Accessibility-Friendly Social Media Posts Anyone Can Create

Hello, I'm Moriya (emim) from the Engineering Office.

In this article, I'll be reporting on the topic mentioned in the title as a cross-post for December 2nd of both the KINTO Technologies Advent Calendar 2025 and the Accessibility Advent Calendar 2025.

I work in the Engineering Office, a division dedicated to strengthening our organization’s development capabilities, where I focus on design. Alongside that, as a personal ongoing activity, I engage in advocacy to raise awareness about digital accessibility.

I was amazed by a staff member who spontaneously did some wonderful accessibility work, and I asked him about what he did and what motivated him.

Who Added Alt Text to the X (formerly Twitter) Post!?

First, please take a look at the following post.

https://x.com/KintoTech_Dev/status/1976163362016043509?s=20

Does it just look like an introduction to our Fukuoka office?

Take a close look: the attached photo has been given wonderfully thoughtful alt text.

We have a chat channel called team-accessibility within the company where we regularly share information. However, the person who made this post wasn't someone who actively participated in those discussions, so I was absolutely astonished.

Someone unexpectedly added proper alt text!!!

I spoke with the following two people for this article:

• Takenaka
  • Background: After 12 years of development and PM experience at a system integrator, worked as a Scrum Master for in-house development at a bank. Currently serves as manager of the Developer Relations Group.
  • Is the one who made the X post
• Yukachi
  • Background: First job was in the travel industry; moved to IT after being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. At KINTO Technologies, originally handled accounting work, then over time transitioned to a dedicated role in the Developer Relations Group, handling event management and social media outreach.
  • Is very interested in accessibility recently

About the Alt Text in This Post

The alt text added to these four images in the post. One screen reader user commented that it was high quality and wonderful, very readable (or rather, easy to listen to), and described it with an abstract expression as alt text that feels like a gentle breeze.

So I asked Takenaka why he added alt text this time, and received the following response.

—— (Takenaka) I had heard of digital accessibility, but didn't really understand what it meant. This time, the ALT button happened to stand out when I was posting on X, and I'd been exposed to accessibility information daily through the team-accessibility chat. I'd also heard it was gaining attention, so I gave it a go.

I’d been putting things out there without knowing who’d see them, and it’s wild that they had a subliminal impact here!

I also asked if they had any difficulty writing it.

—— (Takenaka) I understood that I needed to write it, but I didn’t know how. So right before, I did a quick internet search and tried to keep it concise, making sure not to include anything outside the main text. I only found out how it would actually appear after checking the published post.

I understood that this is a feature often overlooked unless you pay attention. For people familiar with accessibility, the button labeled ALT may be visible at a glance, but it’s important to keep in mind that some people won’t notice it at all.

Insights Gained Through Alt Text

Isn’t it wonderful to imagine a world where even those who aren’t very aware of accessibility add alternative text? I was both surprised and touched, so I posted about how I tracked down who had added it internally, and that post received quite a lot of likes.

https://x.com/emim/status/1977921547869561149?s=20

When I shared the feedback again, Yukachi was really moved. She’s not an engineer, so she usually doesn’t show up in the accessibility chat.

I asked both of them again about these responses.

—— (Takenaka) I was surprised it became a topic, and I realized that even alt text alone could spark reactions.

—— (Yukachi) I simply wasn't aware that you could add alt text, and I learned for the first time that adding it helps some people. Accessibility was something I’d never really thought about, but now I’m curious if there’s something I can do too.

Hearing these words, I felt I'd received answers that clearly showed how even small things, when communicated as feedback, can influence people's behavior. She also added the following opinion.

—— (Yukachi) I think it's important, but since I don't know what to do, it would be nice to have more learning opportunities that even beginners can understand.

In recent years, accessibility-related study groups have certainly increased compared to the past. However, one of the industry’s challenges is that they tend to skip the basics and cater more to advanced participants.

On the other hand, the Digital Agency released the Digital Society Promotion Standard Guidelines in October, which includes DS-672.1 Web Accessibility Guidebook for Public Relations, summarized for PR personnel (accessibility beginners).

https://www.digital.go.jp/resources/standard_guidelines

We’re planning to use these publicly available materials to organize study sessions for the Developer Relations Group. After checking with the Digital Agency, we received confirmation that we’re free to use them as much as we like. If we have the capacity, we’d also like to invite external participants to join these sessions. So please look forward to what we’ll be doing next year!