Today, consumers can find free instructions for accomplishing a variety of everyday tasks, on many community-generated How-To websites.

FindHow, the How-To search engine, brings trust into the equation by focusing on indexing only high-quality How-Tos, typically from well-known, recognized brand names or individuals. Many of these sources (often companies, government entities, or educational institutions) have other motives for providing information besides pure profits, and most have trusted, off-line brand name reputations to protect — which encourages them to focus on providing trustworthy and high-quality information.

“Our approach is to leverage the collective wisdom — not of individuals, as sites like Wikipedia do — but of the marketplace itself. Consumers have already voted with their pocketbooks as to which sources they trust — sources called brand names — and brand recognition is a powerful simplifying tool for consumers in an increasingly complex world,” said Ted Ives, CEO of FindHow.

“There is a lot to be said for user-generated content, but the reality is, if you give someone a choice between ‘How to make chocolate chip cookies’ by ‘a well-known celebrity chef’ versus by ’some unknown person,’ the celebrity chef is probably the smart choice. A homeowner who wants to know ‘How to replace an electrical outlet’ would be wise to get her advice from a large, well-known corporation that has invested time and effort to provide high-quality information, rather than relying on advice slapped together by some fly-by-night internet company trying to take advantage of her.”

FindHow, the How-To Search Engine, features thousands of How-Tos from trusted brand names on topics ranging from popular topics such as “How to lose weight,” “How to tie a tie,” “How to make fried chicken,” and “How to write a resume,” to less frequent but equally important tasks like “How to become a dental assistant,” “How to build a deck,” and “How to calculate your Body Mass Index.” Backed by significant private investment, FindHow was founded by veteran industry executives with experience at companies including Apple, General Dynamics, Microsoft, and National Semiconductor.

Here’s one that you can try at home:

The Hamster-Powered Night Light!

Skippy the Hamster powers this night light by running on his exercise wheel.

Recently Analise, an 8th grader from Albuquerque, NM, contacted DanF through the AllExperts.com Science For Kids forum, asking ‘Can a rodent generate enough electricity to power a light by running on it’s wheel?’

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 at 10:03 am and is filed under Alts, Newcomers, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.