Google launches Accessibility Search
Google recently launched yet another new product. This one is actually a search tool (a departure from their stream of recent non-search related product launches).
Google’s Accessible Search site is a search interface for Google that returns pages that are ranked by how accessible the pages are to blind/visually impaired users. You can read more about this on their FAQ page.
So, is this a good thing? Well, if you are blind, and depend on a screen reader, then yes, this is a nice addition to your web surfing tool kit.
From a philosophical standpoint, however, I think Google missed the mark.
First of all, they’re falling into the all-to-common habit of defining ‘accessibility’ as being solely an issue of sight impairment. Which, of course, is hardly the case. Granted, Google, as a spider, probably can’t do much to analyze other accessibility issues. However, they shouldn’t have slapped the term ‘accessibility’ on the tool and should have chosen a more descriptive term such as ’screen reader friendly’ or the like.
Secondly, why segregate the accessibility search/users from the main search? Accessibility really is about accomodating everyone…not just one particular audience. It’s also something that web sites should be rewarded for and what better way to reward them than give them better visbility on Google? If I were blind, while I’d definitely want a way to know if a site is screen reader friendly, I’d also want the full set of search results. Even if a page was difficult to use, if it had the information I was looking for, I’d want to be able to know that and decide for myself whether or not I wanted to tackle reading it.
As such, google could really improve this tool AND awareness of accessibility by integrating it with their main search page. An icon/text could be placed next to search results that emphasize the screenreader-friendly pages and even a ‘filter by…’ option to rank in the search results. As Accessibility Search is still in the Google lab, perhaps those are some features yet to come.
3 Comments
From your article:
I think you’re taking the same shortcut as they do.
From their FAQ page:
IMHO, their tool/filter takes into consideration many more issues than just sight impairment.
I think the “problem” is that they made a too narrow claim
Another feature in the search results — and for every result?
Guess what interface clutter does? Reduces accessibility!
Thierry:
Good point.
Paul:
Valid point, but completely separating accessible content is also an accessibility reducer, IMHO.