Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book
Review: ...This is an excellent book for academics and practitioners alike. It cuts through the hype that has surrounded Internet-enabled business since its inception - at first by over-enthusiasm and then, after the NASDAQ crash, over-pessimism. But this book is more than just another book about how to deal with the Web - it should be read by managers in any information organisation, since it presents valuable insights into communication. Gerry McGovern, one of the founders of Nua Internet Surveys, is known to many Internet professionals worldwide for the thoughtfulness, insight, and clarity of writing of his e-newsletter, New Thinking (now available from www.gerrymcgovern.com), and he has teamed up with a professional journalist, Rob Norton, to create this book. The underlying philosophy of Content Critical is summarized in the opening to Chapter 3: "In business the customer is king. On the Internet, we hear that 'content is king'. But that's like saying from a business perspective that 'product is king.' It's the exact opposite of what 'customer is king' thinking is about. If the customer is king in business then the customer (reader) is king on the Internet. If the reader is king then content serves the reader...A classic fault of writing and publishing is that it puts the ego of the author or editor before the needs of the reader...If the reader doesn't read you, you don't have a business model" (p.45). Few could argue with that. Indeed, a reminder that the Web is subject to the same basic marketing principles as the rest of the world, and an encouragement to develop beyond a production orientation, is to be welcomed by any Web user, be that in the management of content or the hardware that drives it. McGovern and Norton take the basic principles of marketing and communication and apply them with clarity and insight to publishing on the Web. This book should be read by anyone involved in Web content management, of course, but it should also be required reading for those with responsibilities including internal or external communication (and what academic or executive does not?) It has an accessible style, making the strong analysis and good practical ideas easy to understand and implement. It would be a good textbook in a course on Web content management. On behalf of all users of the Web, this reviewer hopes such courses grow and prosper! ...
Rating:
Summary: Great resource for web designers¿
Review: At last, content problems no longer have to break the hearts of web designers. Content Critical offers many solutions for making better web sites. Content is so often an after thought (Cut and paste) of web site design, this book clearly states why people are visiting your site (To read) and just how important quality content is. You'll find yourself quoting the easy to understand explanations of XML, search engines, content categorization, navigation design and web site design fundamentals.
Rating:
Summary: Do you WANT a better Web Site? Buy this book.
Review: Dear Readers. Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton have nearly restored my faith in "computer books" and I've bought hundreds of them. But this bright red-covered CONTENT CRITICAL document I'm holding in my hand isn't exactly like any of the other ones, is it? The authors write in clear, straightforward, Standard English. Do you have any idea how rare that is? It is so pleasant to read good, useful ideas without the necessity of untangling acronyms and technobable. This book is the real stuff. Quick examples of straight talk:
"Search functions on many individual websites are hopelessly inadequate.",
"People are under a lot of pressure today...the average reader doesn't have the time for content that doesn't get to the point." The authors don't just ask the questions, they follow through. They show you how to fix the glitches, how to organize your content. That's it. They speak English and they know how to explain things. I can't get into greater detail now because I only have a thousand words, and no pictures. If you are serious about teaching a web class or improving the content of your own pages, this book is well worth the price. Thanks, Ken Wade
Associate Professor
Champlain College
Burlington, VT </font>
Rating:
Summary: New Thinking !
Review: Gerry Mc Govern is one of the "movers and shakers" of the young Internet industry. This is not easy when you are an author and a commentator - and you have been active in more than 5 years.
But people who read Gerry McGovern's newsletter "New Thinking" will appreciate that that is exactly what McGovern does. He thinks in a new and fresh way - always ! His new book, Content Critical, is a good example of a book that can make a difference. The book is well written and full of useful insights on web publishing. And, as such, the book is a very useful tool for everybody who is in charge of a commercial website. Gert Birnbacher (GB is chairman of DEBA Scandinavia's largest network of e-business companies )
Rating:
Summary: Get to the point. Then stop.
