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From: Folk Tech <folktech(a)calendar.luma-mail.com>
Date: Mon, Mar 30, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Subject: Folk Tech Showcase, accessibility insights, and more!
To: <typeinthenumber(a)gmail.com>
Hi Folks! It was amazing to meet some of you this week at the ATmosphere
conference! It felt to me…
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Folk Tech
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Folk Tech Showcase, accessibility insights, and more!
Hi Folks!
It was amazing to meet some of you this week at the *ATmosphere conference!*
It felt to me like there are a lot of really on-vibe people in the
ecosystem, even if the actual Folk Tech aspects are still somewhat of a
work in progress. If you were there, let me know how you it landed for you.
In April, *we'll be hosting a showcase of Folk Tech-aligned projects*. We
could definitely use a couple of volunteers to help with the virtual rooms
set-up and to help hold the space. If you're up to help, please let me know
<https://o.lu.ma/L1tE0J6bpE>.
Submit your project!
You can submit a project to showcase here <https://o.lu.ma/Ik2mMyiAtf>. The
projects don't need to be digital or finished, just aligned with the Folk
Tech principles. What a great opportunity to find collaborators,
cross-pollinate ideas, and find some new tools to play with.
Excited to see these cool projects? Register to attend!
Register Here! <https://o.lu.ma/XNjUVTMPT3>
[image: Image]March Folk Tech: Accessibility
Last time, we had a great conversation about accessibility.
*Some conversation highlights:*
-
Walled gardens often reduce interoperability and cause accessibility
issues when different systems can't talk to each other. As Matthew said,
"these systems weren't designed to let you connect the different parts of
your life, they were designed to connect you with their services (and
surveillance)."
-
ADHD brains often thrive on pattern-matching, so apps that offer
gamified experiences can be of particular value to some neurodivergent
folks - and can also become traps when incentives are profit, not people's
welfare.
-
FOSS can rely on a "leisure tech class," aka people with spare time,
which isn't a durable foundation.
-
Ideas for funding accessibility included making data access a legal
right (similar to copyright exceptions), fiscal hosting through tools like
Open Collective, and separating need-signaling from funding so communities
can express what they need without it being tied directly to who has money.
-
Accessibility could be a part of all education, so that it's not seen as
a "specialised" thing just for designers
-
There's a perceived tension between designing for the most people versus
designing for the most profit.
*Watch the interview with Eric Bailey here. <https://o.lu.ma/mVsDL18fav>*
Would you like to be part of a *Folk Tech designers working group*? We will
start to think about ways to directly impact projects in the ecosystem that
we think can help our communities take ownership of their collective. You
don't need to be a "professional designer" but experience working on
experience design and front-end development would be great.* Sign up here.
<https://o.lu.ma/TXqu5GyjGu>*
See you soon! LX
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