Critique of "Writing for the Web 3.0"

Crawford Kilian's book Writing for the Web 3.0   describes the unique techniques involved with writing specifically for the internet. It is unlike many books on web writing in that it describes writing content, and leaves out code. It covers many different forms of online writing, ranging from corporate writing to personal blogs.

The book was very informative, and I'd recomend it to anyone interested in online writing. It's also works as an effective reference tool, as the chapters are well divided, using many sub-headings. It's quite easy for a reader to quickly locate information on a specific type of writing.

Crawford Kilian has been a print writer for many years, and the book is written with writers who are familiar with print writing in mind. Despite this, in most places it describes conventions required for print writing, before then addressing the changes that one must make for online writing. 

My only real criticism, has to do with this. In some cases it seems that the general information about the various types of writing is inconsistent. In some places I felt that it was redundant (at least for me because I was already familiar with some types of writing that it covered). In other places I felt that there was not enough information about the given type of writing. I know from discussion that many of my classmates had this problem, especially in the corporate writing section.

To overcome this problem, one could address it much like similar problems on websites. It is important to avoid forcing readers to read text they neither need or want. To avoid this, a clear division between general information about types of writing, and information thats specific to the online version of that form of writing. By doing this, experienced print readers would be able to quickly access information about online writing. Readers who aren't completely familiar with the print versions of certain types of writing, will still have the information necessary to understand the portion about writing it online.