Blind users obviously cannot see the user interface of the websites they visit, so they need to rely on other means to make their user experience more conducive. “Assistive technology” is the term broadly applied to any device that improves accessibility for visually impaired users.

Screen Readers

The most common accessibility tool for the visually impaired is the screen reader. “It is a voice software which reads out everything on the screen except graphics.” Nicole explains, “I use it a lot. I depend on it. It helps me to navigate around.”

In order to make screen readers more effective, we must strive to write clean code, utilise <alt> tags properly, label hyperlinks descriptively, and always remember to caption any graphics or images, where possible.

CAPTCHA

This security feature can sometimes be a hindrance for the visually impaired when they’re attempting to sign up for an account. Facebook has tried to address this by implementing audio support for the scrambled CAPTCHA image.

Keyboard Navigation

Visually impaired users rely heavily, if not solely, on their keyboards to navigate around a webpage. The placement of elements on the page has very little significance to them, because they do not use a mouse. Facebook has a list of built-in short cut keys to help facilitate toggling between home and your profile. The How-To Geek compiled a helpful list of Facebook keyboard shortcuts.

Text Alternatives

Generally, the proper use of the <alt> tag is encouraged in order to provide a description of the images that are uploaded to the web. When uploading to Facebook, descriptions are a screen reader’s best friend, so including descriptive captions on the photos you upload is extremely helpful.

Uploading Videos to Facebook

Uploading a video directly to Facebook can have its benefits, but native Facebook video does not support captions, so this becomes somewhat unfriendly for users with visual impairments. As yet, there is no extra feature that could make it more accessible, so the suggested fix would be to upload the video to YouTube first — as YouTube supports captions — and then share the link on your wall with a description.

Besides the several ways mentioned here, Facebook is continually working to improve the accessibility of their site. It has a section in their Help Centre that specifically caters to users with screen readers and has a form that is designed for users to report accessibility issues.

Keeping accessibility in mind is a great way to improve the user experience. Not only does it ensure our websites are more accessible to the visually impaired, it also works as a way of keeping our source code clean and semantic! :)

Facebook keeps its layout simple, and its advertisements nonintrusive; this really enhances the user experience because nobody likes cluttered pages, with big ads, that take ages to load. But all these aspects are visual, what sort of user experience would you have if you couldn’t even see Facebook?

For the purpose of getting first-hand information we spoke to an avid Facebook user, Nicole, about her experiences on the social networking site. Having been afflicted with congenital glaucoma in her infancy, Nicole’s vision started deteriorating pretty early on. By the age of six, she had gradually started losing aspects of her eyesight, and in the years that followed, her sight was gone completely.

Nicole and other visually impaired users face the following problems:

CAPTCHA

When signing up on Facebook for the first time, users are required to key in a series of scrambled characters for the purpose of verification. “I might have gotten help for that”, Nicole says. Many websites use CAPTCHA to safe-guard against spammers creating multiple accounts, however, such a precaution can become an obstacle when you cannot see the scrambled image.

Source: creepypasta.wikia.com

Keyboard navigation difficulties

Users with visual impairments navigate around the page using their keyboard, as a mouse would be somewhat redundant to them. Users with visual impairments usually use the Facebook Mobile site, which is a stripped-down HTML version of Facebook that is easier to move around on. However, sometimes when JavaScript is disabled, they will have difficulties using their keyboard to get around.

Source: http://blog.wanken.com

Missing text alternatives

When a website is image-heavy or predominantly graphic, it becomes an added hurdle for users with vision problems.” Facebook is very visual, people just post pictures and they expect you to see them”, Nicole says without irony. “Sometimes I wish I knew what things looked like in a physical sense. I have a very pictorial mind. I like graphics and I like photos if someone would tell me what’s in them.”

Source: http://www.wisnet.com/

Facebook video does not support closed captions

Videos that are directly uploaded to Facebook do not have support for captions, so even if a visually impaired user can hear the video, it is of very little use if they have no context to relate it back to.

Source: www.quickonlinetips.com

Stay tuned for Part 2 where we discuss possible solutions for the problems visually impaired users face.