Review: Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton are experienced journalists who write unashamedly about text content. They define visitors as 'readers', not 'users', who come to a web site to read and gather content. If that makes Content Critical old fashioned, it is old fashioned for all the right reasons. It deals with the fundamentals of web site content; its purpose, its design, its creation. Readers of McGovern's weekly newsletter won't be surprised by the content, themes or style of the book. It is direct, business-like, sometimes humorous and always well argued. Content Critical is the best non-technical book on the subject of web content that I have come across to date. It is comprehensive and well structured. It demonstrates the authors' long fascination with the Internet as a publishing medium as well as their advocacy of information architecture as a professional discipline. Content Critical has an important message and presents it according to its own rules and guidelines. Content Critical analyses the benefits and costs of content with a model for comparing the cost of content to its reach and value. It is easy to forget when we are surrounded by technological marvels that great content is still difficult and expensive to produce. The proliferation of television channels offering cheap to produce content is clear evidence of that. The central chapters provide checklists and examples for the principles on which the majority of content rests. Topics include:
•Creating content and the importance of editorial (since 'even the best writer needs an editor')
•Information architecture as the foundation upon which a web site is built and developed
•Principles for good navigation design
•Content layout and design. Content Critical is particularly scathing about headlines and summaries: 'Most headings and summaries on the Internet are poor. Headings often give you very little clue as to what the document is actually about.' Nor does it pull its punches when it comes to common stupidities: 'At all costs avoid "intro" or "splash" pages. They are a total waste of time.' The final chapters cover building a web site production team and the publishing strategies required if an organisation is to treat content as a high-value asset rather than as a commodity. Content Critical can be summed up by a recent Gerry McGovern newsletter: 'Time is our scarcest resource. The less time we have the more our attention span contracts. Write simply. Keep headings, summaries, sentences, paragraphs and documents short. Get to the point. Then stop.'
Rating: 
Summary: Making the Complex Simple
Review: Gerry McGovern takes the complex matter of designing a Website and managing its content and simplifies it into the logical world of production. He compares and contrasts Web publishing to print production, providing illumination for the many of us struggliing to organize, staff, and maintain top-notch sites. Must reading!
Rating:
Summary: I bought this book of Gerrys and showed my boss saying "hey
Review: Hey Boss Mr McGoverrn is saying the same things I am saying on content management.Result - boss takes book =likes book - and I never see book again. So I buy second book from Amazon (check records - excellent delivery!- both times )
- just in time for me to give it to my project manager yesterday
- now I am on to my third book
- hey Gerry -
royalties!? Bang on Gerry 5
Rating:
Summary: We are all publishers !
Review: How to describe this Book ? Of course it's clear and precise but above all it's :
- Pratical
- Useful
- Pertinent It clearly describes and demonstrates the two key points of Internet :
- Reader is King
- Be the best servant of the King by giving him what he wants and deserves, contents, stories, facts ... Create, edit, publish, feedback, modify, publish etc .. is the perpetual cercle what the previously called Webmaster will have to do on his website. This books will let you understand how to write pertinent content for the Web and how to publish it.
Best suited for ex WebMaster and New Chief Publisher or Head Manager who wants to set up a Content Management Policy. Reader is King
Rating:
Summary: We are all publishers !
Review: How to describe this Book ? Of course it's clear and precise but above all it's :
- Pratical
- Useful
- Pertinent It clearly describes and demonstrates the two key points of Internet :
- Reader is King
- Be the best servant of the King by giving him what he wants and deserves, contents, stories, facts ... Create, edit, publish, feedback, modify, publish etc .. is the perpetual cercle what the previously called Webmaster will have to do on his website. This books will let you understand how to write pertinent content for the Web and how to publish it.
Best suited for ex WebMaster and New Chief Publisher or Head Manager who wants to set up a Content Management Policy. Reader is King
Rating:
Summary: The Online Content Bible
Review: I can't think of anyone more clearly focused on the issue of good site content than Gerry McGovern, and I found myself nodding in agreement on every page. For me, it was an important book to read, because, as a copywriter myself, I find the line between 'content' and 'copy' is very hard to discern sometimes. I think it's important for online copywriters to understand the work of content creators, and vice versa. Best of all, you get the sense with Content Critical that McGovern has a deep, deep knowledge of the subject. And he writes in a way that makes his knowledge accessible to others. Absolutely THE book on creating and managing content online.
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