Content Critical: Gaining Competitive Advantage Through High-Quality Web Content: Amazon.co.uk: Gerry McGovern, Rob Norton: Books

Review

Ken Friedman, Design Research News

"Content Critical is amply provided with reality checks, examples, and practical ideas and suggestions ... The authors have succeeded in writing a book that will appeal to both beginners and experts."

Geert Jan Kraan, Net Professional magazine

"Content Critical is another 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, chairman of DEBA, Scandinavia's largest network of e-business companies

"Content Critical is the best non-technical book on the subject of web content that I have come across to date ... For those interested in the 'change management' dimension of content and knowledge management, Content Critical may well become the standard text."

Andy Harrisson, Content Management Focus magazine

"Content Critical is an excellent book for academics and practitioners alike ... It 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?)"

Colin Jevons, Journal of Consumer Marketing

"The term "bible" is now highly over-used in reference to tech books but if it weren't, that's how I would categorize Content Critical."

Rowan Wilson, Knowledge Management Review

"In this wonderfully straightforward book, Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton show why the success of your business depends, more and more, on getting 'the right content to the right person at the right time'."

Jonathan Price, author of Hot Text: Web Writing that Works

"In two books about the Web (Content Critical and The Web Content Style Guide), Gerry McGovern and his co-authors have made the subject as easily understandable as it is disorganized in reality."

Robin Sherman, American Society of Business Publication Editors

"Students and practitioners alike will benefit greatly from Gerry's book and I have made it a core 'must have' text for my undergraduate new media studies courses."

Andy Price, University of Teesside

"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."

- Nick Usborne, author of Net Words: Creating High-Impact Online Copy

"In this wonderfully straightforward book, Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton show why the success of your business depends, more and more, on getting "the right content to the right person at the right time."

"Their book cuts through the dot com hyperbole to show why your content is critical to profit. On the Web, therefore, we are all becoming publishers."

"With common sense, good humor, and sharp focus, McGovern and Norton give practical step-by-step advice on creating and managing content. I think you'll laugh out loud, as you mark passages to quote to your boss and your team."

- Jonathan Price, author of Hot Text

"Everyone involved in the Web should read this book; it is Tom Paine's Common Sense for a wired world. Buy it now or watch your empire fall."

- Rob Benson, TrainingZONE

"Content Critical does a terrific job of laying out the reasons why content itself must take priority and then, even more importantly, the reader is the number one priority. The book has been of great value in getting this vital rule across to the students."

- Diana Botsford, Director of Information Services, Drury University, USA

"Every serious webmaster, web designer, online editor, web developer or student-in-training will find Content Critical will make them stop and critically think about their web design work. My students are now required to read it."

