# EHow > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/EHow > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/EHow.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EHow > Source revision: 1353526319 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Website}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}} {{Use American English|date=March 2023}} {{Lowercase title}} {{Infobox website | name = eHow | logo = eHow logo.svg | collapsible = yes | collapsetext = Screenshot | screenshot = EHow Homepage.jpg | url = eHow.com | commercial = Yes | type = [Content farm](/source/Content_farm) | language = [English](/source/English_language) | registration = Yes | owner = [Leaf Group](/source/Demand_Media) | launch_date = {{start date and age|1999|3}} | current_status = Active }} '''eHow''' is an online how-to guide with many [articles](/source/Article_(publishing)) and 170,000 videos offering step-by-step instructions. eHow articles and videos are created by freelancers 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](/source/content_farm).{{Cite news|url = https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2011/04/25/google-traffic-to-demand-media-sites-down-40-percent/ |title = Google Traffic to Demand Media Sites Down 40 Percent| work = Forbes|access-date = 17 February 2012|first=Jeff|last=Bercovici}}{{Cite web |url = http://digitalethics.org/2011/09/28/essay-the-rise-of-the-content-mill/ |title = Rise of the Content Mills |work = Loyola University Center for Digital Ethics and Policy |access-date = 17 February 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120211202211/http://digitalethics.org/2011/09/28/essay-the-rise-of-the-content-mill/ |archive-date = 11 February 2012 |url-status = dead }}{{Cite web|url = http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_06/b4214064466703.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110128180019/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_06/b4214064466703.htm |url-status = dead |archive-date = 28 January 2011 |work = Business Week |title = Demand Media's Planet of the Algorithms|access-date = 17 February 2012 }} ==History== thumb|left|126px|Old logo, used until 2011 thumb|left|126px|Logo used 2011-2016 thumb|left|126px|Previous logo eHow was founded by Courtney Rosen in 1999. On 8 February 2001 it filed for [Chapter 7 bankruptcy](/source/Chapter_7_bankruptcy). At that time it had $1.16 million in assets and $7.2 million in debts and had used up $23.5 million in [venture capital](/source/venture_capital) funding in a year and a half that came from companies including [Hummer Winblad Venture Partners](/source/Hummer_Winblad_Venture_Partners) ($1.3 million) and Dominion Ventures ($982,035). eHow's major debts included $598,460 owed to Vignette Corp., $140,024 to Engage Media in San Francisco and $237,492 to LifeMinders. The [Silicon Valley Bank](/source/Silicon_Valley_Bank) seized $180,548 that was in EHow's accounts to pay off outstanding loans. eHow was acquired by [Demand Media](/source/Demand_Media) in 2006. Originally it was a source of written articles and step-by-step instructions. At the time of its acquisition it had 17,000 articles and 5.8 million visitors a month. A year after purchasing the website Demand Media introduced the video format. In 2008 the site won a [Mashable](/source/Mashable) Blogger's Choice award in the 2nd Annual Open Web Awards.[Demand Media](/source/Demand_Media) (2012), About Us at www.ehow.com/about-us.html, Retrieved 28 November 2012{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Mystery-of-EHow-Solved-It-s-Kaput-Site-filed-2951092.php|title=Mystery of EHow Solved — It's Kaput / Site filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Feb. 8|date=17 February 2001|website=sfgate.com|access-date=29 October 2018}} In 2009 the website introduced a mobile version for [cell phone](/source/cell_phone) users and also was a [CNET](/source/CNET) Webware 100 Winner in the category of ''Search & Reference''. That same year Demand Media merged their acquisition of [Expert Village](/source/Expert_Village) into eHow and opened a branch operation in the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom). The moves gave eHow over one million articles and videos available on-line in 2009 and doubled that number by the following year. In 2010 they received a New Media Award. 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 [algorithm](/source/algorithm), a move that increased revenue by a factor of 4.9 times per article or video created. Getting rid of the human editors who formerly identified and approved content to be produced increased profits for the company by a factor of 20–25 times. The automated program combines search data, [internet traffic](/source/internet_traffic) patterns and the rates of keyword use and uses this information to determine what internet users want to know and also calculates how much money advertisers will pay to appear on the same page content created. Another algorithm, called the Knowledge Engine, then works out what exactly internet users want to know about the subjects identified and details exactly how to approach profitable subjects and what its