By Technology Association for Veterans with Visual Impairments

Tweeting Through Twitter

By Technology Association for Veterans with Visual Impairments

July 23, 2014

Description

Twitter inspired millions of users to communicate through 144 character chunks. This forces individuals to push information, news, and thoughts in an concise manner. The following two examples illustrates Twitter’s potential. When searching for news or people with similar interests, hashtags serves as a filtering method. Twitter acts as an aggregated news feed by following the accounts of your favorite organizations and entities.

For the visually impaired iOS user, combining the apps Twitter and Twitterrific together streamlines many aspects. The default Twitter client’s notifications and synchronization with Siri makes posting and reviewing alerts a breeze. Twitterrific’s interface, specifically designed with low vision and Voice Over users in mind, allows for quick timeline and interacting with tweets.

Setting Up Twitter

In order to utilize Twitter with Siri, one must first add their account to their iOS device. This occurs by opening the Settings app, and tapping on Twitter. From here you must insert your username and password. At this point, Siri may connect to Twitter. This tutorial features a list of common Siri commands for Twitter at the end.

The next step requires one to download Twitter and Twitterrific from the app store. These links might be found in the Resources section. It advised to first setup up the default Twitter client, then proceed with Twitterrific. As you connect through Twitterrific, an alert message will ask you for your permission for Twitterrific to access your Twitter account. Accepting this will finish the syncing process.

Orientation of Twitter

the main Twitter client’s page divides itself into three areas. A bar at the top offers a button to find and search for people, the name of the tab, a general search button, and new tweet button. The body of the screen offers the latest tweets, notifications, and other information related to the tab. The bottom bar contains the option to switch between four tabs. These tabs includes timelines tab, Notifications tab, Messages tab, and your profiles’s tab.

Orientation of Twitterrific

Twitterrific’s orientates its layout differently from Twitter. A atop bar contains a button for the side bar, Home tab, Mentions tab, messages tab, and composition tab. The rest of the screen provides direct access to tweets from the appropriate tabs.

In the side bar, a vertical list enables one to swiftly switch to your profile, favorites, account settings, and app settings. Of particular note, the app settings has an option to change the text colors and size for easier viewing.

Siri Commands for Twitter

Here is a list of basic Twitter Siri commands:

•  Tweet Tweet attending the hashtag I O S hands on demonstration at the at Blinded Veterans convention

•  Post to Twitter, I love learning about technology

•  Tweet my location ‘Having fun at the beach!

•  Search Twitter for Blinded Veterans

•  What’s trending on Twitter

Resources:

Twitter in the iTunes App Store:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twitter/id333903271?mt=8

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twitterrific-5-for-twitter/id580311103?mt=8

Twitter Homepage:

http://www.Twitter.com

Twitterrific Homepage:

http://www.Twitter.comhttp://twitterrific.com/ios/faq

Twitter in AppleVis.com:

http://www.applevis.com/apps/ios/social-networking/twitter

Twitterrific in AppleVis.com:

http://www.applevis.com/apps/ios/social-networking/twitterrific-5-twitter