- Curt Schroeder, University Regina, Canada

Review

"Content Critical is highly recommended. It belongs in every design library. It should be on the reading list of every course in Web design. Any Web designer who plans to be in business five years from now should read this book." Ken Friedman, Design Research News "Content Critical is amply provided with reality checks, examples, and practical ideas and suggestions ... The authors have succeeded in writing a book that will appeal to both beginners and experts." Geert Jan Kraan, Net Professional magazine "Content Critical is another 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, chairman of DEBA, Scandinavia's largest network of e-business companies "Content Critical is the best non-technical book on the subject of web content that I have come across to date ... For those interested in the 'change management' dimension of content and knowledge management, Content Critical may well become the standard text." Andy Harrisson, Content Management Focus magazine "Content Critical is an excellent book for academics and practitioners alike ... It 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?)" Colin Jevons, Journal of Consumer Marketing "The term "bible" is now highly over-used in reference to tech books but if it weren't, that's how I would categorize Content Critical." Rowan Wilson, Knowledge Management Review "In this wonderfully straightforward book, Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton show why the success of your business depends, more and more, on getting 'the right content to the right person at the right time'." Jonathan Price, author of Hot Text: Web Writing that Works "In two books about the Web (Content Critical and The Web Content Style Guide), Gerry McGovern and his co-authors have made the subject as easily understandable as it is disorganized in reality." Robin Sherman, American Society of Business Publication Editors "Students and practitioners alike will benefit greatly from Gerry's book and I have made it a core 'must have' text for my undergraduate new media studies courses." Andy Price, University of Teesside "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." - Nick Usborne, author of Net Words: Creating High-Impact Online Copy "In this wonderfully straightforward book, Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton show why the success of your business depends, more and more, on getting "the right content to the right person at the right time." "Their book cuts through the dot com hyperbole to show why your content is critical to profit. On the Web, therefore, we are all becoming publishers." "With common sense, good humor, and sharp focus, McGovern and Norton give practical step-by-step advice on creating and managing content. I think you'll laugh out loud, as you mark passages to quote to your boss and your team." - Jonathan Price, author of Hot Text "Everyone involved in the Web should read this book; it is Tom Paine's Common Sense for a wired world. Buy it now or watch your empire fall." - Rob Benson, TrainingZONE "Content Critical does a terrific job of laying out the reasons why content itself must take priority and then, even more importantly, the reader is the number one priority. The book has been of great value in getting this vital rule across to the students." - Diana Botsford, Director of Information Services, Drury University, USA "Every serious webmaster, web designer, online editor, web developer or student-in-training will find Content Critical will make them stop and critically think about their web design work. My students are now required to read it." - Curt Schroeder, University Regina, Canada

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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

A brave attempt, but fundamentally unsuccessful 16 Dec 2003

By lesteph

Format:Paperback

I was intrigued to find a book focussing on the importance of getting web content right, and I was ready to be impressed. Unfortunately, this book falls short through a combination of being non-specific, repetitive, and unfocussed.

The early chapters are quite promising, if a bit over-blown, and the general theme of the book - that content is a valuable commodity and needs careful planning and a multidisciplinary team - is introduced quite clearly.

But the authors don't expand on this, preferring to repeat themselves with job descriptions of the links in the publishing chain, and branching out into territory covered much more effectively by other books such as usability and navigation design.

What's really lacking are more juicy examples, tips on how web writing is different from other forms in practical terms, or examples of how to present numbers, images or diagrams. They also assume a large organisation with the resources for a multidisplinary team - where's the shoestring option for small businesses or public sector organisations on a budget? As the book descends in its later chapters into a plethora of general checklists, it's harder and harder to keep interested and focussed, since it seems so far removed from practical applications.

Beyond the initial chapters which argue strongly that poor content is a real business problem, the book doesn't present much that's new - which seems ironic given the title.

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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

Get to the point. Then stop. 1 Feb 2002

By Andy Harrison, andy.harrison@andelconsulting.com

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.'

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

tells you what's obvious: once you know the answer 27 Jan 2002

By Mark Crompton

I've read gerry mcgovern's columns on web use for years - he has quite a cult following - and always thought he spoke a lot of sense. I was reluctant to spring for a full price copy, but eventually dug deep.
He talks sense here at greater length and the money was well spent.
The very first of mcgovern's arguments is that almost everywhere but T&A sites (he doesn't say that) people come to the web and read. Calling them users is kind of stupidly non-specific. People use toasters and bicycles and cheese-graters. It is a useless description.
He calls them readers. Once you accept that, all kinnds of mysteries of web-design become clear. All the pop-ups, and funny colours and distracting gee-gaws become an obscruction to the purpose of the site - they distract readers from what they are there to read.
Even ads - if they bring in the money to keep the site going, but then stop people from reading it - then what was the point?
McGovern and Norton lay out how you should create a site that has effective content nice and simply.
They don't pretend to be high priests who hold the secret, just people who've looked at what works and they can help you do it too. I made just a couple of changes after reading the first couple of chapters and I could feel the difference.
Like a lot of plain good sense, once you've read it, it all seems perfectly obvious - it is hard to believe you didn't know that all along. But if it was so obvious, how come you kept littering your site with pop-ups and flash. After all, if they're such a good idea, how come turn-the-pages books outsell pop-ups by about ten million to one.
Go on, buy it, it'll improve your site, and it is a tax deductible after all.