The open web is the world’s biggest free information and communication resource and is very accessible. The internet is used to do almost any task and is accessible by anyone providing limitless opportunities.
How?
There are limitless ways to share and access information on the internet. Forum pages like Reddit and wiki can narrow down specific categories. Youtube is the internet’s biggest video sharing platform.
Accessibility
Why?
Making accessible content allows everyone, including people with disabilities, to use your website. It also helps your site reach more people and improves its visibility on search engines.
How?
Accessing the internet can be difficult for some, especially those with disabilities, but it’s important for everyone. Clear content, image descriptions, and simple headings help make the web easier to use for everyone on it. Accessibility tips are all over the internet, and it never hurts to learn them.
Accessibility is important because it allows everyone to be included. It also keeps one from be sued for excluding others. According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), accessibility is considered a human right. Not to mention, accessibility is beneficial to society, as it allows everyone to be treated as a whole.
How?
The most known accessibility concept is the ‘Curb-Cut Effect’. The curb-cut effect is when a person who is not disabled uses an accessibility feature to their advantage. For example, a person might not know English as their first language and has a hard time understanding a movie. He or she will use the closed-caption feature so that they can better understand the lines in the movie. More information on the curb-cut effect can be found here: Wikipedia.
Openness of the web
Why Openness?
One might choose to create on the web because it contributes to an open knowledge base. Shared information is important because it can reach audience that might be oblivious otherwise. Another thing open creators do is foster trust and transparency. This in turn causes the audience to be more engaged. One also might choose to collaborate openly on the web because the can connect to a broader audience. This connection can foster new opportunities and partnerships. More information on the importance of the web can be read on What is the Open Web and why is it Important.
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Why?
Openness on the internet allows the sharing of knowledge and collaboration of many users around the world. This allows someone to access answers and solutions to various problems with a simple search, which would otherwise have cost an exorbitant amount of time or money. In addition, the collaboration of ideas allows a much more efficient progression of research than could be completed separately.
How?
Potential methods of publishing work openly include publishing content on websites such as Wikipedia, Youtube, or GitHub, in addition to the many places where authors and artists publish their work for free for anyone on the internet to view. These open-access websites allow all internet users to access and use the content without paying, creating a more collaborative society.
Accessibility
Accessibility icon set, Accessibility concept
Why?
Providing accessibility measures when creating content allows the information to be accessed and viewed by all people, regardless of any disabilities or other obstacles they might have to viewing content. In addition to making content available to everyone, such measures can make viewing information easier for people who aren’t included in the target group, such as people with ADHD who might focus easier on a video by utilizing closed captions, although the captions are originally intended to help deaf or hard of hearing people.
How?
Accessibility measures that can be implemented include closed captions on any video content, a transcript for audio or video content, clearly defined headers for text, image descriptions, and labeled links. Although implementing these measures might cost some extra time and work, they create ease of use for all kinds of people trying to access the content. Find more information on how to make online content accessible here: How To Make Your Online Content Accessible
Internet openness is considered to be a spectrum. The work from a creator isn’t necessarily labeled as “fully open” or “fully closed.” An example of internet openness would be a carpenter sharing step by step how to build something but then putting their work up for sale. The internet openness spectrum reflects a balanced approach that allows both public access and personal or commercial control.
How?
How does the internet allow us to make content open/accessible? There are many ways the internet helps us make content such as social media, blogs, and articles. There are many ways to create content. It is important to create content that is open and accessible, here is an article about what is means to provide open and free internet.
Accessibility
Why?
It is important to create content that is accessible to everyone. This way, if someone needs information you created, they can find it and access it easily. This helps create an inclusive, user-friendly, and compliant online environment.
How?
Making the Internet available to everyone may be a bit difficult but is very important. To increase the accessibility of the internet it is important to have very clear content and descriptions. Adding pictures and headings on the internet can be helpful.
She is a very complex person with hopes and dreams only she knows. She is focused on the things that make her happy. She works hard but she plays hard too. You would not know that just from looking at her
The open web is important because it allows anyone to access what is on the internet. People don’t have to pay to get information from the internet, which allows them to learn and share freely.
How?
There are many ways to openly share content on the internet. Some examples are YouTube, Wikipedia, and blogs. Anyone can post or view contents from these pages. Click this link to watch some Free, Informational YouTube Videos.
Accessibility
Why?
