I am an advocate of using social media to bring awareness about the community of people with disabilities (PwD) and accessible Internet, Communications and Technology (ICT). I believe that the community of PwD is starting to find their voices via social media. However, there are some significant accessibility problems with social media. There are leaps in accessibility that have been made and are in progress. Yet we find that many social media tools and applications are not blending accessibility into their products and when they are, it does not seem to be a priority. PwD are often left out of the social media conversation and movement because the devices are less accessible.

We find that many social media tools and applications are not blending accessibility into their products. PwD are often left out of the social media conversation because they apps are inaccessible. This is difficult to deal with due to the fact that most don’t seem to have accessibility in mind until there is a problem, instead the devices and applications need to be thought of as opportunities for universal access.
Social media has to be accessible or we continue to widen the Digital Divide, it is as simple as that. As long as there are access problems we run the risk of alienating a portion of our community.
The Internet has opened up many opportunities as well as greatly improving the quality of life for these users, but there are still barriers. Many people think of disabilities in extreme terms such as blindness and deafness, but it also includes many others with visual or hearing impairments that are increasingly common in our aging population, and other challenges such motor and cognitive impairment. The spectrum of ability for all users is variable.

Can an organization really afford to lose this audience?

I think not, and this community is chattering on more accessible platforms, about the good and the bad. If social media tools are not accessible those platforms stand to lose out on major benefits, or risk being singled out as not worried about the less able part of the population and their advocates.

Sometimes we hear that it is too hard to make an application or platform accessible. This makes sense only if the organization wishes to put forth the message that their customers are not worth a re-tool of an app. Accessibility should be built into the system similarly to building in privacy, security or usability. The second thought of accessibility as “not an easy add on” and will be noticed by those left out.
The good news is that Social Media applications can be made fully accessible allowing everyone to use them; all aspects of use just need to be considered.

In years past, developers were afraid that making the application accessible would make a system less creative or innovative or other security issues. The good news is we have seen amazing strides with accessible social media and now it is innovative developers take pride in blending accessibility into the process level. This seems to be the future of technology and it should be our end goal to reach universal access.

Is participation for all out of the question? If we don’t make social media accessible than we continue to widen the “Digital Divide” and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) one in seven people are impacted with disabilities worldwide. Plus 1 out of 3 households in the U.S. are impacted by disabilities, there for this is an issue that affects family and community. Worldwide, this group numbers 500-750 million people and is a key influencer of the public’s perceptions.

There is no excuse to not make your Social Media applications fully accessible so that everyone can use them. In years past, developers were afraid that making the application accessible would make a system less usable or “dumbing” the system down. Once again, ridiculous – we have seen amazing strides with accessible social media and now it is BAD design if you do not blend accessibility into the process level.

Many people are surprised to learn just how much of the world’s population is affected by a disability, and how valuable accessible design of electronic and information technology (E&IT) also known as Internet, Communications and Technology (ICT) is to local, state, federal and government, private industry, and educational institutions across the globe.

Making technology usable for all has become imperative for unleashing the potential of all and is critical for any organization wishing to remain relevant in the 21st century.  Technology is accessible if it can be used just as effectively by people with disabilities – including the elderly and veterans with disabilities – as it can by those without. Half of the world’s population is impacted by a disability in some fashion, making accessible design critical to private industry, government, and educational institutions.

To understand the impact one has to look no further than the World Health Organization which indicates that people with disabilities are the world’s largest and fastest growing minority group.  With the population of the United States aging, and the likelihood of developing a disability or other mobility limitations increasing with age, the growth in the number of people with disabilities can be expected to rise dramatically.  Also impacting this formula is the growing population of veterans with disabilities.

The World Health Organization (WHO, 2003) indicates that people with disabilities are one of the largest and fastest growing minority groups. Public and private entities that make their technology accessible can reach and better serve an untapped and underserved market, a demographic that represents both spending and voting power, a population that exhibits a strong desire to learn and improve despite facing physical and developmental challenges (The Solution Marketing Group, 2007).

Around the world more than 750 million people with disabilities are gaining recognition as a significant and growing market for products and services, and they are making their needs and expectations known to governmental bodies, organizations, and businesses.  Using information and communication technology that is accessible is the fastest way in which to reach and serve people with disabilities and the elderly in an equal fashion as those without disabilities.

Millions of people with disabilities regularly travel, shop, go to school, and eat out with family and friends.  A study by the U.S. Department of Education found that one in three households in the U.S. is affected by a disability. The 2000 U.S. Census reported that almost 42% of older adults (65+ years) have one or more disabilities. In fact, in the US the percentage of people with disabilities is larger than any single ethnic, racial, or cultural group.  At 19.3%, the number of people with disabilities exceeds the next largest group — Hispanic people (14.9%) — by a fairly wide margin (U.S. Department of Justice, 2005).

Harmonization of state, federal and international accessibility legislation, regulations and standards offers the promise of constraining the cost to vendors to test and certify E&IT product compliance to diverse sets of otherwise similar accessibility guidelines. Consumers of all abilities benefit from the reduced cost of bringing accessible E&IT products to market when harmonization of accessibility laws, regulations and standards is embraced.

An inclusive and universal design approach to technology is critical to both government agencies and private industry wishing to anticipate future needs of this growing population.  By recognizing the importance of the protection and promotion of the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities through assistive technology, the world is just beginning to strengthen policies, strategies, and programs along with an increase in awareness of the public at large of the importance of the issue of disability and assistive technology.

Where environmental and privacy issues are more homogenous, issues around E&IT tend to be more disparate.  Due to the many types of disabilities and age-related impairments, one size accessible product solution does not fit all.

Providing accessible E&IT products, web and non-web-based information and services also benefits the growing population affected by age-related impairments, in addition to people with disabilities.

“Underlying the legal and practical realities of the ‘information age’ is the recognition of the vast capacity of accessible technology to unlock human potential, to tap into great reservoirs of intellect and ability that have gone largely untapped until now, and to maximize productivity and performance for all,” says John Kemp, a leading disability law expert and CEO of Abilities!  A NY based non-profit that supports people with disabilities.  www.abilitiesonline.org

Nations across the world are currently adopting new laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as increasing the protection of civil rights for people with disabilities and expanding freedoms for all.

Demand for accessible technology and services will continue to rise as well as the public’s understanding of, and requirement for, technology that is usable by every citizen.  (Forrester Research 2003.)

To comply with guidelines and to include this valuable group of consumers, it is important that all diversity and HR processes, information, communications and technology (ICT), product development and service touch points are fully accessible to everyone.  This includes mobile technology, kiosk, software, documents, social media (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.), websites, and other forms of communications.  The need to be accessible grows as our reliance on technology and use of social networks increases.

For further information about TecAccess and their current endeavors, visit their website at SSB Bart Group