The old farts tell me it’s been more than a couple of years since the last Integricity retreat. Previous retreats were always department-specific, so this year’s combined retreat was a real treat for newbies and old-bies alike!

We started the retreat by doing the impossible: getting the whole team up by 6.30a.m., just in time to leave PJ at 7 a.m. It’s surprising that we managed it because some of us are most definitely night owls. Nevertheless, the entire team made it to the jetty in time for our 11 a.m. private ferry to Pangkor Laut Resort!

Digital through and through, we held onto our smartphones tightly throughout the boat ride. Most everybody tweeted, Facebook-ed and Instagram-ed in excitement as we approached the gorgeous resort.

As you may notice from the picture below, it doesn’t take much to amuse and fascinate us. Taking photos of lunch is also preferred to actually eating lunch.

The Visuals team were on a break, so the Tech bosses took over. Disclaimer: No lunches were left untouched in the taking of this photograph.

Our To-Dos for the weekend:

- Wake up. Eat breakfast. Chill the day away.

- Eat dinner as a company.

- Chill and sleep.

- Rinse and repeat.

Another must-do for some of us: the Spa Village. We hear that it’s one of the best spas in the world. Having experienced it for ourselves, it most definitely is!

@YTLhotels responded to one of our tweets!

We also did some jungle trekking …

… all the way to the beach.

On Sunday, our last day, we had a time of devotion with our Christian colleagues. We shared and encouraged each other as colleagues, as well as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Group photo of the Fanatics!

Time flew by so quickly! 3 days and 2 nights were definitely not enough. All of us agreed that the service at Pangkor Laut Resort was excellent, and we had a blast. Plus, friendships were made and strengthened, inside jokes were stored up, and now we’re all ready to give 2012 our best shot.

This post won’t really sum up just how much fun we had. So, watch this video, edited by FatNinjas MD Eric and come away with us. ;)

Truer words were never spoken, especially in the age we’re living in.

While it’s true that housewives and working women have been holding the reins of the economy through their spending (household purchases, fashion buys, etc.), there has been a void in targeted online marketing for female – as most brands focus solely on male audiences who are traditionally seen as the main purchasers of online products.

Here are some interesting statistics on women in the digital age:

- According to Comscore, women are the majority users of social networking sites and spend 30% more time on these sites than men.
- 55% of mobile social network users are female, according to Nielsen.
- More than 70% of Groupon , Zappos and Etsy consumers are women.
- 60% of digital freelancers (writer, digital artist and web designers) are women.

With the prevalent presence of women in the global digital marketplace, it’s no wonder that many marketers are devoting their time and resources into this market:

1. Amazon.com launched a program called “Amazon Mom” last year. They also bought both Zappos and Quidsi (parent company of Diapers.com, BeautyBar.com and Soap.com) for almost $1.8 billion in total.  This is in line with the recent report from the US Census Bureau that women contribute towards 80% of consumer spending in America, or about $5 trillion dollars annually.

2. Many start-ups are also following the footsteps of business behemoths with online businesses that cater to women (the founders of all these websites are also women!)

- Rent the Runway (http://www.renttherunway.com) allows women to rent off-the-runway looks, so that they can dress up like their favourite celebrity.

- One Kings Lane, a website specializing in beautiful household products at discounted prices looks like a snapshot from the house of a Stepford Wife to appeal to women (https://www.onekingslane.com).

- Shopkick’s app uses geolocation identification to give discounts, coupons and promos to users when they are within the vicinity of participating stores (http://www.shopkick.com).

3. What would Facebook be without women? According to Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, women are not only the main users of Facebook, they drive 62% of activity in terms of messages, updates, and comments, as well as 71% of the daily fan activity. Women also have 8% more Facebook friends on average than men and they also spend more time on the site.  According to an early Facebook team member, women played a key role in the early days by adopting three core activities: posting to walls, adding photos and joining groups at a much higher rate than males – and where women go, men will follow!

