BlindOnlineSuccessSystem.com

Archive for August, 2010

Blind Japanese woman receives IBM’s top award
June 5th, 2009 in Technology / Business
US computer giant IBM’s Japanese researcher Chieko Asakawa

US computer giant IBM’s Japanese researcher Chieko Asakawa in Tokyo, 2003. IBM has named Asakawa as the first blind engineer — as well as the first Japanese
female — to receive the company’s highest technical honour.

US computer giant IBM has named Chieko Asakawa as the first blind engineer — as well as the first Japanese female — to receive the company’s highest technical
honour.

Asakawa, 50, was named this week as one of eight Japanese to win the title of IMB Fellow for her achievements in making the Internet widely accessible for
visually impaired people.

It is the company’s most prestigious honour for an
engineer
, a title given to only 218 technicians in the company’s more than century-long history.

“Asakawa’s crucial contributions in the area of accessibility technology have enabled IBM to become a worldwide leader in the field,” the US-based company
said in a statement.

“She has helped to establish awareness, both within and outside
IBM
, while leading the creation of technologies that have changed the way disabled individuals communicate and interact.”

Asakawa developed accessibility software called the “Homepage Reader” which reads aloud words that appear on an Internet window and is now available in
11 languages including English and Japanese.

“I am very happy about the nomination,” Asakawa said in a statement. “I will continue working hard towards an even more accessible society.”

Asakawa, who lost her vision as a teenager, joined the
computer maker
in 1985 and has since worked to increase computer accessibility not only for the disabled but also for the elderly and novices.

(c) 2009 AFP

ACBT, American Council for the Blind of Texas is holding their annual conference in Houston, and BOSS will be there!

That’s right, this year’s conference in houston will hopefully bring in more great members into the BOSS program. I will be promoting BOSS in the exhibit hall alongside vendors of adaptive equipment and adaptive software from a wide variety of specialties and backgrounds. People like Freedom Scientific, Humanware, Kirtzwhile, and many others will be in the exhibit hall at this year’s conference in Houston Texas.

The conference will be held September 24th through the 26th. BOSS will be there for all three days. This will be a great promotional venture for BOSS, and it will be the first live promotion of the program since BOSS has been in operation since July of 2007.

Our first big promotion was in July of 2007 when we launched our first membership campaign by sending out emails to both the American Council of the Blind and the American Federation of the Blind. Now, we’re taking this live at this year’s annual state conference of the American Council of the Blind in Houston Texas.

What this could mean for BOSS is more members and more successful marketers. As with any program, growth spirts do happen, and this is perhaps one of those times when we will gain a great influx of new members who are ready to build their own online careers through our extensive, and accessible training.

I sincerely hope that we’re successful at bringing BOSS to the many people who will be attending this year’s conference in houston. This will indeed be a milestone in how we promote the program, plus it could help to lay the groundwork for future promotions.

Here’s a great list of ways to increase your influence online:

Online Influence