I am an eager student of business models and strategies, especially of those formulated for organizations involved in e-business. For that reason, this book's subtitle ("Web Globalization Strategies") caught my eye but I did not know quite what to expect as I began to read it. In the Introduction, Yunker explains precisely what the book is -- and is not -- about. Here is a brief excerpt:
"We live in a world of many languages, many cultures, and many countries, yet we all share one Internet. Initially, English dominated the Internet because English speakers dominated the Internet. Today, more than half of all Internet users are not native-English speakers.
"Want to increase your potential online audience by 200 million people? Create French, Italian, German, and Spanish web sites. Add Japanese and Chinese, and you'll gain another 200 million -- without opening a single international office. Web globalization will open your organization to virtually unlimited opportunities, but also many risks. This book offers guidelines and suggestions for bridging the borders between languages, cultures, countries, and ultimately, people."
Yunker carefully organizes his material within seven Parts, with Part VII ("Appendices") consisting of an in-depth glossary and reference section. He also provides a listing of country codes, language codes, and character sets as well as a chart which explains the significance of various colors around the world. In Parts I through VI, Yunker answers questions which include:
* What are the basics of Web globalization (e.g. lingo and key concepts) to "get a taste" for navigating the multi-lingual Internet?
* What are some of the most common mistakes which organizations make when taking their Web sites global? How and why? Which lessons can be learned from these mistakes? How can other organizations avoid those mistakes?
* What does the Web workflow consist of? What are the key participants? What about costs, especially hidden costs? Why are "internationalization" and "localization" the two foundations of globalization?
* How to select and then manage translators or a translation services provider? How to maintain quality throughout the process? What will be required of copy writers to credit and edit text(s) for a global audience?
* Why is designing for one country much easier than designing for many countries? What is involved when creating and then managing multilingual content? How can cultural and technical obstacles affect Web design?
* Why is it prudent to promote a Web site one country at a time? What is necessary to understand about multilingual search engines, portals, and domain names?
There are six "hands-on" chapters which explain, step-by-step (hand-by-hand?) how to translate a Web site into eight different languages. "Files are also available to download so that you can follow along on your own. By the end of the book, you will have created a web page with a potential reach of more than two billion people." Yunker also includes what he calls seven "Spotlights": a probing analysis of each of several real-world case studies based on Monster.com, L.L. Bean, the Social Security Administration, FedEx, Burton Snowboards, Befrienders International, and FIFA World Cup, respectively. These case studies alone are well worth much more than the cost of the book.
By including in this review the brief excerpt from the Introduction, I hope I have suggested for which decision-makers in which organizations this book will be most valuable, indeed invaluable. Perhaps without intending to do so, Yunker has written a book which will also be of substantial value to those who provide various services to those organizations, services such as consulting, legal, accounting, insurance, logistics, transportation, and fulfillment. These service providers will also need to formulate appropriate web globalization strategies of their own to accommodate the strategies of their client organizations.
Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to read Jakob Nielsen's Designing Web Usability (1999) and Homepage Usability: 50 Websites Deconstructed (2001) which Nielsen co-authored with Marie Tahir; Steve Krug's Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (2000); Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton's Web Style Guide: Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites (Second Edition, 2002); Carla O'Dell's If Only We Knew What We Know: The Transfer of Internal Knowledge and Best Practice (1998); and Thomas H. Davenport and Laurence Prusak's Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know (1997).
I also highly recommend this book to those who are associated with an organization now involved in or considering global e-learning initiatives. They are strongly encouraged to read, also, Allan J. Henderson's The E-Learning Question and Answer Book: A Survival Guide to Trainers and Business Managers (2002).
