Pack Rat Magazine: we have THE secret.
Came across wikiHow the other day and at first was really excited. This wiki claims to have 32,888 how-to articles in about a bazillion different subjects. When I first thought about it, I said to myself how great an idea– to have a wiki for how-to projects. It makes sense that it would be helpful, right? Since everyone has their niche area of expertise, then if we all contribute what we know to a collective wiki then the amount of useful information should be endless, right? Well, you be the judge. My first five “random articles” that I hit on were How-To:
* Survive in the woods
* Do a Step Ball Change Leap
* Make Nacho Snacks
* Seduce Someone with Only Your Eyes
* Understand Philosophical Determinism
I also came across articles that I couldn’t find any conceivable reason for their existence. For example: How To Choose a Book. And there was a sad amount of “How To Act Like (insert anime character’s name).” There were also some things that bordered on totally immoral. Things like “How To Act Sober (Around Parents and Teachers)” and “How To Deal with a Married Boyfriend.” Most articles don’t include pictures (or at least, helpful ones) so your left with only the writing to follow and it is TERRIBLE as most people don’t have the first clue on how to write step by step instructions.
There were a few neat crafting articles, which is why I even bothered to bring it up here. Someone posted tutorials on how to make bottle cap earrings and a corderoy pants purse, both pretty cool with good instructions and step-by-step pictures. And there seem to be quite a few helpful guides on how to do certain tech things, like use photoshop applications and what not. But I guess in the end, the utopian dream of people sharing their knowledge is stunted by the fact that most people are intersted in pretty useless shit (myself included).
