Social media and accessibility – 2019 update

Handouts Media

Presented at 8:00am in Westminster II on Thursday, November 21, 2019.

#29620

Speaker(s)

  • Gian Wild, Ms, AccessibilityOz

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 1-hr
  • Format: Lecture
  • Expertise Level: Beginner
  • Type of session: General Conference

Summary

Every year AccessibilityOz analyzes the accessibility compliance of the seven main social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and LinkedIn and explains what needs to be done to make sure your social media is accessible to all.

Abstract

Social media accessibility is an incredibly important tool in modern society. It is not just the young who access social media, with close to 30% of people over the age of 65 interacting on social networking sites, and 50% of people aged 50 - 64. As the percentage of recruiters who use LinkedIn is now 95%, social media is becoming an essential part of negotiating the current working environment. The main reason why social media is not accessible is that social networking sites and apps are almost continually refreshed. Facebook sometimes changes twice a day. This, coupled with a lack of a formal testing process, means that what may be accessible today may be literally gone tomorrow. Gian Wild goes through the accessibility issues of each of the seven main social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and LinkedIn) and discusses ways that you can make sure your social media content is accessible.

Keypoints

  1. Social media is not accessible
  2. General things you need to do to make social media accessible
  3. Accessibility tips for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter and YouTube

Disability Areas

All Areas

Topic Areas

Assistive Technology, Research, Uncategorized, Web/Media/App Access

Speaker Bio(s)

Gian Wild

Gian works in the area of web accessibility: making sure web sites and mobile apps can be used by people with disabilities. She spent six years contributing to the international set of web accessibility guidelines used around the world and is also the CEO and Founder of AccessibilityOz. With offices in Australia and the United States, AccessibilityOz has been operating for five years. Its clients include the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, Optus, Seek and Foxtel. A 2017 Australian of the Year award nominee, Gian splits her time between Australia the US. A regular speaker at conferences around the world, in 2015 she presented to the United Nations on the importance of web accessibility at the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Handout(s)