the tweney review

AOL is being sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act by nine blind people who charge that the online service, as a public accommodation, is not sufficiently accessible to the blind. The AOL client software, they charge, doesn’t work well with the screen-reader programs used by many blind people. If the suit is successful, it means the ADA will also likely apply to other online services — and to Web pages.

Web page designers, listen up: If you’re still relying on massive image maps without text links and no ALT tags, it’s time to start thinking about accessible Web site design. Do it now, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it may soon be the law.

AOL sued by blind Net users
(Boston Globe, 11/5)

Blind Federation Demands Equal Access to AOL
InternetNews, November 5, 1999

Maybe you’re thinking that online advertising ISN’T QUITE KAPUT, given recent figures that show a steady increase in online ad revenues this year. According to the Internet Advertising Bureau, Net ad revenues added up to nearly a billion dollars in the second quarter of this year; annual ad revenues will hit $3-3.5 billion this year, depending on who you ask. (And if you’re even more optimistic, check out Advertising Age’s recent study, which predicts $7.4 billion in online ad spending over the coming year.)

I’m not quite ready to admit I’m wrong, though. There’s more to the online advertising story than mere revenue growth, because the way people are using online ads continues to change — banner ads are more interactive, alternatives to banners continue to gain ground, and advertisers are increasingly interested in *sponsoring* whole sites or sections of sites, a form of advertising that gives them greater visibility, flexibility, and control.

Oh yeah, and venture capital investments in Net startups continues to grow. Is anyone surprised?

Net Firms Rake in Billions More
(The Industry Standard, Nov. 04)

Dot-coms to spend $7.4 billion in the next year–unless the market goes bust.
(Ad Age, Nov. 1)

Thanks to the Web, now you can put GOVERNMENT DEBT ON YOUR CREDIT CARD. A new Web site from the U.S. Treasury Department (www.savingsbonds.gov) lets you purchase U.S. savings bonds online, paying for the bonds with your credit card. Cool, huh? But still, something strikes me as odd about putting the government’s debt on plastic… is this really a good idea?

Feds Get Into the Holiday Spirit
(Industry Standard, 2 Nov. 99)

TWENEY REPORT UPDATE: I’ve changed the look and feel of my Web site, www.tweney.com, and among other things I’ve added a Weblog. I’m building this log with Blogger, a cool tool that I found out about through Keith Dawson’s fine Tasty Bits from the Technology Front newsletter.

I plan to use this weblog as a kind of Tweney Report-in-progress. Throughout the week, as I learn about interesting news items, or whenever I have something to say, I’ll post it here. Each weekend I’ll collect the preceding week’s posts, edit and tweak them a bit, and publish them together (maybe with some new material) as a new edition of the Tweney Report. If you’d like to get the Tweney Report by email, just send a message to tweney-subscribe@topica.com visit http://www.tweney.com/report.htm.

So, stop by my weblog if you want the latest, up-to-date news, or you just want to see what I’m working on. Or, wait for the edited version to come out once a week — it’s up to you.

What do you think of my weblog and the Tweney Report? Let me know!

Blogger

Tasty Bits from the Technology Front

Tweney.com weblog (persistent URL)