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Electronic Highways
Solve your problems; share your knowledge
How exactly do you polish your shoes with a banana? How do you cook chicken curry in 10 minutes? What should you bring on a road trip and how do you plan for it?
Whether you want to write a children’s book or find an apartment in New York City, the many “how-to” Web sites available online can offer instructions and guidance. In addition to providing solutions, many of today’s how-to sites allow members to share and interact within an online community. If you love to share your knowledge or just want to stay informed, check out the following Web sites.
Described as the “ultimate how-to guide,” VideoJug focuses on instructional videos in numerous categories, including technology, health and beauty, and food and drink. Basic how-to videos are offered, such as “How to Choose a Bottle of Wine,” as well as more intriguing topics, like “How to Reform a Lazy Boyfriend.” VideoJug offers two formats of videos: “how-to" and "ask the expert." In the “ask the expert” videos, you will find celebrities, consultants, coaches and teachers offering their advice and answers to common questions. Members also have the ability to upload their own how-to videos.
SoYouWanna caters to a fresh-out-of-college crowd, but the punchy writing style will appeal to anyone seeking straightforward advice. This Web site prides itself in teaching you “how to do all the things nobody taught you in school.” Are you thinking of switching careers to something a bit more exciting? Follow the humorous but uncomplicated instructions in such articles as “So You Wanna Join the CIA?” or “So You Wanna Pitch a TV Show?”
Filled with how-to articles on every topic imaginable, eHow also is an online community where members include their own answers to specific questions. Become a member, write a how-to article and perhaps you will be featured as an "expert of the day.” Another site that encourages contributors is HowToDoThings. By signing up and contributing, you will not only help others with your advice, you also may get paid!
On wikiHow, millions of contributors can edit and create articles that help people solve everyday problems. Have you vacationed in Fiji and want to let others know how to make the most of their trip? By writing or editing a how-to article, you will help this Web project move one step closer to its goal of becoming the “world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual.”
How-to Web sites are becoming the place to go to share and learn within an online community of both experts and everyday people. Your delicious chili recipe and your ability to win at Monopoly may even qualify you as an “expert.” Start getting involved within a how-to online community and perhaps your advice may make an impact—big or small—on someone else.
—Ligaya Ganster, University Libraries