Social networks - hit or miss?

As Disability Now launches its presence on Facebook and Twitter, Paul Carter finds that worries about sites like these are being challenged by disabled people

The popularity of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter grows and grows. Ever more companies are establishing social media presences as a way to market themselves to the public.

Should we welcome this or be concerned? At the recent Social Media Exchange conference in London, Steve Bowbrick, blogger-in-residence for BBC Future Media & Technology, said that a greater reliance on digital media could make life difficult for disabled people.

“There’s a genuine risk that organisations could alienate some groups,” he argued. “It’s important to consider how the tools are going to be used by the various communities being targeted and to work to engage them as effectively as possible.”

But Julie Howell, director of accessibility at Fortune Cookie (UK) Ltd, which specialises in accessible websites, disagrees. “Many disabled people have neither the means nor the desire to attend face-to-face meetings and may find printed media difficult to use. Charities that embrace digital channels are doing disabled people a great service by grasping the opportunity to communicate with and support disabled people on their own terms,” she says.

She adds that the claim that those unable to access digital technology are alienated is “unfounded”.

“I don’t believe disabled people are suffering in the way that’s suggested here, and such arguments do more to hold inclusion back as they give the impression that disabled people aren’t interested in using digital channels, which isn’t true.”

Henny Swan, a web evangelist for Opera Software and former senior web accessibility consultant for the RNIB, blogs on using the web as a tool for overcoming traditional barriers at http://www.iheni.com

She predicts that as their usage changes, social media will actually become even more relevant to disabled people in going beyond being just entertainment, and that the opportunity for disabled people to store, mine and share information is “huge”.

She says: “As interest in sending your mate a virtual gummy bear or having a quick poke on Facebook wanes, we’ll see a shift towards social networks growing up this year and adding services that truly add value to our daily lives and how we communicate.

“Imagine, for example, if you’re blind and a first-year student at university and you’re lost on campus and looking for your lecture hall. Being able to plug into a network with your classmates or campus representatives to find out quickly where you are and get directions would be invaluable. So too would being able to find an accessible restaurant with friendly and decent staff tagged by people you trust, if you’re a wheelchair-user.”