4. Farmville, Words with Friends, and Cityville are the main staple of most Facebook users. According to Zynga, the company that develops and owns these games, 60% of players are women. Surveys also indicate that the majority of social and casual game players are women. In fact, they note the average social gamer is likely a 43-year-old woman.

Given the fact that 86% of Malaysian women trust those they know or recommendations from people close to them (word of mouth marketing), the importance of social media engagement especially through mediums such as Facebook and Twitter should not be underestimated.

Nielsen (Malaysia) also reported that “Some of the Malaysian marketers keep saying that low price is the top factor influencing a woman’s online purchase but in the long term, Malaysian women realize they don’t mind paying a higher price for better quality products or services.”

In light of International Women’s Day today, we need to realise the spending power and women’s influence in the social media sphere. With the proliferation of smart phones and other mobile devices, the time has come for marketers to relook into how we can engage the biggest movers and shakers of the so-called ‘internet age’: women.

If you’re unsure about how your brand could benefit from the re-design, give us a call at +603-7957 8800. Let’s talk over a cuppa. :)

P.S. If you can’t see all the nitty-gritty, click on the infographic to view it in its full-sized glory!

These pictures are called memes, and they are on the rise. The origin of the word ‘meme’ traces back to Richard Dawkins and his book “The Selfish Gene”, written in 1976. It is a short form of the Greek word mīmēma, which means “something imitated, or to imitate.” Evolution has it and memes are now a concept that spreads via the internet, also known as internet memes.

They must have been around for a long time, and the select few would know how 4chan works. But, social media really is the cause for its popularity as content is now shared exponentially via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and even Pinterest too; you’re only a click away!

The term ‘crowdsourcing’ comes into play in this context, too. Remember the times when editing pictures were only done by the professionally trained? Now, anyone can create their own memes. Add a caption, and you’re good to go. Memegenerator is a popular tool.

If your meme resonates with many, even across continents, it might just go viral, just the way YouTube videos do.

And they are quite informative of current issues, such as Linsanity, in this case. It has garnered more than 40,000 likes, the last I checked.

The effect of this new fad is that it gets us thinking in memes too, Integricitizens notwithstanding.

Serene’s our dear AM, and the explanation for all things unexplainable – an inside joke, really.

We’ve just come back from a really good company retreat at Pangkor Laut Resort. Our GM, Eugene, has accepted the challenge to make sure we get an even better one next year!

As with most things online, internet memes may just be another fad; here today, gone tomorrow. But I reckon it would be one of those things we might recall with fondness years to come. Remember the times when we were younger and we had to play outside? In this context, remember the times when we used to talk in memes?

However, since love is the overarching theme of February, I shall attempt to share my digital insights on love and tone down on the cynicism. :)

Prior to joining team Integricity, I had the opportunity to work on a romance-themed ad campaign at an international agency. Spread thin over a multitude of projects like a small slab of ‘kaya’ over five pieces of bread, I was about to go into a review in a room full of creative guns with barely a germ of an idea.

Feeling like a germ, I sought the counsel of my then-Creative Director. “How do you sell romance digitally?” Thoughtful pause, on his side. Helpless gulp, from mine…

“Think along the lines of ‘bring back romance‘,” he advised, and proceeded to show me a timeless example of a brilliantly executed love-themed digital campaign:

Cannes CYBER 2009 Unbreakable Kiss

When I say timeless, it’s because till now, I haven’t found a better global reference benchmark for a romantic digital idea. An important principle to remember in digital marketing is BELIEVABILITY. Contrary to everything consumers are conditioned to believe (that ad peeps are sleazy liars looking to SELL, SELL, SELL), we ad creators possess the heavy responsibility of selling more than just products. We’re crafting an experience, a feel-good story if I may add, and that experience has GOT to be believable for it to translate to numbers.

De Beers succeeded years ago with The Unbreakable Kiss. They brought back the romance, and people bought into the surprisingly touching on-ground public confession of love. Another great online story told well includes:

www.whatmakeslovetrue.com – the online shrine to love!
A cute ‘Love Is Everywhere’ app that allows you to mark and share your romantic moments

Explore Tiffany’s inspiring website. Watch the tear-jerker videos. See anything in there that resembles a dazzling big rock and price tag? No product-SELL there. Like the De Beers campaign, Tiffany was gunning at creating a believable story and owning the subject of romance. Who doesn’t dig genuine love stories? They left the selling where it belongs: to the shopkeepers and commerce website.

