Creative Content for the Web

By gaining an understanding of how the web is unique as a publishing medium, this book empowers anyone -- writers, authors, academics, content providers and individuals -- to conceive and create effective, attractive and compelling content for the World Wide Web. More than this, by explaining in clear, jargon-free language, it shows the reader how to take direct advantage of the opportunities offered by this uniquely powerful electronic medium.

Part One is theoretical and looks at the background of this remarkable publishing phenomenon. Issues covered include consideration of the web interface, the theory of hyperlinked non-linear documents, metaphors and the web, the economics of web publishing, new media and the impact on old, creativity and technology, ‘net culture', and the electronic reader.

Part Two is practical and covers creating and structuring hypertext, writing for the web, the rhetoric of the web, editing and maintenance, creating virtual communities, the basics of design, HTML vs. PDF. The final chapter looks at some of the underlying issues that relate to content: privacy, plagiarism, freedom of speech versus the need to control content, the ethics and morality of web publishing.

Contents

Part One

The Birth of a New Medium • Content on the Web • Putting the Best Interface Forward • The Medium, the Message, and Content • The Electronic Reader

Part Two

Hypertext • Writing for the Web • Virtual Communities • Design, Style and Content • Content Creation, Responsibilities and the Reader