Opportunities
Social media provides opportunities for people with disabilities:
- Communicate with anyone in the world
- Interact freely and independently
- Get information about the environment
- Participate in shaping the environment
Example #1: Twiddeo
Twiddeo is Twitter and video; for sign-language users.
Example #2: StreetView
Google StreetView shows environment; for people with physical disabilities.
Barriers
Unfortunately there are often barriers on social media websites:
- Do not work with assistive technologies
- Are too complex to understand by many
- Do not have captions (images & multimedia)
- Miss many other accessibility requirements
Hacking
Some clever developers hack to improve social media websites:
Standards
Websites can be made accessible using relevant standards:
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
- Authoring Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG)
- User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG)
- Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA)
Summary and Conclusion
Social media is an untapped opportunity for people with disabilities:
- Social media can accelerate accessibility
- Accessibility can accelerate social media
- Technical solutions exist for applications
