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October 24, 2008

Quamut – The Go To How To

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There are a fair number of “How To” sites already online: Ehow.com, the About.com sites, or “How Stuff Works.” The site with the funny name, Quamut.com, intends to improve on the aforementioned sites by providing comprehensive, professional How To guides.

Unlike Ehow, which has user-generated content, Quamut is written by professionals in their given areas of expertise. And though you can find information on basically every possible topic, Quamut aims to put all that information in the same place. A subsidiary of Barnes and Noble, the pages are authoritative and well-written. If you need an answer to a specific question you’re more than likely to find it here.

Quamut also acts as a Wiki source as well – so users can add their own expertise or experience about a particular topic. However, the core benefit to Quamut is the material written by the Quamut staff and has yet to take off as a Wikipedia-caliber resource.

Practical Uses:

  • Find quick information about how to jump start a car using an easy-to-read and downloadable reference document
  • Direct your sister to easily-accessible information explaining how to create a website
  • Share your expertise on deep sea fishing
  • Bring authoritative materials for the upcoming research presentation – Quamut provides presentation-ready guides

Insider Tips:

  • Consider changing the text size for easier reading
  • Be sure to click on the video links: these are much faster to follow and easier to digest than the written guides
  • Purchase Quamut guides in bulk – could be helpful if you need to train a staff about a particular topic
  • Use Quamut guides to promote your own website by becoming a Quamut wiki guide a specific field

What we liked:

  • The site is easy-to-use and attractive
  • Quamut has information on most anything you could think of (within reason)
  • It’s free, unless you want to download a high-quality PDF or chart on cardstock

What we didn’t like:

  • The information is pretty basic. If you’re an expert on a topic looking for expert knowledge, this isn’t your place. Really, Quamut is layman’s central
  • The How To’s aren’t often in step-by-step format
  • A fairly outdated interface. Ehow has incorporated Web 2.0 features, such as adding friends and comments
  • The PDF guides are not all that necessary: they look nice, but you can easily download the same information for free, or even turn that information into a PDF with the right software

Alternatives:

Company Info:

  • Launched: March 2008
  • Publicly Held
  • Headquarters: New York, NY
  • Founded by: Barnes and Noble
  • Web site: http://www.quamut.com

Costs:

  • Free or $2.95 per PDF guide

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