LinkedIn is making improvements to video content by adding captions that are made automatically and adding a number of new features to help people with accessibility needs.
With automatic captions, LinkedIn hopes to make videos more accessible to people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or just prefer to watch videos without sound.
During the uploading process, LinkedIn will automatically add captions to your videos, which you can use right away or review and make changes to.
Also, LinkedIn is adding a “high contrast mode” to its mobile app, which will change the colors to make it easier for people who have trouble seeing to use.
New Job Posting & User Profile Features
In honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, LinkedIn is making some changes to job postings and user profiles to make them easier for people with disabilities to use.
LinkedIn Adds ‘Accessibility’ Job Titles
LinkedIn says that the total number of U.S. job postings with the word “accessibility” in the title is going up a lot, which shows that there is a growing need for accessibility specialists:
“… our data shows that these job postings have spiked 171% since September 2019, indicating that companies are actively not only talking about this, but taking action to hire accessibility specialists that can help them create products and services that work for everyone.”
Now, LinkedIn users who work in the accessibility industry can choose a standard title like “accessibility designer,” “chief accessibility officer,” or “accessibility engineer.”
LinkedIn says that using standard job titles can make it easier for workers to be found and hired for jobs that fit their skills.
New Accessibility Learning Course
People can learn more about accessibility through a new course in the LinkedIn Learning library.
The instructor of the Practical Accessibility for Designers course, Chimmy Kalu, will teach you how to design and build web experiences that everyone can use.
Profiles Can Add The ‘Dyslexic Thinking’ Skill
Richard Branson and Made By Dyslexia are working with LinkedIn to make Dyslexic Thinking a recognized skill that users can add to their profiles.
“Through our research, we learned that dyslexic thinkers are often able to simplify complex products or tasks and see connections that others may miss. This example showcases that disability can also be viewed as a strength and meaningful differentiator.”
New Ad Alt Text
With the addition of alternative text (alt-text) in Campaign Manager, advertisers can now add text descriptions to image ads.
Alt text helps people who are blind or have trouble seeing understand the images in an ad.
In the next few weeks, videos will have automatic captions, and alt text for ads is coming “soon.” All of the other features in this article are already available.