Creating accessible content ensures that everyone is able to view the information you are sharing. Since everyone is able to access the information, it increases the audience that is reached. This not only helps more people, but also could increase your revenue.
How?
Making the internet accessible to everyone adds a little bit more work, but also increases the benefits. Some ways to do this are adding alternative text with a picture, adding descriptive link text when including a weblink, and adding headings to each section.
Open content provides means of access to resources from others all within the Web, allowing people to manipulate, change, and control the dynamic of the platform. New and innovative ideas are created through open technologies that give room for collaborative interception from a diverse range of people. This makes information on the web widely spread and is the reason there is so much of it.
How?
The web can be restricted based on the search engine you’re using, but mostly it is open to the public to post, exchange, and delete information. Wikipedia, for example, is a creative common space to collect a large range of data and knowledge from people to have a full review of something or a concept. Open work can be distributed and changed like creating a website or posting a youtube video.
Accessibility:
Why?
An accessible design for content allows for diverse persons to relay information to and from the web. Accessibility should be easy, affordable, and universal so that all can use it if they have an impairment or not. When accessibility is implemented it not only makes retrieval easier for those who may need it but it makes things more clear, concise, and generally usable.
How?
To make content accessible one can rely on a lot of content already out there – most videos now have closed captions or translations, and most online newspapers have links embedded in the text for further contextual information. Princeton gives a checklist on creating digital accessibility which provides more examples of how structure, visuals, and context can determine the availability content is to all people.
Why is the open internet important? The internet being “open” allows for users of a computer, cellular device, etc. to freely collaborate and share their ideas with others connected to the internet anywhere, anytime. Think about this, how many times have you ever searched “How to…” or “Why is…” on Google? Assumably, plenty of times. Well, you can thank the open internet for having the ability to provide you with plenty of resources to aid you in answering said question. The most common example of this is “How-To” videos on YouTube. Thus, the open internet allows absolutely anyone to have access to the internet, without having their results influenced by select companies.
How Openness?
How is the internet open? The internet’s “openness” allows for several different results to immediately become accessible whenever a user is, “surfing the web”. Websites such as Reddit, Wikipedia, etc. and YouTube video tutorials are examples of this. However, openness is a spectrum. This spectrum allows for certain resources found on the web to be different degrees of “open”. Meaning, that resources may have an open-source software, but has certain requirements for it’s usage. You can find more information about the openness spectrum on the Internet Policy Review website.
Accessibility
Why Accessibility?
Why is internet accessibility important? As previously discussed, “openness” refers to ANYONE being able to make use of the internet. Accessibility helps make sure that those with disabilities and unreliable internet connection refrain from getting lost in that definition – thus, the internet is truly available to everyone. Additionally, accessibility is a legal standard for the large majority of the internet. This is shown through tools such as closed captioning, color contrasting, correct heading structure, alternative text, etc.
How Accessibility?
How is the internet accessible? Internet accessibility is made possible through many concepts – most notably is the “Curb-cut Effect”. This effect refers to features that are created for individuals with disabilities, however, these same tools actually benefit outside communities as well. Using one of the previous examples of closed-captioning on videos, this feature was originally built as an aide for individuals with hearing impairments. However, this tool is beneficial for a much larger audience. For example, individuals with learning disabilities, those learning English as a second language, viewers listening in a noisy environment, etc. You can find more on accessibility and the “Curb-cut Effect” on the Interaction Design Foundation website.
Openness is the foundation of the Internet. Its non-proprietary open standards enable anyone to create new services without permission, leading to innovative, accessible websites. This allows anyone with access to share ideas and collaborate in real time.
How?
The Internet was built using open standards, which enable anyone to develop a new service for public use. Users can utilize YouTube to post instructional videos, GitHub to collaborate on code, or one of the many programs to meet and socialize with new people.
Accessibility
Why?
Accessibility is an important component of website design, enabling users to access content on the website that would otherwise be inaccessible. Most websites are required to be ADA-compliant, and legally responsible for including all the required accessibility features. Although it could take a little more time to design an accessible website, it often enhances the user experience for all users. The US Department of Justice provides guidance on website ADA requirements.
How?
Websites can be made accessible by using high-contrast text and headers, and by adding features including alternative text, descriptive links, and captions. These features enable screen readers to navigate the text and function effectively, improving usability for all users.
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.
