This is the title and introduction to a 'how to' article on home exchange I wrote recently for wikiHow. I came across wikiHow after finding eHow.com as a result of a search on, of all things, how to get rid of moths! I was really impressed by the amount of useful information available on this site on just about every topic under the sun. wikiHow (described below) is a wonderful follow-on idea, enabling anyone to share their knowledge on a subject. All the 'How to' articles on wikiHow follow a similar format, with the subject matter given in point form under three headings: Steps, Tips and Warnings. This is a logical, easy to read format that works very well. What I particularly like about the wikiHow concept is that the aim is to provide useful, unbiased information rather than promote services or products. Let's face it, however much free and useful information a business website or weblog (even this one!) provides, this can never honestly be considered truly objective when one of the purposes will inevitably be to promote one particular service. wikiHow: a collaborative writing project aiming to build the world's largest how-to manual. wikiHow was started by eHow.com. While eHow already contains instructions on how to do thousands of things, by working together as a group the wikiHow community can build something bigger and better. We envision this huge how to manual providing unbiased, accurate instructions on every topic imaginable. Swap your home with someone in a country or area you want to visit and you will both enjoy all the comforts of home - for free - with often a car as part of the deal!
Just a follow-on from my post yesterday. I had contacted wikiHow by email with a question I had on how the site works. Sometimes when contacting companies I've received a standard reply, often not addressing my particular question - which is most annoying! So I was really pleasantly surprised to receive a personal reply within a couple of hours from Jack at wikiHow. Now that's impressive! Here's a short quote from Jack's reply:
'After getting your email, I read your article and was very impressed. It is a great article, written in perfect eHow format. Thanks for your excellent contribution. I hope you stick around wikiHow and contribute more in the future. - Best, Jack'
Posted by: Lois | July 22, 2005 at 09:24 AM