking such a question.

For anyone not entirely familiar with the digital advertising landscape today it is important to note that trying to consistently reach a large audience of blind, deaf, deafblind or disabled persons is still a nearly impossible task. Even large digital advertising platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Google AdWords do not have these audiences available. How do we know? Because we've tried to advertise Tidbits on these platforms in an attempt to find new readers and we were unable to do so. Which is to say we could not specifically target blind, deaf, deafblind or disabled users of adaptive or assistive technology.

Why? We can only speculate, but one of our Editors here at Tidbits, who is also an attorney, posits that the these platforms are unable to "include" these audiences for fear (read as legal risk) that advertisers could also use this same information to "exclude" them. An aha moment? It was for us too.

Whatever the reason, this lack of availability makes Top Tech Tidbits a unique advertising opportunity for any business or organization trying to consistently reach a large audience of blind, deaf, deafblind or disabled users of adaptive or assistive technology.

When viewed through this lens we all agreed that Top Tech Tidbits had an obligation to serve as many of these businesses and organizations as it could. So we crunched the numbers and discovered that, in it's current format, Top Tech Tidbits could support a maximum of 18 sponsors without affecting any of the currently outlined benefits offered to any sponsor.

How is this possible? The only limiting factor to taking on Sponsors are the number of available Featured Advertisement dates. This is, obviously, a finite number. And if 12 Sponsors each get 4 Featured Advertisement dates each (48) how can there be enough spots available to serve 18 Sponsors (72)? This is possible because not all Top Tech Tidbits Sponsors share the same schedule. In short, the schedule for Featured Advertisement dates always extends at least 3 months ahead and 3 months behind the current calendar year. With these additional 6 months available we can more than adequately serve a maximum of 18 Sponsors without changing the current format of Tidbits or the quantity or quality of Sponsor benefits received.

We have therefore increased the Sponsorship Package limit to this new number as of this communication. Since our waiting list was still comprised of 4 potential sponsors prior to this decision, I'm afraid this still does not leave any Sponsorship Packages available to anyone who was not already on our waiting list. That said, if you'd still like the opportunity to secure one of these packages, I encourage you to put your name on the list. With your name on the list we can reach out to you immediately just as soon as a package opens up.

What will the additional funds generated from these packages be used for? Any and all funds generated beyond those required to sustain the distribution of the Top Tech Tidbits Publication will be held in escrow until the next calendar year. If these funds are not required to sustain the distribution of the Top Tech Tidbits Publication in the next calendar year they will be donated, in their entirety, back to the assistive technology community in the form of grants, scholarships or research awards.

I am truly humbled that we have been able to help so many people connect through Top Tech Tidbits. Sincerest thanks to each and every Reader, Editor, Sponsor, and Supporter that has helped to grow Top Tech Tidbits into the world's #1 online resource for current news and trends in access technology.

2.) Top Tech Tidbits Seeking AT Product and Service Reviews

Have you had a bad experience with an Adaptive or Assistive Technology product or service? Or how about an absolutely wonderful experience? Either way, Tidbits readers would love to hear about it. Anyone can submit a product or service review. Just outline your experience for us in as much or as little detail as you'd like and we'll share it with Tidbits readers, both via the newsletter and the Top Tech Tidbits website. These kinds of reviews can help to steer Tidbits readers in the right direction when they find themselves looking for one of the products or services you have reviewed. So if you have information to share about an Adaptive or Assistive Technology product or service please reach out to us today at: publisher@toptechtidbits.com.

3.) Why Isn't My Podcast Published in Top Tech Tidbits?

Many, many podcast producers have reached out to us asking why we have "chosen" not to publish their podcast each week. So I wanted to pen a wee update here to clarify a few things around Podcast Episodes. Firstly, please know that we have not "chosen" not to publish your podcast. That is not how our submission process works. While a podcast can indeed be rejected (more on that in a moment), it must first be submitted for consideration. And if your podcast is approved for publication, each new episode must be submitted to us, by you, each week before the deadline (Wednesdays at 6:00 PM ET). I'm afraid you cannot simply have your podcast approved and then just sit back and have it published each week. I truly wish it were that simple for us. If you would like to give your podcast the additional free exposure that Tidbits provides, we need to ask that you first submit your podcast for consideration, and then, if approved, make sure that you continue to submit your new episodes to us each week for publication. Because if you don't submit them, they won't be published, even if your podcast was approved for publication. In order for your Podcast to be approved at least 2 out of 3 of our approving editors must agree that it provides "current and actionable assistive technology information". To assist, we have created a dedicated Podcast Episode Submission Form and we are asking all potential and approved Podcasters to please use this form going forward. If you have traditionally provided your episode information each week via email, you may continue to do so, but all newly approved Podcasters must utilize this new form going forward in order for their podcast to be published each week. It is my sincerest hope that everyone will understand our (editorial) need to streamline submissions so that we can include as many of them as possible each week. :)

Thanks so much for reading, we look forward to keeping you informed.

Aaron Di Blasi, PMP (2006 - Present)
Publisher, Top Tech Tidbits
The Week's News in Access Technology
https://toptechtidbits.com 🌐

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