大象传媒

Imagini a new way of social networking...

• By Paul Crichton
• 14 Aug 07, 05:08 PM

So here鈥檚 a bit of a switch from the usual run of the mill social networking website. If you can feel the Facebook backlash kicking in already and are pining for a different way to meet people online, there is ; a social networking website based on pictures.

Imagini say that it aims to create a, 鈥渧isual language of communication.鈥�

So here鈥檚 how it works. Imagini asks a series of questions and you choose the picture from the selection provided that most closely reflects your view. Is your favourite vice chocolate chip cookies, or booze? Based on your answers, Imagini creates your VisualDNA - or a profile to you and me. This is a written summary, along the lines of, 鈥測ou have a pioneering attitude to life鈥� and so on. Imagini then matches you to others with similar personality traits.

The website uses a combination of Flash and static pages with Flash objects embedded in them. Accessibility considerations haven鈥檛 featured strongly in construction. The home page kind of sums it up 鈥� all the links are embedded in the Flash object, so screen reader users can鈥檛 get past it. None of the images for creating VisualDNA have text equivalents.

, a prominent Flash Accessibility Consultant, says about the website that, 鈥渢he idea behind Imagini is interesting and it may be a good experience for some users, but it neglects even the basics of keyboard interaction.鈥� She went on to add that, 鈥淎dobe [who produce Flash] have made good progress over the last few years to create a more accessible player, but there is only so much that can be done without knowledge and input from developers.鈥�

The profile pages of users are a little better, but in practical terms, they are not very user-friendly. ALT tags are present for some images 鈥� but who wants to listen to, 鈥減osition: x out of 15鈥� sixty times a page as it reviews the selections made to create someone鈥檚 VisualDNA? So if you want to browse profiles, you can, albeit painfully, but if you want to get involved 鈥� no chance.

Imagini might ask why a visually impaired person would want to try a social networking website based on images. It sounds almost counter-intuitive to do so. But putting that to one side for a moment, what about the people with low vision who'd really like to use it but can't?

They may need to use a screen magnifier or a screen reader along with a bit of peering at the monitor. Alt text is useful to affirm or reaffirm what a picture actually is. If a partially sighted user gets a hint from alt text as to what the image is, then it can all fall into place and make sense.

So, coming back to the big question, if you are partially sighted or visually impaired would you want to network with Imagini?

I suspect some people would like to try it, and others not. But the majority of people would like to have the choice of whether to use it or not. You don鈥檛 need to be sighted to have a favourite vice, holiday destination or art form.

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