Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies

This is a fine book I recommend wholeheartedly to business executive and IT professional alike. Indeed, it is perhaps the most accessible "textbook" I have ever read: well-organized, clearly written and handsomely formatted, Beyond Borders identifies and discusses the business and IT issues involved in making your website "globally ready." John Yunker takes the reader through the process of globalizing from inital preparation to final product. But this is not a book on theory: it is practical throughout. The author's discussions of "how to do it" are supplemented in virtually every chapter with examples of "how it has actually been done" by companies such as Fedex, GE, Monster, etc. and complemented by brief Q & As with site project managers. In addition, the text is peppered with suggestions for further reading. The index is thorough and useful, and the author clearly lists sources where necessary.As a writer myself (of the Asia Business Intelligence website), I am primarily concerned with business books that deal directly with Asia. However, Beyond Borders succinctly and practically deals with the business issues involved in web globalization -- one most businessmen are forced to confront -- while explaining the technical issues in plain English. John Yunker deals with all the salient issues you will neet to get a grasp of: global branding, budgeting, project management, language translation, character sets, the applications your company will need to create globalized web pages, etc.So, if you are responsible for hitting international sales targets or if you manage or work in international marketing, advertising, public relations, market research, or training, you should read this book. It will open your eyes and put the tools in your hands very quickly.I called it a "textbook" earlier in this review only because it exhaustively covers the subject of web globalization. (Make sure you look at the Table of Contents sample pages provided above.) But it reads very quickly: I read it carefully from cover to cover -- 500 plus pages -- in a total of no more than 10 hours -- a weekend. John Yunker packed a great deal of value into this book, and I strongly recommend you take advantage of it.

I work with these sort of things and it was exactly what I was looking for since I had a bit of trouble with lack of knowledge about the different encodings for cyrillics, Russian language!This book has a very easy and right on target type of approach, it doesn't take John very long to make you understand what he means and the ex. are very good and the case studies are even better!I have an attention disorder myself and have problems holding my focus on one thing for a very long time and I easily forget what I just read and usually I have to read a paragraf 10 times over because I am not sure what I just read... There could be many reasons for why John's writing is very easy even for me and it doesn't get me exhausted, but one thing about it is that it has a good structure and the thread throught the book makes sense:=) It is a Very good book; short examples that don't take too long to understand and many of them throughout the book. And it covers the area extensively without being heavy! (OK the book itself is actually a bit heavy for my weak wrist to hold *lol*)I very highly recommend this book and especially to people who don't have much time, cause as I've stated throughout my review it is very fast and easy to understand, doesn't take up a lot of your energy.

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 i

I just wanted to add to the list of kudos for Mr. Yunker's informative guidance in - Beyond Borders: Web Globalization Strategies. We are just beginning the complex and formidable process of website globalization. I could not find any help beyond the superficial level until I stumbled across this book - I went right out and bought it that day. Now, I am both encouraged and eager to move forward with this process. Globalization is a fascinating and challenging process. Yet it is relatively new territory. The multi-layered process from web design, encoding, multi-cultural communication (not to mention communication within the organization), is covered in a very straightforward, easy to follow format. Mr. Yunker provides real world examples and problem areas as well as easy to follow solutions. I do not feel like I am floundering as before, with Beyond Borders as a resource.

Now that English is becoming a minority language on the World Wide Web, companies wishing to do business on a global basis, and their consultants, need guidance in doing it right. Author John Yunker has accumulated a rare quantity of practical experience at web globalization firm Byte Level, working for clients such as Giorgio Armani, Wal-Mart, SAP and Victoria's Secret. Yunker is a fine writer, communicates well, and organizes even better. This beautifully laid out book contains a mass of unique information on just about all the issues you will encounter in commissioning and producing multi-language web sites, in doing business across borders, dealing with very different cultures, and their laws, and on how to make less than fully globalized software do a reasonable job at handling more than just ASCII English text. To better reinforce his lessons, Yunker has provided several Hands On practical exercise chapters on how to globalize in several different languages, case studies and Q & As with major corporate globalizers. Many precious little gems drop out of the book's pages, as well as sterling advice on how to get right things that most web page designers currently get badly wrong. Common mistakes like creating forms that fail to take into account differing standards in phone numbers, or the many ways dates and times are expressed around the world. The issue of globalization has only just come up for my firm. To remain viable, and then grow, our web agency must seek clients beyond its immediate vicinity. And that means suddenly having to cope with a plethora of non-European languages, and very different cultural precepts. Beyond Borders has proven invaluable already by enlightening us on what we are in for.