Web Content ConferenceObsessing about words: Do you use the right ones?

Choosing the wrong words on your internal or external Web site will frustrate your employees, send customers screaming and cost you millions of dollars, says expert Gerry McGovern

Gerry McGovern would never describe himself as a writer. And yet this tall, thin Irishman cares as much about words as the most exacting poet. As one of the world’s foremost experts on Web design, McGovern obsesses about their role in making or breaking employee and customer sites.

To hear McGovern talk, companies get words wrong most of the time—and their mistakes can cost millions, even billions of dollars. Choose the wrong words and you’ll smother your business, kill your Intranet, frustrate your employees and send customers screaming into the night.

McGovern flew to Chicago this week to preach his word evangelism to 200 communicators at Ragan’s Web Content conference. His keynote speech on Thursday may have been the most popular opening in the event’s history.

McGovern lashed out at senior managers and MBA geeks who care more about their words when building intranets and Web sites and less about those of the employee or customer.