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Gerard K. Cohen

@gerardkcohen.me
163 followers 136 following 104 posts

Accessibility advocate. Former Engineering Manager of the Twitter a11y team. Learn more at gerardkcohen.me

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Reposted by Gerard K. Cohen
Karl Groves @karlgroves.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Time zones are hard. Meetabl handles them so your invitees see slots in their local time, every time — no math, no missed meetings.
meetabl.com
Meetabl - Accessible Calendar Booking
Meetabl - Accessible calendar booking alternative to Calendly
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 31/08/2026
In 2027, I want engineers to hate accessibility slop as much as they hate AI slop.
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 26/08/2026
Next week, I will be speaking at AI TechWorld 2026 in Santa Clara, CA about When Browsers Think: Engineering for Agentic AI. Message me if you would like a free pass to attend.
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Reposted by Gerard K. Cohen
Karl Groves @karlgroves.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Accessibility skills are in demand. Get trained for free with AFixt's live online series: WCAG, ARIA, auditing, forms, and more. Led by Karl Groves. Details:
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Training - AFixt
Join AFixt’s live online accessibility training to learn accessible web development, WCAG, ARIA, forms, and testing from expert trainer Karl Groves.
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 24/08/2026
How many times have you heard "AI is not going away, so might as well start using it" from people? Can we try "Accessibility/disability is not going away, so might as well start doing it" and see what happens? 😂
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 14/08/2026
In case you missed it, aria-busy is not your friend! aria-busy is a misunderstood and misused property. Learn what it really does and whether or not you should be using it. Link in the comments.
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 07/08/2026
The benefit of AI solving accessibility issues is directly related to your level of acceptance. Like, if you don't care if things actually work for people then you'll be extremely successful! Ask me how I know 😉
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 31/07/2026
Crystal interviewed on hometown CW39 in Houston. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zna1...
youtube.com
Former Houston Texans Cheerleader/Singer Crystal Tamar drops her latest song and more
YouTube video by CW39 Houston
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 23/07/2026
Oh wow. I just witnessed an engineer fix an issue with a custom select by just replacing with a native select. 🤯 Maybe this is a sign... I should play the lotto?
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Reposted by Gerard K. Cohen
Karl Groves @karlgroves.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
What if your whole team understood accessibility? AFixt's free live training makes that possible. Courses for every role, every skill level. Sign up:
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Training - AFixt
Join AFixt’s live online accessibility training to learn accessible web development, WCAG, ARIA, forms, and testing from expert trainer Karl Groves.
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Reposted by Gerard K. Cohen
Karl Groves @karlgroves.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Auto-playing video violates WCAG unless muted AND has controls to pause. Learn more from AFixt.
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How to Make Your Videos Accessible: A Guide to Inclusive Content Creation - AFixt
In today’s digital landscape, video content is everywhere. From marketing campaigns to educational materials, videos have become a dominant way to communicate ideas, tell stories, and engage with audiences....
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 13/07/2026
"the Houston kid with big dreams,the dancer,the performer,the songwriter,the woman who has experienced the highs & lessons of the industry,& the artist who’s still hungry enough to keep pushing forward. After years of proving she belonged in the room, Crystal Tamar is finally kicking the door open"
Highly stylized photo of Crystal Tamar, dressed in all black - tanktop, baggy leather pants, and chunky boots, with silver chains around her neck. She is sitting on a shiny reflective surface that looks like she is floating on water.
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 13/07/2026
I interviewed with a huge AI company recently... Of course it was a typical code test. The interviewer was very nice, but told me that they hardly write code by hand anymore and apologized that they had me doing it. They admitted that they still haven't figured out how to interview for/with AI yet.
