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Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies John Yunker. 2003. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders Publishing. [ISBN 0-7357-1208-5. 552 pages, including indexes. $39.99 USD (softcover).]
If your Web site is not designed for or understood by a global audience, you are excluding an estimated 200 million people, according to John Yunker in Beyond borders: Web globalization strategies. Yunker contends, "Web globalization will open your organization to virtually unlimited opportunities, hut also many risks" (p.3). It is these opportunities and risks that Yunker examines in his hook.
Many of the considerations involved in creating or converting documentation for a glohal audience apply also to the Weh and are covered in the book. For example, many have probably heard about a USA-made car that was called Nova, which in Spanish translates to "no go." So if you've been involved in or read about translation related to documentation, some of the text may seem familiar. However, in Yunker's treatment, what may be familiar is melded into the overall concept of globalizing your Web site.
To quickly assess if this book is for you, turn to the Introduction. Here a "Who this book is for" section identifies the intended audience. This introduction is followed by a brief synopsis of each part. Checking the table of contents, you find the chapters are organized into seven parts that convey the flow of globalizing your site. The focus of each part ranges from preparation through implementation and strategies for successful global promotion. Part 7 contains a helpful glossary and appendixes, the content of which is referenced in various chapters.
In addition, throughout the hook, Yunker "Spotlights" various organizations such as Monster.com and FedEx. Through these spotlight glimpses, you learn how these organizations went about developing their global Web sites and the challenges they faced. To help you gain experience in developing sites in other languages, Yunker offers "Hands-on" sections. These sections offer files that you can download to help you create actual sites in various languages, including Spanish, German, and Russian.
Chapter 1 ("One Internet; many voices") provides some basic information on the Web and why Web globalization is important. If you have been involved with products or documentation that are going international, this information may be familiar. Concepts and terms such as localization (LION),...