Essentially, the question is not “Who is the internet for?”, but rather “How is the internet for everyone?” There are two concepts that answer this question – Openness and Accessibility.
Openness
When we speak about the internet, we are usually referring to the “open web”. This concept of “openness” in terms of our digital world is what allows people from all walks of life, from all over the world to work together, collaborate, or access content and build upon what others have already put out there. This “freedom”, if you will, has tremendous influence on people across the globe!
Why?
Openness in regards to the internet is not a black or white, on or off, kind of thing; openness lies more on a spectrum and is completely up to the content’s creator and developer on how much, if any, they wish to publish online. There are many benefits, however, of creating open-source digital work, including (but not limited to): accountability of content quality; community of reviewers to assist or fix any errors you may have missed; as well as the moral aspect of helping others grow in their own digital ventures. Economically speaking, it is also a more cost effective alternative to publish your content openly, versus copywriting.
How?
Most of the content we access every day is available to us because of the open web. The internet is built to share information, and it would not be the lifeline utility it is today without people freely publishing and accessing content. We utilize the openness of the internet every time we open Google to ask “How do I…”, or “What is…”, or my favourite and common search query, “Is [insert issue here] normal??”. It’s this freedom to search and publish our own experiences and problems that help so many of us immeasurably in terms of saving time and money. For example, for this assignment, we were asked to find an image online and use alt text with it. Unless the image you decide to post is one of your own personal creations, posting something online without proper licensing can get you into trouble. Thankfully, there are websites that provide thousands of images that you can use for your own publishing needs, without having to pay to use them. I chose to get the image for this blog post from Pexels.com, which offers a large selection of free stock photos and royalty free images.
But having open content on the internet does more than satisfy our curiosity or help us with our D.I.Y. projects. Being able to search for and find groups of like-minded individuals who have gone through, or who are currently experiencing, issues you thought you were alone in has such an understated value in today’s world. There’s a home for everyone out there: from trauma survivors, addicts in recovery, to children of neglectful multi-millionaires, and beyond! Personally, I see the benefits of all the open information out there, as well as the potential for abuse, astonishing!
Accessibility
Accessibility is the practice of making your websites or digital content usable by as many people as possible; this includes those using mobile devices or screen readers, those with slow network connections, as well as individuals with disabilities or physical limitations. Accessibility ensures a better user experience for all visitors of all ages on all devices.
Why?
There are countless reasons to make your online content accessible! However, for the purpose of answering this specific question, there are four main reasons to create accessible and inclusive content online: moral, legal, business, and curb-effect.
- Moral reasoning behind creating accessible content online pretty much speaks for itself – it’s just the right thing to do. If you were to think about in terms of Golden Rule mentality, or as I like to teach my 6 year old, “How would you like it if…”, it’s just human decency to create things that everyone can enjoy, not just for those who are just like you, or have what you have. Along with the willingness to create open content online, having accessible content is what fuels progress and growth exponentially in my opinion.
- The legal reasons behind making your content more accessible online has less to do with moral character or empathy, and more in line with the desire to avoid lawsuits and not get sued. While this may seem petty for some, it can be a real motivator for companies and content creators who fail to adhere to the needs of the wider consumer and whom then have to deal with public outcry and legal consequences.
- Businesses benefit from adhering to accessibility guidelines in two ways: the first is they avoid costly lawsuits as mentioned above; but they also have the benfit of reaching a greater audience of consumers by making their content accessible to everyone. By allowing your content to be fully accessible by people with differing device capabilities, network speed, physical or cognitive limitations, etc., you’re also allowing your product or content to be purchased or shared by more people too.
- Curb-effect is slightly different as it isn’t exactly a benefit specific to alternative audiences, but it still an important concept when discussing accessibilty. Curb effect is the idea that accessibility tools or utilities help audiences beyond those of the intended group, for example, closed captioning, alternative texts, etc. Personally, if a video does not have a written transcript available published alongside it, I will look elsewhere for a similar video that does. This is necessary for me because of my neurological disorder, but it is also useful for someone who simply prefers reading the content rather than sit through and watch a whole TED talk.
How?
Accessibility, like openness, is a layered concept that is ultimately up to its creator to implement; and there are many ways to make your digital content more accessible to the masses. However, there are some basic guidelines that everyone can put into practice right now, that can benefit everyone moving forward. These include using alt text with your images to describe the information that the image is meant to portray; creating descriptive text for your hyperlinks that tell the viewer where the link will take them; and creating content with contrasting fonts and colours ensures your content is both visually appealing and accessible for those with who are visually impaired.
The bottom line is that prioritizing openness and accessibility in your digital content benefits everyone, including the creator. The time it takes to implement is miniscule compared to the lives it benefits.
