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Be My Eyes to acquire AppleVis
Be My Eyes has acquired AppleVis. This new venture will secure the future of AppleVis' current content and will invest in the growth of the AppleVis community.
Original source: Be My Eyes press release
San Francisco, Aug. 28, 2024 – Be My Eyes, the award-winning company that provides visual access for blind and low-vision people through AI, volunteers and organizations anywhere in the world, announced today that it is acquiring AppleVis, the go-to online blindness website for accessibility advice on Apple and other technologies.
The future of AppleVis, a much loved online community with its active and engaged user base and vast resource of podcasts, forums, and reviews, looked bleak when its founder David Goodwin announced in July that it would need to close permanently at the end of August 2024. But following a fervent chorus of community wishes and support, Be My Eyes announced today that it will acquire AppleVis to ensure the website’s long-term stability and growth.
“David Goodwin built something remarkable and immensely valuable, and when the Be My Eyes team discussed the possible closure, we quickly concluded that we had to do something to keep such an important and loved community resource available,” said Mike Buckley, CEO of Be My Eyes. “From the first call with the AppleVis team, we not only learned that we shared the same values and mission, but that we also had similar ideas for how to grow AppleVis and make it even more useful in the future. As always, we will listen and learn first, and then continue to build AppleVis with the direct input and leadership of the blind and low-vision community.”
Under the terms of the acquisition, Be My Eyes will acquire the website and brand, and a license to all content. Be My Eyes has also agreed to ensure complete editorial independence for the AppleVis team and contributors going forward. It will also add two paid staff positions and retain key AppleVis volunteers under the new structure to ensure continuity and maintain its institutional knowledge.
To retain the editorial authenticity for the blind and low vision community, the new AppleVis organization will report directly to Bryan Bashin, Vice Chairman of Be My Eyes. Bashin, himself blind, has been a former science journalist, Commissioner for the U.S. AbilityONE Commission, and former CEO of the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind.
“AppleVis is undoubtedly a must-have resource for people who are blind or have low vision. I for one have used the site and listened to its podcasts on countless occasions”, commented Bryan Bashin, Vice-Chair of Be My Eyes. “Their intra-community forum, technology reviews, guides, advice, awards, report cards, and active discussions, combined with our own giant user community, makes a powerful voice that is certainly greater than the sum of its parts. And like all be My Eyes user features, AppleVis will continue to be free of charge for all of its users.”
The acquisition closed today, with the plan of ensuring the site remains available as read-only to the community, and then restoring full functionality on September 9th or before, in time for analysis of Apple’s fall software releases. By then, all the traditional AppleVis content relevant to such upcoming releases as iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, including articles detailing what’s new for blind and DeafBlind users, podcast episodes, and blog posts detailing new and resolved VoiceOver bugs in the respective updates, will be there as usual.
“Fourteen years ago, I along with several others set out to make AppleVis the go to online resource for individuals who are blind or have low vision who wanted to learn more about accessible technologies. We did that and so much more. But sadly, for several unavoidable reasons we had to announce in July the impending closure of AppleVis”, said David Goodwin, founder of AppleVis. “But following the subsequent outpouring of support, we just knew we needed to find a way to keep AppleVis going. Partnering with such a globally trusted, and valued technology partner as Be My Eyes could not have been a better outcome, and I look forward to the ongoing growth and evolution of AppleVis under their stewardship.”
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