Twitter and Web Accessibility
Like many folks, I very much enjoy Twitter, the mini-blogging sensation. I recently went over 1,000 tweets! You can find me at @dennisl.
One issue with the site is that Twitter is not web accessible. I’ve recently been resolving this problem by writing a new web application Accessible Twitter. It’s currently in Alpha status, so some functionality still needs adding/improving, but it’s mostly complete. You can learn more about me and the project here: Five Questions With Dennis Lembrée – Creator of Accessible Twitter.
Categories: Twitter, Web Development interview, web accessibility, web application, web standards, web2.0
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I saw accessible twitter and it works well. Before I heard about accessible twitter and as an attempt to teach myself a little about web services, I have dabbled in the twitter api myself. You can see my results at http://www.chriswestbrook.com/twitter. Just out of curiosity, are you using xml or json? i know you said it was difficult getting at the data, and in php there is a nice function for decoding json called json_decode9). My app uses a lot of ajax and live regions to make hte page responsive. I am also blind. You can follow me on twitter as chriswestbrook.
Hello Chris, I’m using XML. Thanks for the kind feedback and the hint on JSON decoding!
Wow! You have really made my day, and I am smiling once again. I am so excited that I found your Accessible Twitter. Now I feel that I can be in the cutting edge of everything that is happening in the Twitter Universe. As a totally blind person its so hard to build relationships and participate in the many other web 2 tools on the net when its not accessible for our screen readers. Thanks to your Accessible Twitter for giving me that chance. Any possibility that you can add some sounds? Thanks again I really appreciate what you are doing.
You’re welcome, and thank you for the very nice comment! Yes, adding audio signals, or “earcons”, is on the to-do list on the home page of the site.