Content Critical – Gaining Competitive Advantage through High‐quality Web Content

Citation

Jevons, C. (2002), "Content Critical – Gaining Competitive Advantage through High‐quality Web Content", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 19 No. 5, pp. 447-450. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2002.19.5.447.4

This is an excellent book for academics and practitioners alike. It cuts through the suffocating 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. One tends to be wary of back cover blurbs that announce “This book will change the way you think,” but in this case the assertion that readers’ thinking about the Web will be transformed is justified. Besides, the design of the back cover is such that few will read it, the type being awkward to read. Fortunately, the text of the book is much more helpfully presented, and the content of the book itself is easy, lively and inspiring to read. (The authors themselves point out on pp. 69‐70 that it is, after all, the ideas, plots and style that make for good literature, not any clever tricks of design and layout – a lesson many pretentious and self‐indulgent Web designers are yet to learn.)

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. As the Internet grows and Web users become more representative of the general, non‐technical population, the frustrations caused by customer‐unfriendly product design or practice are becoming less and less acceptable. McGovern and Norton take the basic principles of marketing and communication and apply them with clarity and insight to publishing on the Web.

“The Web,” they say, “is the Trojan Horse of information overload. It promised information nirvana and delivered information hell … everyone is a publisher, most of it is awful.” (pp. 5, 7). Traditional publishing does not work very well either, of course; it is haphazard, slow, inefficient, and expensive. Paraphrasing Winston Churchill’s comment on democracy, although the system is known to be flawed, no one has been able to devise a better one. But by considering the fundamental principles of publishing and communication – essentially, getting the right content to the right person at the right time and making a profit out of it – and by applying this principle to modern business, this book takes a large step towards that better system.

First, the authors establish that the Web is a medium for publishing content, while cheerfully pointing out that while traditional publishing is lacking, the alternative is magnified 30,000 times more and organisations are awful at publishing content. Then they consider the benefits and costs of content and develop a simple content cost‐benefit model, which is summarised in a user‐friendly checklist that itself is well worth the cost of the book.

In pointing out in the following chapter that the reader is king, McGovern and Norton provide another helpful checklist of things that readers want from Web sites. The examples used to build the argument and support the checklist make it another useful management tool. A powerful argument for standardisation is presented in the following chapter. The triumph of common standards that lies behind the success of the Internet can be contrasted with the lack of common standards in many information systems, such as became apparent in the 2000 US election count. The establishment of standards is empowering and allows more people to publish effectively.

Two valuable chapters of advice on creating and editing content follow. The strategic argument for good quality editing is strong, and since it is forgotten so often, even by executives in book or newspaper publishing (who should know better than to pursue short‐term cost reductions at the expense of long‐term quality and brand reputation), the argument should be summarized and displayed in the boardroom of every knowledge‐based organisation. Much of the content of these chapters would also suit editors of print‐based media, but the second half of the book builds on this basis to analyse and make recommendations for the particular context of Web publication. The four pillars of information architecture, including the use of metadata, the principles and practice of navigation design and content layout and design (including e‐mail publications as well as Web design), management of subscription‐based Web publishing, and a strategic approach to Web publishing conclude this excellent book.

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!