Disability Club: How Nathan Johnston has created an all-abilities algorithm

Nathan, how long have you been working on the Disability Club platform, and why?

For four years. It's a social media platform for people with disability. I started it during the pandemic with all the lockdowns because I felt isolated. I couldn’t go out and meet people like I normally would, and I thought if I felt isolated, other people would as well. I’m in a wheelchair and can’t walk, but before covid, I was going out to concerts and meeting up with people.

How has the project developed over the four years?

We launched the app last year, and soon after we launched, we had a thousand members. Right now, it’s at 3000. When we first launched, it was just a web platform, but now it’s both.

So it’s a platform where you can talk to other people who understand what it’s like to live with disability?

Yep, although we have got people on it with disability and without disability. We’re an all-inclusive network. Anybody is welcome to join it. We’ve got a couple of disability businesses on board, but we want to get more on board.

If I log on to Disability Club, what do I get?

If you download the app, you get your own profile, you get your own news feed, you can start your own groups and you can connect with people and message them if they accept your request.

Did you build all this yourself?

I’m very good with technology, but I have a whole team of people behind me.

Is this your full time job?

Pretty much, but I also work for a disability organisation one day a week. I look after their social media and website.

What’s the reaction been from people living with disability?

I've had a few people write to me, and the feedback's been good. They feel like it was needed.

Where do you hope the project goes from here? What’s the plan?

Umm, get bigger. I want to make the platform even more accessible, launch new features, make it better, bring more features into it, like, for example, eventually we want to do video chats and audio calls, to build more connection while maintaining a safe and supportive community.

How is Disability Club different now from, say, Facebook? What makes it more accessible?

Well, for example, we want to code it so every menu and every menu item is able to be picked up by screen readers. There are some sites I go on to and my screen reader can’t read it. So, we want to make it completely readable with screen readers and other assistive technologies. It’s hard because every technology is different, so we’ve got to test it with everything, like the iPhone screen reader or TalkBack and desktop screen readers. Accessibility should be in a product as well as it could be in the beginning, to me, because products should be accessible to anyone, no matter what.

So, you’re creating what Facebook and other social media platforms should be?

Yeah. Well, they do have accessibility, but there are some limitations for screen readers. Sometimes when they do updates – and I’m not just talking about other social media platforms, I’m talking about other sites in general – sometimes when they do updates, it could affect accessibility. So, my screen reader may not recognise an image anymore.

Do you see Disability Club as a global product?

It’s already global. Any country where the app stores allow us to go, we go. We have a mix of people signed up from Australia to all over the place. We’re getting new people signing up every day. We are striving for continual growth and development to make the best product we can.

From where you started four years ago, are you happy with where Disability Club is at?

Yes, I’m very happy because I’ve done this in the best way I can. I’m trying to build something that takes a lot of patience and a lot of time, and I’ve done it on the lower scale. I’ve done it with a small team. Normally, a project like I’m building would take a lot of money, and I’ve done it on a very small budget.

You said you started this project because you felt isolated during the pandemic. Is life better for you in that respect now?

Yes. I like going out and spending time with family and friends, and going to music concerts. In addition to restrictions ending, the benefit of Disability Club is that I have met many people and new friends I stay in contact with. I now have more friends and social connections than I have ever had before.

More information

https://disabilityclubcommunity.com/

https://disabilityclubcommunity.com/request-help/