The Websters' Dictionary: How to Use the Web to Transform the World [Paperback]

Ralph Benko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 2008

The Websters' Dictionary shows you how the big success stories in Web advocacy -- groups like MoveOn.org and Heritage.org, starting from very little achieved such massive success. And how you can too. This book lays it out from the basic to the sophisticated. How to get a domain name (and what domain name to pick). How to create a great website ... or select someone to do it for you. What kind of site will let you use the power of Web 2.0 at the lowest possible cost. What style gives you impact. What content works? How much should you be prepared to spend? What kind of team will you need? It lays out best practices briefly, clearly, picturesquely and accurately. This is the dawning of the Age of the Internet. Be part of that. Become a Webster -- an activist, an operative, or a wonk who is using the Web to transform the world. Spinning silica into worldwide webs of glass and light, the Internet has become a planetary community in need of a global guidebook. The Websters' Dictionary is it -- a cornucopian resource for all compendious world-warpers. -- George Gilder, author of Wealth and Poverty (the Bible of Reaganomics), and the high tech classics Telecosm and Microcosm.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Washington Times says, Ralph Benko, aka the Webster, has the answers for advocacy groups who want to create effective Web sites… The book's title is The Webster's Dictionary, but Mr. Benko is careful to point out that his term, webster, is a word he coined to describe web pilots. …He notes that on his Web he did what other advocacy groups couldn't do, that is, experiment online with different Web techniques before getting down to the business of putting his discoveries into writing. That kind of latitude simply is not available to a policymaker, analyst, or institute executive with a real-time mission to fulfill and an image to maintain, he writes. …the Webster did succeed in introducing this reviewer to the myriad considerations related to setting up a Web site: How much it should cost, what certain buzzwords mean and how a Web site can operate more as an investment than a silver bullet. But the real meat of the book becomes apparent in the fourth chapter. In it, Mr. Benko incorporates a grand list of facts, including what the term RSS stands for, what the term wiki means in Hawaiian and the difference between Web 2.0 and Web 1.0. …One of the most interesting segments of the book is the one devoted to the success stories of various advocacy groups. MoveOn.org is the main group Mr. Benko mentions. But there is a terrific take on how, with the help of Wikipedia, Trevor Lyman started a successful fundraising campaign online for former presidential nominee, Ron Paul. The Webster also succeeds in showing why Sen. Barack Obama did so well in the Democratic primaries… As I approached the end of Mr. Benko's book, it was a pleasant surprise to find that he placed important information there. He had interesting things to say about what the domain name should look like, and he added important information about what components are needed in a site start-up…at the end of the book, Mr. Benko did offer some very important tips: Avoid hyphens when choosing your domain name and be sure to e-mail members of your community. His book also gives readers a good idea of what an advocacy team should look like if it is going to be effective. An added bonus are several useful hyperlinks. One caveat though, there are so many of them, they can on occasion be distracting. Mr. Benko is at his best discussing the spirit of online advocacy. Beyond creating communities, he shows how they are designed to excite and mobilize, which explains why he prefers that his operation be known as a webvehicle as opposed to a Web site. Mr. Benko rounds out his book having some fun comparing mediocre sites to MoveOn.org. (A perfect spot, by the way, for more screen shots and less quips). Also, he offers some lively tips about advertising, page ranking by the search engines, security and on-site analytics - all of which offer great insight into the online world. Mr. Benko concludes with even more information that renders his book a winner. There is his interview with Knox Bronson - graphic designer, site designer and site developer …The Webster rounds things out by ending with a discussion of legal issues that are useful and crucial. Readers are informed about what they need to know about Terms of Use policies and Copyright infringement policies. The Websters' Dictionary is nothing close to an actual dictionary, but it is a how-to book for our times, well written and infused with humor. Mr. Benko offers his advice to advocacy groups everywhere to help them get a head start with their Web site and how to avoid common mistakes. Although some of the humor and many of the parenthetical detours may not be to everyone's taste, Mr. Benko gives online advocacy groups just what they need without the jargon that frequently comes with online how-to books. --The Washington Times

