Accessible Google?

Google has taken what many are saying is a giant step toward an accessible web. They have recently released a version of their search engine that has been specifically tailored to the blind community. Check it out here.

The search engine allows users of screen readers to locate web sites based on an accessibility ranking. Google uses various measures to determine if a web site is accessible to screen readers. As you may know Google currently uses a ranking system in their search results that is based on various criteria. There is an entire industry of search engine optimization experts that has sprung up to assist companies to assure they have significant placement in the rankings.

So, is this a good thing?

It is probably too soon to determine if this will help the quest for an accessible web. The fact that a company like Google is dedicating some resources to the issue, well that is definitely positive. When an industry leader begins to promote standards in design, others are bound to jump aboard.

Plessey v. Ferguson

I am referring to the case that declared separate but equal was legal in the United States. As it turned out, the equal part of the segregated south never actually   panned out. Some may wonder is this the beginning of a two World Wide Web society. One for sighted people and one for the blind. Let’s try a comparative search to see if the results are equal.

A search on the blind Google yields:
- Results 1 - 10 of about 14,300,000 for Boxing

And now for the sighted Google:
- Results 1 - 10 of about 118,000,000 for boxing

Wow, that’s a lot of inaccessibility!