Dispatches From The Internets

The Value of Content

This is a great post from Andy Beaumont regarding the sad state of affairs when it comes to content vs. conversions on the web. I look forward to the talk!

Why is so much of the internet still inaccessible to disabled people?

The internet represents one of our greatest post-ADA social failings, as a communications medium that had the potential to build accessibility into its very backbone, but didn’t. As the web becomes even more of a way of life in the next 25 years, the disability community will likely have to continue to fight for basic online accommodations, a telling testimony to their status in society.

Amen.

The ADA at 25: Disability rights and diversity

This is a beautiful piece from Microsoft’s General Counsel on the importance of considering special needs within the umbrella of diversity. I particularly loved this bit:

At its core the ADA is not about the dimensions of doorways, but the individuals who can now pass through them.

A vision for the ADA that focuses on people helps enfranchise so many who have been excluded for so long. It also enriches and opens our institutions to the very best and brightest talent our country has to offer. That is the power of diversity and why diversity efforts should include disability.

Building Accessible Windows Universal Apps

If you happen to be building a Windows Universal app (or know someone who is), I just stumbled on this awesome series of posts with invaluable advice for making it more accessible.

Winning technology with a social purpose

This is about tech for social good, which is awesome, but one of the most interesting bits is buried near the bottom and concerns us as web designers:

According to the Office for National Statistics, in May, 27% of disabled adults had never used the internet, compared with 7% of non-disabled adults. And last month’s report by the Extra Costs Commission found that part of the reason disabled people typically face £550 in extra living costs is due to the lack of ability of many of them to shop around online. Too many sites are not accessible to those with disabilities.