Locally, two individuals have jumped on the bandwagon as well, crafting their own original digital stories to propose to their loved ones and creating an explosively viral sharing effect. Here are two notable digital professions of love from 2011:

A Groupon Proposal

Malaysian Meme Proposal wins hearts worldwide (2 million over hits!)

On Valentine’s day (as in every other day, I believe), love is everywhere and in the air. It’s up to inspired individuals to live and breathe the story, and tell it genuinely – because believe it or not, love stories SELL.

Over the past few months, we have also recruited new fanatics into the Integricity family. As usual, we had the opportunity of putting some of our new family members through our highly insightful and revealing Q&A sessions, and here’s what we’ve gathered:

The Design Team: (L-R) Yi Jun, Sue Lin, Chien Chien

Great things come in threes: The Supremes, Destiny’s Child and now, the design team newbies. Chien Chien is a Sim addict who loves her job, immolating her Sim to relieve stress, and is not one to complain when push comes to shove.

With the memorable quote of “The weirdest thing I have seen is Chien Chien‘s super-bendable hands,” Sue Lin is the comedienne of the team. With the vampiric tendency to work better after midnight, she’s definitely an asset to us during our busy periods.

Last but not least, Yi Jun’s passion for learning and discovering new art skills is invaluable to the company.   Don’t be deceived by her svelte figure for this bottomless pit has the ability to eat without gaining weight, and has won a few eating contests!

Mun Tzin

Mun Tzin is one blessed lass. The ability to solely live on coffee would serve her well in her dual role as the senior finance manager and events planner (of which weddings are her favourite) for our brand new Integricity Events arm. She lives for numbers and planning perfect weddings. Nothing puts a grin on her face like a perfectly balanced ledger, and the happy smiles of satisfied clients.

The Content Team newbies: (L-R) Zahir, Joann

The content team has buffed up its team with the latest addition of Joann and Zahir. As the team’s new senior writer, Joann brings with her wise pearls of wisdom gathered from hours of book-bingeing. When she is not busy bird-watching or piano-banging, this TV virgin dedicates her life to perfecting the art of writing and social media strategy.

Joining her is Zahir, or as he would like to call himself ‘the DBKL of food’. Never seen without his iPad or iPhone, this 9GAG aficionado’s inability to part with the Internet will come in handy in his new role as digital writer.

Felicia

With her passion for photography, it is no surprise that Felicia was embraced with open arms by the Stories (Visuals) team. Her attention to detail and meticulousness makes her an excellent digital artiste. A former intern of Integricity, this Kedah girl has the quirky tendency to make weird noises in the office (we wouldn’t want to be stuck in the office with her after 10pm! :P).

Phew! Not too long ago, we were writing about how we celebrate Christmas at Integricity. Time has flown by and soon we’ll be celebrating Chinese New Year. We’ve been busy, busy, busy; packing desktops, files, cow mugs, Gundam robots and more, moving into our official new home at SStwo Mall.

Since the big move, we’ve added several new fanatics to the family (that’s a story for another blog post!). They each bring with them amazing work and non-work superpowers. It’s rumoured that one of them has a knack for home decoration and pretty DIY. We’d love for her to decorate our office in time for CNY, but it’s still a work-in-progress!

We’re currently settling into our open-office space; testing combinations of furniture, getting a caffeine buzz in our makeshift pantry, and avoiding dangling wires which have yet to be tidied into some semblance of order. Nevertheless, it’s all good.

At the moment, all of us are huddled together in one space. In a few weeks’ time, some of us will be off to our own department-specific lots! It’s going to be a great year, and we can’t wait to welcome new fanatics into our spacious new home.

We hope to be blessed with a year of prosperity, and wish you an equally prosperous one. Have a happy Chinese New Year everybody! :)