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On Monday, October 24, I waited very impatiently for the powers that be over at South by Southwest (SXSW) to announce the first round (and majority) of speakers for next year’s interactive shindig downtown. Apparently I wasn’t the only one, as a quick Twitter search showed that dozens if not hundreds of people were anxiously awaiting the same announcement. And then, around 3 o’clock that afternoon, the announcement came.
And I promptly freaked out and worried at least a few of my coworkers, one of whom anxiously came to my office and asked me if someone was dying.
No, not dying, just really, really freaking excited: my panel had been chosen! (Along with Anthony Bourdain!)
I’ve never even been to South by Southwest before. Always wanted to go, just have never had the opportunity or extra cash to do so. Luckily, though, I work for a super cool company that encourages its employees to put themselves out there, to come up with great ideas and to engage with the community. So while my topic is probably the one that’s the furthest away from what we do as an online marketing agency (and yet is an essential part of online marketing), I’m still excited and grateful and fully prepared to bring it. Whatever “it” might be.
The panel, titled “Flash Is the F Bomb” (admittedly, I tried to change it do “Flash: F Bomb or Da Bomb?” and for some reason it didn’t save), takes a good look at accessibility issues surrounding Flash. Accessibility is something I’m passionate about, having a blind fiance and all. I’ve seen and heard how his screen reader doesn’t like Flash, and how it keeps him from accessing some of the coolest, most informative parts of the web. Why designers choose to code solely in Flash is beyond me–you’re leaving out a good chunk of your potential audience by doing so.
Accessibility, however, isn’t just tied to those who have to use screen readers in order to read a website. Accessibility applies to EVERYONE–sighted, blind, deaf, doesn’t matter–because if your website is inaccessible from a functionality standpoint you’re losing audience. And that audience could turn into leads who could then turn into customers/clients. Some people have Flash disabled, or are on work computers that haven’t had a Flash update since 2006. Maybe they’re using an old browser. The potential for audience loss is great, and in today’s economy nobody can afford to waste their online marketing dollars.
Before I step on to my accessibility soapbox, though, I would truly like to thank each and every single person who voted for this panel. I hope to make this session fun and engaging and thought-provoking (not just Flash-bashing, which is honestly too easy to do), and to help people to understand why accessibility is important.
See you in March!
Tags: SXSWi 2012