potential subject longevity is. The machine-created subjects are then proofread by freelance proofreaders for 8 cents each, to ensure that they are clear enough for bidding on by freelance article and video producers. Content producers are then paid about US$15 per article or US$20 per video to produce the product. This change resulted in the Demand Media making an estimated [US$](/source/US%24)200 million in revenue in 2009, including from [Google](/source/Google)'s advertising income. In 2011 the site released an [iPad](/source/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. ==Criticisms== Demand Media and eHow in particular have been criticized for large amounts of low-quality content and for operating as a [content farm](/source/content_farm), paying contributors low rates for content intended to rank high in search results, rather than focus on quality information, 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.{{Cite news|url=http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/25/google-tweaks-algorithm-to-push-down-low-quality-sites/ |work = New York Times |title = Google tweaks algorithm to push down low quality sites|access-date = 17 February 2012|date=25 February 2011}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/technology/internet/26google.html?_r=1&ref=technology&gwh=1F78F508EE962D991473DDB7AC32FA61|work= New York Times | title = Seeking to Weed Out Drivel, Google Adjusts Search Engine|access-date = 17 February 2012|date=25 February 2011}}{{Cite web|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/finding-more-high-quality-sites-in.html |title=googleblog "Finding More High Quality Sites in Search"|access-date = 17 February 2012 }} Demand Media responded to the algorithm changes, saying their [business model](/source/business_model) remained solid.{{Cite web |url=http://www.demandmedia.com/blog/a-statement-about-search-engine-algorithm-changes/ |title=A Statement About Search Engine Algorithm Changes |work=demandmedia.com |access-date=17 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228191756/http://www.demandmedia.com/blog/a-statement-about-search-engine-algorithm-changes/ |archive-date=28 February 2012 |url-status=dead }} [Jack Herrick](/source/Jack_Herrick), former owner of eHow, started up [wikiHow](/source/wikiHow) after concluding that the wiki method of content creation would ultimately produce higher quality work. He described the difference between eHow and wikiHow as "eating a McDonald's burger vs. a wonderful, home cooked meal"{{cite web |url=http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/wikihow_vs_ehow_is_the_wiki_way_better_than_content_farms.php |title=ReadWriteWeb: wikiHow vs. eHow: Is the Wiki Way Better Than Content Farms |access-date=12 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213184219/http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/wikihow_vs_ehow_is_the_wiki_way_better_than_content_farms.php |archive-date=13 February 2010 }} Search engine [DuckDuckGo](/source/DuckDuckGo)'s CEO Gabriel Weinberg has criticized eHow, along with other [Demand Media](/source/Demand_Media) websites, labeling the company a "content mill," because of the website's search engine driven content, low article quality and low writer salaries. DuckDuckGo filters out eHow content because of Weinberg's perception that Demand Media produces low-quality content designed specifically to rank highly in [Google Search](/source/Google_Search)es for the purposes of promoting advertising.{{Cite web|url = http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/post.aspx?bid=377&bpid=25532|title = The Search Engine Backlash Against 'Content Mills'|access-date = 26 July 2010|last = Mims|first = Christopher|date = July 2010|archive-date = 16 October 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191016095919/https://www.technologyreview.com/s/419965/the-search-engine-backlash-against-content-mills/|url-status = dead}} Another search engine, [Blekko](/source/Blekko) also regarded eHow as [spam](/source/Spam_(electronic)), blacklisted the site and filtered eHow results out.{{Cite web|url = https://techcrunch.com/2011/01/31/blekko-bans-content-farms/|title =Blekko Bans Content Farms Like Demand Media's eHow From Its Search Results}} [Wired magazine](/source/Wired_(magazine)) has also criticized eHow and Demand Media, calling their content: "slapdash" and a "factory stamping out moneymaking content".{{Cite news|url = https://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/10/ff_demandmedia/|title = The Answer Factory: Demand Media and the Fast, Disposable, and Profitable as Hell Media Model|access-date = 27 July 2010|last = Roth|first = Daniel|date=October 2009|work=Wired}} ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} {{Graham}} {{Demand Media}} {{DEFAULTSORT:eHow}} Category:How-to websites Category:Internet properties established in 1999 Category:1999 establishments in the United States Category:Graham Holdings --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [EHow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EHow) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EHow?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.