It’s Time to Make a Commitment to Accessibility and Inclusiveness in Social Networks
There’s an entire market of blind and visually impaired users who have thus far had to tolerate sub-par experiences with apps. Including ours.
Originally written in Japanese by Takahito Iguchi.
The Dabel app has finally been noticed after being discovered and adopted by members of the blind community. However, when the app was starting to be adopted by these users, as the creators of this platform we didn’t even have a basic idea about how they were using it.
Accessibility. It’s one word with so many different requirements to accomplish. Fortunately, Apple has diverse accessibility solutions built into their iOS.
For blind and visually-impaired users, there is a tool called VoiceOver, which readers the onscreen text and various options within the interface (e.g., button names and navigation tools). With VoiceOver reading everything in the interface, a user can interact with their device without seeing the screen.
However, many apps aren’t built with adequate accessibility (VoiceOver itself isn’t widely known), so unfortunately, many users with visual impairment simply aren’t able to use all the apps currently available or use their devices to their full potential.
Accessibility. It’s one word with so many different requirements to accomplish. Fortunately, Apple has diverse accessibility solutions built into their iOS.
This is what inspired us to pursue total accessibility with our app. While there’s plenty of work left to be done, we’re constantly fine-tuning Dabel’s compatibility with VoiceOver to achieve total equality user experience.
But taking a step back, I still wanted to know why was Dabel so beloved by our users? Users had shown their level of engagement with their time of usage per session and their responses to the must-have survey, where we asked them how disappointed they would be if the app were to disappear tomorrow. The answer to this survey would show if the app had actual value to offer.
We had our own ideas, but we wanted to know what actual users loved about the app and what the core value was to them.
Is this a live radio app or is it a voice social network?
While simple in concept, Dabel combines different elements of streaming/chat services and it’s not easy to pinpoint one feature as defining Dabel:
- Voice streaming
- Listeners can leave text comments
- If you want, you can join the stream as a speaker
- Streams are saved, so users can listen to them later on
As such, it was hard to discern at first what specific feature attracted users most.
The core functionality was letting users stream together in real-time, which let people experience actual conversation with other users. Although this by itself could be the core value of an app, we incorporated a social radio aspect to it.
In other words, it wasn’t simply a communication tool, but a place where conversation could be enjoyed as a piece of audio content, which complicated the process of finding out what the product value was for users.
A place to just be there and listen or talk if you want to.
Was the social interaction aspect the central component or the freedom to enjoy audio content. For a while we weren’t able to discern which was more important.
To dig deeper, we devoted considerable time to conducting user surveys and in depth interviews with users to test our hypothesis. By no means was it easy for us, but we were able to complete this process in December 2019.
Our conclusion: providing a space where users can just comfortably hang out and talk if they feel like it was the core value and what we as a team should be trying to build.
In other words, our mission was to create a platform where people could share a space and talk with someone about anything at any time.
As the Dabel community started to grow and we started to see less and less times where there was no one streaming, we could finally fulfill the promise that if someone came onto Dabel, there would always be there to listen and talk to.
However, as tempting as it is, we can’t declare victory and say that our product is complete. There were technical issues and participation barriers that we wanted to remove for users to ensure that we were delivering a user experience that fulfilled our initial promise.
Even if the initial concept is attractive, if the product is hard to understand, difficult to use, has friction points or is simply unstable, even the best idea will fall on its face. User expectations are high and it’s our job to meet those expectations.
It’s never easy to execute on the technical obstacles that arise in creating a platform for users to talk on, but the more nuanced challenges in creating an open community that is still safe and comfortable for users are ones that require patience and continuous improvement; this is also what makes these some of the most satisfying challenges to take on.
Even if the initial concept is attractive, if the product is hard to understand, difficult to use, has friction points or is simply unstable, even the best idea will fall on its face.
So, why do you even need a voice social network?
Even with how much work our app still needed, there were blind users who still discovered the app and showed much love for it (we have the stream recordings and tweets to prove it!), but we wanted to know why.
Like any group, blind users have unique pain points, like difficulty getting around and thus, it’s difficult to go to places to socialize. While social media is theoretically a place for people to socialize from any physical location, it is highly visual, but not Dabel. Dabel doesn’t have video or any visuals during the stream except a static background image.
Our belief now is stronger than ever that there is a real value in communication that doesn’t rely on superficial factors and has the warmth of the human voice that evokes a person’s unique personality. Although impossible to totally eradicate rude behavior, it’s also much more difficult to be crude and offensive to someone with whom you’re having a real conversation with.
As strange as it may sound, a Dabel conversation where users don’t have to reveal their personal information, but do reveal their emotions through voice, is a more human and deep connection than something like Facebook.
While we can’t ignore the fact that voice conversations take time and there is a certain icebreaking process, the emotional benefits of engaging in verbal communication far outweighs the initial trepidation in talking to someone new.
Right now, loneliness and anxiety can make people lash out and hurt each other. Let’s use that energy to support each other.
For instance, in a place like Twitter, users just send out thoughts in text and there is really no real-time interaction, so it can easily devolve into a place where people just say what they want and wall themselves off from having to really understand the person they’re having a dialogue with.
On the other hand, once you experience Dabel, you understand how much of a difference a human voice can make. While we have a strong desire to move away from the conventional social media dynamic, we also realize the convenience and strength of network they already possess.
But hearing someone’s voice, feeling their emotion during a conversation can create a deeper connection that more superficial interactions simply can’t replicate. This is how we solve the anxiety and isolation that we are now seeing conventional social media causing in many people.
By letting users around the world have easy conversation whenever they feel like it, we can convert the negative energy that comes from emotional isolation to a motivating force that brings people together in support of each other.
I can honestly say that if I could help one person come out of their shell and see that there is light at the end of the tunnel, my own emotional struggles will have been more than worth it. Our aim is to let technology get out of the way and create a place where people can share a true emotional bond and realize that they’re not alone. This is what the Dabel team and I are working towards on a daily basis.
👋 The Dabel team will be attending SXSW 2020 in Austin, Texas and we’d love to meet people during that time! 🚀 We’ll see you in Austin!
