1 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The web is about information accessibility 2 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's really a basic human freedom that we 3 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 are just really beginning to talk about in 4 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the last decade. It's important 5 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 therefore that everybody have this freedom 6 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 any freedom that's only allocated to a few 7 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is not really a freedom. 8 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The web is about information and it's 9 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 important that people can access the 10 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 information that they need in order to 11 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 complete a workflow or get their job done 12 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 finish a task. 13 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I think the web should be accessible to 14 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 everyone all the time. I grew up with it 15 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 being easily accessible to me. It's how 16 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I learnt information easily. I can't 17 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 imagine someone not being able to just 18 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 google something instantly, and getting 19 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 what they need. 20 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I think websites should be accessible 21 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because...the web is founded kinda on this 22 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 idea of sharing information and if you 23 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 can't share information or if some people 24 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 can't see it , then it's not truly being shared. 25 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 26 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 We all have different abilities and 27 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 disabilities, and if we're all going to be 28 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 able to get the same content and interpret 29 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it in a somewhat similar fashion, it has 30 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to be given to us in that way and 31 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 accessible so that we can actually reach 32 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it 33 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Accessibility is important for a number of 34 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 reasons. For one, there are laws that 35 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 apply.Another is, it can relate to our 36 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 reputation. And a third is thatby paying 37 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 attention to it, we create a more 38 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 inclusive educational environment. 39 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I think we are really good as developers 40 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 at being...focusing on the 80% case. 41 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Focusing on how do we make every 4 out of 42 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 every 5 of our users happy. How do we 43 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 build things for those group of people, 44 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 because the last 20% is always hard. But I 45 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 say that the web is for 100%. It's for 46 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 everybody, which is what Tim Burners-Lee 47 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 said. 48 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I'm definitely am very moved by this 49 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 notion of inclusiveness. I mean I think 50 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that, for me it's a part of who I... 51 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this is important to me. But there's 52 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 also just the sort of, the notion of 53 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of having everybody's contributions to the 54 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 sort of...the knowledge. 55 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Big challenge is, to escape your own 56 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 viewpoint. And to not make the assumption 57 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that everyone sees the web the way you see 58 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it, on the device you see, the way 59 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you use it. And so when you're creating 60 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 web pages, that's the biggest challenge, 61 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 is getting outside of where you're sitting. 62 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The biggest obstacle to accessibility, 63 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I think is...is pure knowledge. 64 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It's really about putting yourself in the 65 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 mind of a person with disabilities. 66 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A person who has, who has no motor skills 67 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 has no hands, has a lack of vision, has a 68 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 lack of hearing. May have a 69 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 cognitive disability. To be able to put 70 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 yourselves in their shoes and understand 71 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 how are they working with the thing that 72 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I'm building or designing right now, 73 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 can they use it? 74 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The alternative is, you build something 75 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 someone says "oh no it's not accessible!" 76 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and so you go back and try to fix it but 77 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you probably have been doing the wrong 78 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 thing at many places you know you may 79 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 have hundreds of images with no alt text, 80 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you may have navigation that's very confused 81 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or you are relying on libraries that... 82 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 open internet explorer 83 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it's just that the technologies aren't 84 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 going to figure out. And so that's 85 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 when someone says, it's too much, too 86 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 expensive, too much work. Well just do it 87 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 from the beginning and it'll...it'll probably 88 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 get a quality product with less work. 89 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Accessibility is important to incorporate 90 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 earlier on because if you don't 91 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 incorporate it early on, you will 92 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 incorporate it later at greater expense, 93 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 with a certain amount of time you don't 94 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 have, with a certain amount of money you 95 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 don't have, to try to make it better. 96 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Accessibility, unfortunately like 97 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 everything else in design and web design 98 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 has to be done from the very beginning. 99 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So whether you're designing for different 100 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 devices, whether doing for different kinds 101 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of human abilities, all those things have 102 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to be thought of from the very beginning 103 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and built into your concept of what your 104 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 your plan is. Of course nobody wants to 105 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 take time at the end. We're almost there, 106 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 we just want to get it out, and that's the 107 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 mistake many of us make. It's like 108 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "I'll just get it out, then I'll go back and fix it." 109 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 No. Doesn't ever happen. There's always 110 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a next project. 111 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The first step in getting an accessible 112 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 site, is to work with the management, so 113 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they understand the value of making it 114 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 accessible, and also helping them 115 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 understand that we can do pretty 116 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 much anything they want and be accesible. 117 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 If you just talk about accessibility, it 118 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 may not be immediately appreciated as 119 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 something important to do. But if you 120 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 start talking about quality and the 121 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 overlap of search engine optimisation and 122 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 accessibility and things of that nature 123 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that...that will tend to get people's 124 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 attention more. 125 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When I started, I was a designer and I 126 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 wanted to make things pretty. And you 127 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 don't think about anything besides the 128 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 aesthetics. And what I soon realised was 129 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that when you have something that works