National Network of ADA Centers Monthly ADA Audio Conference Series
December 15, 2009
www.ada-audio.org

Slide 1:
Social Networking Sites and Accessibility: Implications for Employers
Beth Loy, Ph.D., Principal Consultant
Linda Carter Batiste, J.D., Principal Consultant
A service of the U.S. Department of Labor’s 
Office of Disability Employment Policy

Slide 2:
Social Networking Sites
Presentation Overview
1. Using JAN
2. Web Design
3. Wikipedia
4. Blog
5. MySpace
6. Facebook
7. Second Life
8. YouTube
9. Overall
10. Questions

Slide 3:
Social Networking Sites
 What We Do
 How We Do It
 Customers We Serve

Slide 4:
Social Networking Sites
JAN Overview:  Start with JAN
•	 Accommodation and ADA Consultation
•	 Technical Assistance Documents
•	 Process and Guidance
•	 Benefit/Cost Research
•	 Policy Development

Slide 5:
Social Networking Sites
Motor Team
Cognitive/Neurological Team
Sensory Team
Entrepreneurship Team
Slide 6:
Social Networking Sites
•	 32-38,000 contacts per year
•	 6-7,000 electronic contacts (emails and JoDs)
•	 3.5 million Webpage requests per year

Slide 7:
Social Networking Sites
 Employers
 Individuals
 Rehabilitation and educational professionals
 Others

Slide 8:
Social Networking Sites
 Over 200 Publications
 Comprehensive Website
 SOAR
 ADA Library
 A to Z
 JAN on Demand
 JAN en Español
 JAN Updates
 Social Networks

Slide 9:
Social Networking Sites
Twitter
BLOG
Facebook
Linked in
Second Life
YouTube

Slide 10:
Web Design
 Provide text alternatives for all non-text content
 Spell out abbreviations
 Keep a standard design (header, footer)
 Provide mechanisms to freeze objects and control volume
 Use accessible media (open, closed, audio captions)
 Lower reliance on color and music
 Allow keyboard navigation
 Create accessible PPT, forms
 Use relative text size
 Display EEO / RA statement
Slide 11:
Screen Shot of JAN’s website and Social Networking Venues Topic Page

Slide 12:
Wikipedia
Screen Shot of description of JAN on Wickepedia Website

Slide 13:
Wikipedia
 Has initial learning curve
 Used for summary of JAN service, research, partnerships, and history (including funding agency)
 Remains neutral but unsubstantiated venue
 No attempts to edit or contribute material
 Will update as JAN project develops
 Categories: Accessibility
 November stats: 535 page views

Slide 14:
Wikipedia
 Minimize a large number of links
 Work within Wikipedia structure
 Follow Web design principles

Slide 15:
Screen shot of JAN Blog website

Slide 16:
Blog
 Has time consuming installation
 php disagreements to ftp solution
 accessibility modifications to theme
 Runs on JAN server
 allows control of accessibility features 
 allows tracking of page requests
 allows blending of JAN theme, plugins
 Attracts spam, comments, and questions - need approval
 Used for notification of new documents, current events, follow-up from Webcasts, and requests for media  
 January - November stats: 173,536 page views, Rank 14

Slide 17:
Blog
 I am at a public university and we have a student with asthma requesting accommodations but she refuses to tell us what the triggers are for her asthma. Can we require her to get this information from her health care providers?
 This article is very informative. In fact, you have let me know what will be the solution for ailing problems. It was very useful for me, as I also suffer from lower back pain and cannot stand for long hours and in fact I am a teacher.

Slide 18:
Screen Shot of JAN Page on MySpace

Slide 19:
MySpace
 Flexible terms of service 
 Cluttered code
 Too easy use of audio
 Less popular
 More stable among browsers when incorporating skins for links to other social networks (Twitter, YouTube)
 Inaccessible CAPTCHA
 Less accessibility information
 November stats: 15 friends

Slide 20:
Screen shot of JAN Page on Facebook

Slide 21:
Facebook
 Less flexible terms of service
 Remains popular
 Has organization and personal pages
 Cannot track page requests: 267 fans
 MC: Thank you so much for the 
recent training regarding recent events 
in job accommodations. I had no idea JAN was on Facebook. I now plan to tell each of my clients.
 Cricket: I like this opportunity to share resources. I'm a Selective Placement Program Manager (extremely new) and need resources.

