Posted on February 12, 2008
Howcast Video Site and the Power of Wikis
BY JAMES CLARK
I would break my online video watching down into three categories:
- News. I've become an election news junkie and have been watching a lot of online video about the 2008 primaries.
- Poops and Giggles. Friends sending great video clips, mostly for pure entertainment purposes.
- How-To or Informational Videos. Vids that will show me how to get something done, or what a product or service does.
I've been cruising around Howcast, a new video site launched to support How-To videos, and I LOVE IT.
What I love the most is the brilliant connection between a video and an associated wiki.
Trying to explain wikis to a lay person, or even a relatively technically sophisticated marketer is a struggle. They just don't get the collaborative power a wiki can bring to a project or community. It'' not that they don't get the concept, they just can't see tangible uses of it.
The Ultimate Wiki Test
So I put the Howcast wiki test to the toughest of them all - my wife. She plays well as I try to show her new technology concepts and she simply gives it a thumbs up or down.
We've been talking about preparing sushi at home, and everyone says, "It's all about the rice," and I've yet to come across a good reference on how to make sushi rice until I found it on Howcast:
Included with the video on the site is an associated wiki, where the author can post notes such as the ingredients or utensils needed. This is awesome for watching a video and then giving the viewer everything they need to do it.
Beyond video notes in the wiki, viewers can add their own input in the form of a Comment, Tip, Warning or Fact. Now this makes it awesome. So for instance (just imagine as there are no current comments in the feedback image below) I live in Boulder, Colo., maybe there is a comment about cooking in high altitude. Or maybe someone puts a warning about avoiding scalding yourself with the steam.
Now there is a tangible and easy to show reference about the great use of a wiki. Nice work Howcast - great videos too.
