The importance of web accessibility part 2 – Section 508 vs. WCAG 2.0

Posted on by Rob Virkar-Yates
We published a post on the importance of web accessibility back in February. We were very clear that we believe that a fully accessible web will better reflect its global audience and will empower a greater number of people to discover what they need to take a full and active role in their society. So this brief follow-up to the earlier post looks at the implications of web accessibility guidelines in the US market – specifically Section 508. Continue reading →

What does Elsevier want with Mendeley?

Posted on by John Helmer
Mendeley logoThe recent report on TechCrunch that Mendeley is ‘joining’ Elsevier for a sum in the region of $69M-$100M was of especial interest to us at Semantico, prompting memories of the symposium dinner we hosted just a few months back at which Mendeley was a guest. At that point, the company’s talks with Elsevier were not public knowledge. Now the confirmed sale is sparking controversy, and has launched a new hashtag on Twitter – #mendelete – promoted by those who see this particular piece of M&A activity as The Empire acquiring the Rebel Alliance. Speculation is also intense about Elsevier’s plans for its acquisition. Mendeley spoke under Chatham House rules at our Symposium, constraining what we can repeat here, but it is interesting to revisit that conversation in the light of subsequent events. Continue reading →

Dispatches from Beyond the PDF, Amsterdam

Posted on by Clare Wratten
We were lucky to participate in last month’s very interesting and informative Beyond the PDF 2 (BTPDF2) conference in Amsterdam. Beyond the PDF is a Force 11 initiative. There’s a great storify of the social media stream available for those of you who did not manage to attend. We very much enjoyed ourselves – it was a lively and stimulating event. We were invited to present our Roaming Passport technology, and our Linking Hub. There were two days of interaction and debate. Here, in no particular order, are some observations … Continue reading →