Interesting Elsewhere: Intranets, Accessibility & the Paralympics

The four Intranetizens like to read articles, books and blog posts on a variety of topics – it’s what makes a dull intranet manager interesting.

In this special edition of Interesting Elsewhere, and in celebration of the Paralympics, we have been reading up on all things related to accessibility. We also hope to cover this topic in more detail in the next few months.

Here’s what caught our attention:

• Why adding text over photos is the next big thing: Anna Rydne discusses how adding text seems to be the next ‘big thing’ and how internal comms and intranet professionals can adapt this technique for internal campaigns. We recognise this is a growing trend, but is this a good thing? As pointed out in the comments by Jonathan adding text over images could discriminate against your colleagues with visual impairments.
• A guide to accessible video: Stamford Interactive has produced a guide to help you produce accessible video content. Recently we have seen an increase in using video content on Intranets, but your users may need to access your videos in different ways. This guide will help you to be prepared for any scenario.
• Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) guide: Excellent review of intranet accessibility from the perspective of visually impaired employees.
• Intranetizen 10 laws for intranet managers: Ok, it’s one of ours, but this handy post covers 10 important laws for intranet managers to consider, including those on intranet accessibility.
• An accessibility cheat sheet from W3C: At a glance handy reference sheet with all you need to know about web accessibility. Whilst this is firmly aimed at internet sites, the topics raised are equally applicable to your intranet.
• Web accessibility for designers: WebAIM has developed this simple and clear infographic to help you when designing your pages. Again, this is aimed at internet sites, but we feel this is still relevant for intranets.

And, what’s made us laugh this week:

•  TV anchorman misunderstands the word ‘canoodle‘: This video not only makes us chuckle but reminds us that slang has become a big part of our language. It’s important to remember that despite speaking the same language you may not always be clear in your messages. Take note, or you could experience the same fate as our poor anchorman.

Have we missed anything? Did you read something this week this caught your eye? Let us know in the comments below.