eHow
 | |
Screenshot Leaf Group | |
| URL | eHow.com |
|---|---|
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Yes |
| Launched | March 1999 |
| Current status | Active |
eHow is an online how-to guide with many articles and 170,000 videos offering step-by-step instructions. eHow articles and videos are created by freelancers[1] and cover a wide variety of topics organized into a hierarchy of categories. Any eHow user can leave comments or responses, but only contracted writers can contribute changes to articles. The writers work on a freelance basis, being paid by article. eHow is frequently called a content farm.[2][3][4]
History
eHow was founded by Courtney Rosen in 1999. On 8 February 2001 it filed for
In 2009 the website introduced a mobile version for
It was in 2009 that eHow was noted as having changed its method of identifying content to contract for creation. The company moved from human-identified lists of potential content to the use of a computer-based
In 2011 the site released an iPad application, providing a direct shortcut to the website. That same year the site received a reorganization and overhaul of its look, consolidating its now three million articles and videos into six categories: Home, Health, Food, Style, Money and Family. In 2011 the site was adding more than 5,000 articles and videos a day while employing 13,000 freelance writers, editors and producers. In 2012 a seventh category was added, entitled Mom, focusing on parenting and family issues.[4][5]
Criticisms
Demand Media and eHow in particular have been criticized for large amounts of low-quality content and for operating as a content farm, paying contributors low rates for content intended to rank high in search results, rather than focus on quality information,[2][3][4] with poor quality articles intended mainly to drive up search results rather than inform.
In 2010 and 2011 Google implemented changes to their algorithms intending to reduce the ranking and impact of content farms. These changes led to a 40% drop in traffic to Demand Media sites.[2][7][8][9] Demand Media responded to the algorithm changes, saying their business model remained solid.[10]
Search engine
Another search engine,
Wired magazine has also criticized eHow and Demand Media, calling their content: "slapdash" and a "factory stamping out moneymaking content".[1]
References
- ^ a b c Roth, Daniel (October 2009). "The Answer Factory: Demand Media and the Fast, Disposable, and Profitable as Hell Media Model". Wired. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ a b c Bercovici, Jeff. "Google Traffic to Demand Media Sites Down 40 Percent". Forbes. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ a b "Rise of the Content Mills". Loyola University Center for Digital Ethics and Policy. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ a b c "Demand Media's Planet of the Algorithms". Business Week. Archived from the original on 28 January 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ Demand Media(2012), About Us at www.ehow.com/about-us.html, Retrieved 28 November 2012
- ^ "Mystery of EHow Solved — It's Kaput / Site filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Feb. 8". sfgate.com. 17 February 2001. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ "Google tweaks algorithm to push down low quality sites". New York Times. 25 February 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ "Seeking to Weed Out Drivel, Google Adjusts Search Engine". New York Times. 25 February 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ "googleblog "Finding More High Quality Sites in Search"". Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ "A Statement About Search Engine Algorithm Changes". demandmedia.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ "ReadWriteWeb: wikiHow vs. eHow: Is the Wiki Way Better Than Content Farms". Archived from the original on 13 February 2010. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
- ^ Mims, Christopher (July 2010). "The Search Engine Backlash Against 'Content Mills'". Archived from the original on 16 October 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
- ^ "Blekko Bans Content Farms Like Demand Media's eHow From Its Search Results".