Benko provides the reader with a gentle guide through the dark forests of political advocacy on the Internet. A must read for anyone wishing to understand how the Internet is changing politics forever. --Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia.org and Wikia.com

Brilliantly and with wit, Ralph Benko provides agitators and advocacy groups the way to get out our message and to organize in the Web 2.0 world. Couldn't be more timely -- or needed. --Steve Forbes, President and Chief Executive Officer of Forbes and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes magazine

About the Author

Ralph Benko combines the best qualities of geek (fascination with technology, reads Wired Magazine) and wonk (immersion in the policy/advocacy process, reads Politico) with the ability to help normal people harness both. He is a principal of Capital City Partners, LLC of Washington DC, a respected public affairs firm. Benko founded the Prosperity Caucus gathering of supply-side and free-market economists; served on detail as a minor official in the White House under President Reagan; and is a populist conservative Republican (although some of his best friends are liberal Democrats). He speaks frequently on highly effective Web design, development, and management practices. Because of his long fascination with all things Internet he is popularly known as the Webster.

Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: The Websters' Press (November 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982075618
• ISBN-13: 978-0982075616
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,056,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth the time and money for anyone using the Internet to help leverage their business or non-profit., November 2, 2008

By 

Peter Eyre "Pete Eyre" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Websters' Dictionary: How to Use the Web to Transform the World (Hardcover)

Ralph Benko's "The Websters Dictionary" does an excellent job detailing the power of web 2.0. Benko spent two-years looking at how various organizations, businesses, and campaigns have leveraged their message via the Internet, and has distilled down what works and what does not, in this easy-to-read overview.

I work at Bureaucrash, an organization that promotes activism for freedom. Bureaucrash is small in terms of paid staff and budget, so we utilize the Internet, new media, and Web 2.0 to have a larger footprint. As such, I found Benko's book invaluable, especially as we're transitioning to a more decentralized approach.

Take-aways that can be gleaned from the book that are applicable to virtually any such organization include being clear and concise, understanding your community to better support/encourage it, being transparent to give community a stake in outcomes, facilitating spontaneity, and that content is king. Further advice is to take calculated risks, but to start small and scale up if they pay off.

Rather than advocate a top-down approach, Benko, in "The Websters Dictionary", embraces the ideas and actions that stem from a bottom-up, community-driven approach, and he provides research-backed suggestions on how to make that happen. All of this can be summarized by Benko's statement that "the potential of this medium [Web 2.0] is huge, and I hope that out of this thing comes a million things we can't imagine."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever and useful, October 29, 2008

By 

Michael S. Dobson (Bethesda, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Websters' Dictionary: How to Use the Web to Transform the World (Hardcover)

If you're involved with any issue, the web is the way to get the word out, but few people have the grasp, understanding, and clarity that Ralph Benko brings to the subject. Essential reading for anyone who plans to advocate a point of view...or just build a viral web presence for fun and games.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For anyone interested in how the Web has transformed politics and policy activism, October 29, 2008

By 

Knox Bronson (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Websters' Dictionary: How to Use the Web to Transform the World (Hardcover)

Disclaimer: this book features an interview with me, so I might be biased.
Ralph has done a wonderful job looking at how moveon.org and dailykos and other progressive groups harnessed the power of the web to mobilize millions of people. I learned a lot reading the book. His research and conclusions are solid.
He offers, for the novice, the basics of web site building: domain registration, hosting, how to find a developer, etc. And then, for those already involved, does a great job of looking at the bigger implications of how the Web is transforming, for the better, our politics and our culture. Ralph self-identifies as a conservative Republican, but he is at heart a true populist and the Websters' Dictionary is, at its core, a populist bible for anyone of any political stripe.