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 09/07/2026
Orgs don't force accessibility training, but learning IS going to happen. Either once up front or repeatedly at the end fixing bugs. Which do you think saves time? PS: I have online courses available on Pluralsight. 10+ years of experience distilled into 8 hours. www.pluralsight.com/authors/gera...
pluralsight.com
Gerard K. Cohen
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Reposted by Gerard K. Cohen
Karl Groves @karlgroves.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Just 6 days until Accessibility Basics on July 15-16, 2026! It covers assistive technologies including JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver. Don't miss it — register free:
buff.ly
Training - AFixt
Join AFixt’s live online accessibility training to learn accessible web development, WCAG, ARIA, forms, and testing from expert trainer Karl Groves.
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Reposted by Gerard K. Cohen
REFACTR.TECH @refactr.tech · 09/07/2026
🎥 New on YouTube: Homer Gaines on the anatomy of accessible chat interfaces. 25 years of accessibility work. WCAG basics for chatbots. role="log" vs aria-live. Why icon-only send buttons fail voice control. If you build chat UIs, watch this. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQzW...
youtube.com
The Anatomy of Accessible Chat Interfaces | Homer Gaines at REFACTR.TECH
YouTube video by REFACTR
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Reposted by Gerard K. Cohen
Shell Little @shellelittle.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
As for me, the G4E team was responsible for outreach and connecting studios to disabled gamers and experts so I don't foresee any more consulting work from Xbox. I hope all of them land on their feet, please HIRE THEM! And any studios interested in accessibility consultant work, just lmk! #gamea11y
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 07/07/2026
What kind of Jedi-mind trick is it when companies actively ignore accessibility until they can't, and then try to make accessibility the culprit? How is it my fault??? 🤷‍♂️
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Reposted by Gerard K. Cohen
Karl Groves @karlgroves.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Accessibility Basics is coming July 15-16, 2026. A two-day course covering WCAG standards, assistive technologies, legal requirements, and universal design. Prepares you for IAAP CPACC certification. Seats are limited to 500 — register now:
buff.ly
Training - AFixt
Join AFixt’s live online accessibility training to learn accessible web development, WCAG, ARIA, forms, and testing from expert trainer Karl Groves.
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 01/07/2026
Working in accessibility for 10+ years has been hard. It's not fragmented platforms or changing landscape. It's working with people who know the right thing to do but look the other way. Frustration/ anger vs empathy/grace extended, hoping they'll make it right, has been the most exhausting.
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Reposted by Gerard K. Cohen
Andrew Hedges 🦔 @segdeha.com · 22/06/2026
Have you ever been listening to a song and asked yourself, “Is this Yacht Rock?” No? Uh, you can skip the rest of this post. 😂 Is It Yacht Rock? is like #Shazam, but specifically for #YachtRock. Check it out the next time you’re listening to smooth music! 🛟 apple.co/4agHwp7
apple.co
Is It Yacht Rock? App - App Store
Download Is It Yacht Rock? by Andrew Joseph Hedges on the App Store. See screenshots, ratings and reviews, user tips, and more apps like Is It Yacht Rock?.
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Reposted by Gerard K. Cohen
Ashlee 🤟🏻 @ashleemboyer.com · 22/06/2026
In urgent need of funds. If you know of anyone looking for contract/freelance web development work please send them my way! I specialize in accessibility, design systems, & documentation. Open to full stack as well! Email: inquiries@semanticfish.com Website: semanticfish.com
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 20/06/2026
Happy birthday @karlgroves.bsky.social!
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 19/06/2026
One thing I am hoping for with AI - Let the tech bro's advocate for 4-day work weeks as a way to budget token use. 🤔
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 19/06/2026
If you know me personally then you know my wife, and you forget about me. 😂 She released a new single today and I’m very proud of her. It’s technically a retelling of the night we first met almost 25 years ago. Enjoy! ditto.fm/whachoo-doin
ditto.fm
Whachoo Doin?!
Listen to Whachoo Doin?!