Slide 22:
Facebook
 Redesigns often 
 Need more access to code
 Remains very cluttered
 Allows link to RSS and blog
 Has partnership with American Foundation for the Blind 
 Adjustable text size 
 Offers audio version of CAPTCHA
 Allows JAWS use with chat
 Has keyboard shortcuts available
 Can attach captions 

Slide 23:
Screen shot of JAN’s Twitter page

Slide 24:
Twitter
 Microblogging: 140 characters or less
 Accessible Twitter (www.accessibletwitter.com)
 alternative to Twitter.com website (mostly defaults RT and re:)
 free but alpha version
 Greasemonkey (juicystudio.com/article/twitter-focus.php)
 Puts the favorite, reply, and delete links into keyboard shortcuts
 Jawter (randylaptop.com/2009/02/08/jawter-2/)
 screen reader becomes Twitter client 
 free but beta version
 Cannot track page requests: 286 followers
 Use Tweetburner to create twurl

Slide 25:
Clip art of JAN Virtual Office

Slide 26:
Second Life
•	Acts as an interactive 3D Virtual World, developed by Linden Lab (San Francisco)
•	 Provides platform where business, educators, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs can develop a virtual presence
•	 Functions with Linden Dollars and SL Time (pacific)
•	 Collaborate with:
•	 Virtual Ability – accessibility   
•	 TechSoup – office space
•	 Virtual Helping Hands – best practices

Slide 27:
Screen Shot of Second Life Web page

Slide 28
Second Life
Screen shot of Second Life Web Page

Slide 29:
Second Life
Screen Shot of Second Life Web Page

Slide 30:
Second Life
Screen Shot of Second Life Web Page

Slide 31:
Second Life
Screen Shot of Second Life Web Page

Slide 32:
Establish office in Nonprofit Commons 
 Track visitors and media distributed
 Develop partnerships 
 Provide presentations on JAN and accommodation and ADA issues
 Share information on making virtual space accessible

Slide 33:
Second Life
Screen Shot of JAN Virtual Office in Second Life

Slide 34:
Second Life
•	  Use TextSL (www.textsl.org)
•	 JAWS becomes Second Life client
•	 Dependent on Second Life designers 
•	 Use Max – Virtual Guidedog (www.virtualguidedog.com)
•	 Part of Virtual Helping Hands
•	 Client that provides text in local chat to voice
•	 Create accessible signs, PPTs, transcripts for events
•	 Provide audio and text transcripts
•	 Rename objects to identifiable names

Slide 35:
Second Life
 Reflect physical world access (policies, ramps, teleports)
Screen Shot of Access Issues built into JAN Second Life website

Slide 36:
Second Life
 Reflect physical world access (doors, seating, turnarounds)

Slide 37:
JAN on YouTube
Images of Jan Staff at their desks

Slide 38:
YouTube
•	 AT Focus
•	 ~ 5 min
•	 Raw footage (HD) complete, converted to wmv 
•	 Limited sounds chosen, combined visuals
•	 Adobe CS4, conversion software to include Adobe Flash designs that were convert to Video AVI
•	 Captions (captioning best practices collected)
•	 open captions (outside vendor .xml file) 
•	 descriptive script
•	 YouTube testing of video in sandbox
Slide 39:
Social Networking Sites
 Cluttered, jumbled code behind the scenes
 unlabeled links and forms
 overlaying forms
 commercial ads
 Difficult to create user accounts
 Depends on AT knowledge curve, who controls server, AND designer of social network pages
 Can find ways to provide labels for links, alternate text for objects, captions for media, and effective ways to communicate for what organization controls

Slide 40:
Social Networking Sites
 Growing at rapid rates
 Popular with some disability groups
 Has some resistance as too new, just playing
 Control is good and bad
 Need to increase public awareness
Internal morale booster

Slide 41:
Slide with image of a question mark

Slide 42:
Social Networking Sites
Contact JAN
(800) 526-7234 (V)
(877) 781-9403 (TTY)
http://www.jan.wvu.edu
jan@jan.wvu.edu

Please call, e-mail, or visit us on the Web!