{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
    "content" : "news",
    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "Accessibility Editorial Guidelines for YouTube |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Accessibility Editorial Guidelines for YouTube",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2012/08/01/accessibility-editorial-guidelines-for-youtube/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Accessibility Editorial Guidelines for YouTube","summary" : "USAGov and USAGov en Español (formerly known as GobiernoUSA.gov) use social media to make government information easy for people to find, access, and use. Among the essential tools we use are videos, which we host on USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov’s YouTube channels.","date" : "2012-08-01T09:00:44-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"lgodfrey" : "Laura Godfrey"},"topics" : {
        
            "accessibility" : "Accessibility",
            "content-strategy" : "Content strategy",
            "multilingual" : "Multilingual",
            "multimedia" : "Multimedia"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2012-08-01-accessibility-editorial-guidelines-for-youtube.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2012/08/2012-08-01-accessibility-editorial-guidelines-for-youtube.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2012/08/2012-08-01-accessibility-editorial-guidelines-for-youtube.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2012/08/2012-08-01-accessibility-editorial-guidelines-for-youtube.md","slug" : "accessibility-editorial-guidelines-for-youtube","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2012/08/01/accessibility-editorial-guidelines-for-youtube/","content" :"\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2012/08/600-x-332-USAgov-Youtube-channel.jpg\"\n    alt=\"USAgov YouTube Channel\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"introduction\"\u003eIntroduction\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.usa.gov/\"\u003eUSAGov\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https://www.usa.gov/espanol/\"\u003eUSAGov en Español\u003c/a\u003e (\u003cem\u003eformerly known as GobiernoUSA.gov\u003c/em\u003e) use social media to make government information easy for people to find, access, and use. Among the essential tools we use are videos, which we host on \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/user/USGovernment\"\u003eUSAGov\u0026rsquo;s YouTube\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/user/GobiernoUSA\"\u003eUSAGov en Español’s YouTube\u003c/a\u003e channels.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe are always looking for opportunities to feature and leverage important government information, by posting videos from various government agencies. We welcome and invite all government agencies to collaborate with us on providing useful and relevant information to the public. We also depend on agencies to help attract a large and diverse audience.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith these goals in mind, we developed the following editorial guidelines as a roadmap for producing and submitting videos. These guidelines agree with the principles and best practices that guide our channels.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"general-guidelines\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGeneral Guidelines\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur videos should be:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUseful, relevant, and/or interesting\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEasy to understand\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIn plain language\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen sharing video content, most of the following should be answered with a resounding “YES.” Is the content something that:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSomeone can apply to improve their lives right now?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWill help someone make an informed decision?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYou would share with your own friends and family?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIs relevant to a wide audience (it is a public service and is useful for the everyday person)?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"source-requirements\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSource Requirements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe videos we post:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMust be from a government agency and feature content relevant to our audience.\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExceptions might be made if the content provides critical information that is not available by any government entity at the time (for example, during an emergency).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMust be shared through an existing government YouTube channel.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"content-best-practices\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eContent Best Practices\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo provide helpful content with a neutral tone:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMessaging must contain public service information and should relate to our audience. The categories listed under our YouTube channels’ playlists adhere to our websites taxonomy which is organized according to our audience’s needs (see \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/usagov\"\u003eUSAGov’s channel\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/user/GobiernoUSA\"\u003eUSAGov en Español\u0026rsquo;s channel\u003c/a\u003e).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVideos should aim for powerful messages that run no longer than 10 minutes\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAvoid politically-charged intonations, self-or agency-promoting language (e.g., discussing the agency over delivering a public service message).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVideos produced for USAGov en Español should follow these language-specific guidelines:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMust be in Spanish. English videos may be featured on the USAGov en Español channel in exceptional circumstances and will be decided on a case-by-case basis.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSpeaker(s) and actors(s) must be proficient in Spanish, preferably native, and clearly convey message points.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSpanish must be neutral U.S. or international Spanish (such as CNN en español).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCaptions must be in Spanish and synchronized with the audio.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"accessibility-requirements-for-producing-videos\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAccessibility Requirements for Producing Videos\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe videos on our channels must conform to Section 508 and accessibility best practices. In short, agencies:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMust provide synchronized captions in the language spoken in the video;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMust publish a transcript written in the language spoken in the video;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShould include \u003ca href=\"http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/1194.24.htm#%28c%29\"\u003eaudio description tracks, if required by Section 508 guidelines\u003c/a\u003e; and,\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMust provide a link to the video on an accessible platform (such as an agency website for example).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2012/08/600-x-338-GobiernoUSA-YouTube-with-Spanish-captions-on-Android.jpg\"\n    alt=\"600-x-338-GobiernoUSA-YouTube-with-Spanish-captions-on-Android\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eVideo producers should follow the requirements from the U.S. Access Board (including \u003ca href=\"http://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/guide-to-the-section-508-standards/software-applications-and-operating-systems-1194-21\"\u003estandards for software applications\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"http://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/guide-to-the-section-508-standards/video-and-multimedia-products-1194-24\"\u003evideo and multimedia requirements\u003c/a\u003e, and \u003ca href=\"http://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/guide-to-the-section-508-standards/web-based-intranet-and-internet-information-and-applications-1194-22\"\u003egeneral website requirements\u003c/a\u003e) and \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2013/06/26/making-multimedia-section-508-compliant-and-accessible/\"\u003eguidelines from DigitalGov.gov\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"other-resources\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOther Resources\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDigitalGov.gov’s \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2013/11/21/create-section-508-compliant-videos-on-your-government-websites/\"\u003ecomprehensive guide on video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://ncam.wgbh.org/invent_build/web_multimedia/accessible-digital-media-guide/guideline-h-multimedia\"\u003eGuide on Accessible Digital Media\u003c/a\u003e from the National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe U.S. Access Board’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/index.htm\"\u003eGuide to the Standards\u003c/a\u003e (see Software Applications and Operating Systems, Web-based intranet and Internet Information and Applications, and Video and Multimedia Products) and \u003ca href=\"http://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/section-508-standards#subpart_c\"\u003eSection 508 Functional Performance Criteria\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n"}
  ]
}