WeMedia Unveils Equal Access Web Site

U.N. Day of Disabled Persons sees debut of accessible online source of job, home, and community information.

Eileen Smith, PC World

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The publisher of WE magazine created WeMedia.com to provide equal access to information, education, products, and services for disabled persons and their families. An estimated 54 million Americans are disabled.

"The access to quality information from trusted resources is a major problem for people with disabilities," says Alexander Spinelli, WeMedia's chief technical officer. "WeMedia.com is a funnel for relevant information."

On the site, WeSchool offers courses and programs for credits and diplomas. WeJobs acts as a career resource for both employers and job seekers. The WeBroadcast section includes such features as WeDo Internet Radio and WeChat. A volunteer-based community resides at WeHomePlace. WeRealEstate provides listings of disabled accessible homes. And, of course, the site offers free e-mail.

Some popular portals like America Online remind Spinelli of generic office buildings--they might have the products or services you want, but you have to climb up and down floors to find them. That becomes quite an obstacle for users who are visually impaired or have limited motor skills. WeMedia.com, on the other hand, focuses on consistency and comfortable navigation.

WeMedia.com is working toward becoming fully "Bobby" compliant in the next two weeks. "Bobby" is a Web-based tool that analyzes Web pages for their accessibility to the disabled. To become fully compliant, a site must provide text equivalents for all nontext elements like graphics, animations, audio, and video. It must address color issues and alternative content for unsupported features.

Two main issues hinder Internet and computer access for people with disabilities, according to Spinelli: awareness in the community and perception.

"People with disabilities have been treated as a charity for a number of years," Spinelli says. "These individuals are not unable. This is a viable market that demands action and wants to be recognized as no different."

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