Assignment Two: Internet Accessibility

Internet Issues Report: Accessibility

They are many issues to address in the accessibility of the internet. It is such a comprehensive and complex issue that many businesses fail to adapt to. An individual with a disability could simply have a repetitive stress injury or could be one of the following common disabilities:

• Colour blindness
• Blindness
• Deafness
• Dyslexia
• Age-related conditions
• Cognitive disability

In a Marketer's Eyes

Looking at it from a marketing perspective, a smart businessman would like it’s product or service to be available to everyone who fits its target market and niche.

Let take a look at a potential consumer who is visually impaired with colour blindness. How would they be able to notice the difference between a navy cardigan from a forest green? If your company is not accessible, than that is one potential consumer and sale lost, more importantly a negative image of your brand in the consumer’s mind.

Fortune Cookie, a digital design agency has been working with Legal & General. Legal & general is a financial services company located in the UK. Their former website was unaccessible to certian individuals, and it was David Walton from Legal & General that decided that he had to do something about it. The success of that Leads  & General recieved was enormous.

Their objectives were to:

• Increase Accessibility for people with disabilities
• Create a user-friendly, web standard website

In doing so, the sale of their services increased by 300%, maintenance costs decreased 66%, natural search improved by 50%, customers reported that the site was more visually appealing, 10% of customers who entered the homepage then left quickly declined by 10% and the number of complaints on the website being unaccessible went down to ZERO.

Equal Rights for the “Real” World

As a society we have determined the rights and wrongs, the do’s and don’ts, and it works for us when were entering a building on a wheelchair ramp, or reading the third-floor elevator button in Braille. We as a society have worked hard for these rights. In 1982 The Charter or Rights and Freedom declared that everyone has the right to:

1. Freedom to conscience and religion
2. Freedom to thought, belief, expression and opinion and the freedom of press and OTHER media communications
3. Freedom of peaceful assembly
4. Freedom of association

In simple words (1) and (2), in regards to the fundamental rights, provide the people right to communicate to the public freely. I am “no law student”, but it is clear that individuals with disabilities should be granted these rights and the access to communicate and access important or personal information and socialize on the web. Thinking about the information age and the “new” economy, the web is a main source that individuals communicate, research, shop, protest, work, play, learn and much more – this virtual world provides everything that “real” world offers – except the tailored fundamental rights for virtual public. 

In opposition, the Internet is a rapidly growing medium that is hard for people to grasp. It is hard to keep up with in means of advertising, technologically, systematically and production-wise. A few organizations have realized the holes in the legislation and dictated fundamental rights and now are devoted to increasing accessibility on the web. 

A Giant Small First Step

To increase accessibility on the web entirely would be impossible, although simple procedures as to the typeface, colour, size and proper encoding in the web world – wonders – for individuals with disabilities, and businesses.

To see if your/a website is accessible check out this link http://achecker.ca/checker/index.php. It will list you the known problems, likely problems and potential problems of the website in terms of accessibility.

References

http://www.efc.ca/pages/law/charter/charter.text.html

http://www.w3.org/WAI/

http://www.it-analysis.com/business/compliance/content.php?cid=9258