Hey LinkedIn Team: Can We Opt for Camel Case in Hashtag Suggestions?
As someone who runs multiple digital properties, it is crucial for me to be on social media and active on each platform where my audience discusses and engages. As part of this endeavor, I am very active on LinkedIn too, having used it for more than 16 years. I generally discuss topics such as accessibility, content marketing, leadership, etc., on my personal profile. Additionally, I run a few pages related to accessibility, community initiatives, and other niche markets.
As a marketer, I understand the importance of using hashtags in social media content for broader reach. I learned about hashtags more than a decade ago when I was actively involved in digital marketing and workshops. I carried the lessons from my digital marketing days into the world of accessibility, implementing best practices wherever they apply.
Recently, during a training program on accessible social communications, I came across the term “camel case” for hashtags. This was the first time I encountered this term, and despite reading about it, I did not grasp its meaning. While I understood the implications of not using camel case for hashtags on screen readers, there was a cognitive challenge.
A friend and co-presenter then explained that I needed to imagine a camel. Being late blind, I managed this part easily. He then asked me to visualize the camel with its long neck and hump, illustrating how it goes up and down like a mountain. That’s how camel case hashtags are visualized. With this explanation, the concept became clear in my mind, and the thought process fell into place.
In social media, when we are advised to use camel case hashtags for accessibility, it means using camel case when there is more than one word. For example, for the term “digital accessibility,” we use the hashtag “#DigitalAccessibility.”
While posting an article on LinkedIn, I realized that LinkedIn offers hashtag suggestions when typing a keyword with the hash symbol. For a long time, I relied on these suggestions. However, when I recently wrote a post in a Word document and added hashtags manually, I noticed that while my hashtags were in camel case, the hashtags suggested by LinkedIn did not follow this best practice. In fact, they attempted to change camel case hashtags.
Camel Case vs. Lowercase: Does LinkedIn Care About Accessible Hashtags?
How Hashtags are read by Screen Readers?
I believe this may be due to many people using incorrect hashtags across the platform. The algorithm tracks these hashtags and suggests them to users when they attempt to type. However, I feel there is an opportunity for the LinkedIn accessibility team to correct this, irrespective of whether users type hashtags incorrectly. The algorithm could auto-correct them.
As accessibility professionals and users, what are your thoughts on this? Please share your comments and opinions!