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 18/06/2026
I hear people say "We want to be accessible but..." and list any number of reasons. Accessibility should always be an "and" not a "but." It is not a competing priority, contradictory outcome, or tradeoff. It's up to you to think outside the box you created for yourself and find ways to be inclusive.
Still from the movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure: Pee Wee Herman and his friend Simone looking contemplative as they discuss life-long dreams inside the mouth of a huge dinosaur structure. In an attempt to encourage his friend, Pee-wee says "Everyone I know has a big but. Let's talk about your big but"
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 17/06/2026
The irony of this is just too much for a Wednesday morning 😂 I just can't stop snickering.
Screenshot of Yahoo Finance headline titled "15 companies that have said they're doing AI-related layoffs" with photos of 3 horrible bosses. It is dated "25 years ago" and mentions companies like Snap, Block, Wix, and Gitlab that didn't even exist 25 years ago.
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 10/06/2026
How did we go from criticizing people that photoshopped their images to accepting to AI images?🤔
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 03/06/2026
With Copilot costs going up, how expensive is AI really going to be when you've burned through your token budget and STILL have just as many, if not more, accessibility issues to fix at the end? 🤔 Nothing changes, just more expensive. Make it make sense.
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 01/06/2026
Great time speaking at AI Dev Summit. It was encouraging to find so many AI-forward people were concerned about accessibility. During Q&A, I made the statement "Solve for humans first then you will solve for AI. It won't work the other way around" and got the loudest applause. I was moved.
Photo of Gerard K. Cohen standing on the stage in his customary uniform of all black with a black and white LA Dodgers hat and matching Nike Air Force 1's. To the left is the main screen with the title slide that reads "When Browsers Think: Engineering for Agentic AI" and to the right is the podium with the AI Dev Summit logo.
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 29/05/2026
Rare vent: Roles for accessibility, but not a single conversation about it in the interview process. Sigh. Evaluating based on what everyone else can do, but not what only I can do. Sigh.
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Reposted by Gerard K. Cohen
Eric Bailey @ericwbailey.website · 28/05/2026
I'll be delivering a talk about ARIA's history and structure, as well as providing guidelines and busting myths for #WebExpo in about two hours' time. If you've got FOMO you can read the article that this talk was sourced from: www.smashingmagazine.com/2025/06/what... #a11y
What I wish someone told me when I first started using ARIA. WebExpo 2026. Slide with a design that uses large white type on a dark blue background.
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 26/05/2026
This is for everyone, even if you don't work in accessibility. It's time to start thinking past "average" and expanding our scope of awareness. If you're a tester, invite an engineer. If you're an engineer, invite a designer. Everyone invite their managers. Managers, invite your team.
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 21/05/2026
I had the great opportunity of speaking and sharing my thoughts on AI and Accessibility at Miro today for Global Accessibility Awareness Day, along with the legend Cynthia Shelly. Thank you so much Phil Strain for the invite and my ex-tweep Peter Gould for hosting. #GAAD
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 21/05/2026
I know some feel there's nothing to celebrate So I'll say today we ACKNOWLEDGE the needs of over 1 billion people in the world with disabilities & help raise awareness I DO want to celebrate everyone that's working to advocate for accessibility.The world's a better place due to your work.Thanks!🫡
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Reposted by Gerard K. Cohen
Mark Steadman @steady5063.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Just pushed a new HTML summary report for axe-reporting-utils (v2.0.0) that takes multiple scans and puts them together for a summary report! Check it out! #Accessibility #A11y www.npmjs.com/package/axe-...
Axe summary html report that includes total scans, total issue types, total affected nodes and much more information!
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 18/05/2026
Tomorrow at 1pm ET, Casey Naiduk and I discuss the exciting topic of Enterprise Accessibility Metrics: Proving Value, Driving Change. This was a great, honest conversation that will hopefully inspire and encourage you to look at accessibility metrics differently. Link to register in the comments.
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 11/05/2026
This one is for everyone, not technical at all. If you're a tester, invite an engineer. If you're an engineer, invite a designer. If you're designer, invite a PM. If you're a PM, invite a manager (EM/DM). If you're a manager, invite your whole team! May 27 @ 12pm ET a11ytalks.com/posts/2026-may
a11ytalks.com
Solving for the Edges | A11yTalks
Solving for the Edges challenges conventional thinking by exploring what happens when we move beyond the middle and include those often left out of research and decision-making. Through real-world exa...
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 30/04/2026
We are exactly 3 weeks away from Global Accessibility Awareness Day on May 21. It's not too late to start planning events for your team/ organization. Reach out if you need some ideas or a presenter to speak to your people. #GAAD
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Lainey Feingold @lflegal.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Finally! Digital Accessibility Ethics: Disability Inclusion in All Things Tech will be published in one week on May 6. Thank you to everyone who has pre-ordered (it helps!) Links to pre-order, bios of our 39 authors (from 10 countries!) and full table of contents at accessibilityethics.org
Image of Digital Accessibility Ethics book cover announcing May 6 publication with and the url AccessibilityEthics.org.  Full title is Digital Accessibility Ethics: Disability Inclusion in All Things Tech. Cover has multi-colored image and lists editors Lainey Feingold, Reginé Gilbert, and Chancey Fleet
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 29/04/2026
I'm speaking at AI Dev Summit in San Francisco about how Agentic AI is transforming browsers into autonomous actors that understand, navigate, and act on the web. I'll discuss the engineering patterns that make experiences legible to machines. DM for free passes. Link to conf in follow up.
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 27/04/2026
So, according to the commercial... AgentForce by SalesForce has given Williams-Sonoma the incredible ability to provide (checks notes...) recipes??? The future is already looking brighter! 😆
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 27/04/2026
Access my accessibility courses with 50% off yearly plans Pluralsight with code FLASH50. In 8 hours,PM's,Designers,Developers,& Testers can learn about Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Testing, Advanced Testing (with screen readers), and Fundamentals of ARIA. Link in the comments!
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Reposted by Gerard K. Cohen
Steve Faulkner @stevefaulkner.eurosky.social · 26/04/2026
Mike Paciello – talks accessibility – fireside @mikepaciello.bsky.social #a11y #section508 #WAI #WCAG #overlays #history html5accessibility.com/stuff/2026/0...
mike and I on the fireside chat
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 21/04/2026
A good way to meet a few WCAG AAA guidelines around saving input data for people. If it's this easy, why not just do it? PSA: Please know what you are doing and why. Don't just consume this component and claim AAA conformance. 😉
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 20/04/2026
Where I age myself by using the term "photoshopped" and also discuss accessibility slander on my timeline. Thanks to @stevefaulkner.eurosky.social , the Johnny Carson of Accessibility, for the invite and discussion.
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 13/04/2026
PM, Designer, Developer, or QA? Learn simple accessibility testing in Testing Techniques for Web Accessibility. Use browser tools without a screen reader. Designers explore Stark/axe; Developers add accessibility to linting and tests. Build habits to prevent issues. Link to follow 👇
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Steve Faulkner @stevefaulkner.eurosky.social · 08/04/2026
Articles by Brothercake: the TPGi years #a11y #html #expertise #aria vispero.com/resources/au...
vispero.com
James Edwards, Author at Vispero
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 08/04/2026
I had a great conversation with Mark Shapiro, President of Accessibility.com, on AI in Accessibility: Separating Hype from Reality. This session cuts through the hype to reveal what AI can actually do today, where it falls short, & why human expertise remains essential. Link to follow
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Gerard K. Cohen @gerardkcohen.me · 07/04/2026
I'm officially a free agent! Looking for a well-rounded professional with years of real-world, enterprise accessibility experience? I'm now available for speaking, training, & contract work. Global Accessibility Awareness Day is coming up in May, & I’d love the opportunity to speak to your team.
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