The HowCast Universe of How-To Knowledge Videos

REVIEW

HowCast describes itself as an “ever-expanding universe of how-to knowledge, created for you and by you.”  It offers a broad array of high-quality, free and useful instructional videos that show you exactly how to do something right.

Easy-To-Browse Categories

You’ll find how-to video topics on everything from surviving a bear attack, to capturing breaking news with a cell phone, to dealing with being a flat-chested girl.

Videos, as well as written guides, are organized by category. Click on the Categories Tab for a clever visual search interface that helps you drill down and refine your search.  As a registered member, you can subscribe here to specific categories and recieve email updates when new videos or wiki guides are published in your subscribed categories.

When you search topics by entering a topic in the search box, results include tabbed sub-sections for Videos, Guides , Playlists, and Community.  This is the only way I found to access written Guides (how-to’s without video).  Guides are supposedly in editable wiki format; however, if there’s a “small blue box marked Edit” somewhere on a Guide page, I could not find it.

Intuitive Video User Interface

Videos are viewed in a generous-sized player, with a user-friendly interface.  It’s easy to capture video embed code, and to share videos via email or by posting them to social networking sites.

If the how-to video is accompanied by a written guide, a printable version (great feature!) will be displayed directly below the player; complete with thumbnail images and “Tip” or “Warning” highlights. When a video ends, links to related videos that might be of interest will appear to the right.   A comment section wraps up each video.

HowCast Widget Gallery

You can embed a HowCast Widget on your website, blog, or start page. The widget lets you create a channel by selecting videos from a particular category.  As an example, I’ve added a HowCast widget to the àlaBuzz sidebar that features the newest HowCast Technology videos.

In contrast to the VodPod video widget (which is lower down in the sidebar), a drawback to the HowCast widget is that it takes viewers to a new window and away from the site.  You can click on a video from each widget on this page if you’d like to make a comparison.

Collaborative Opportunities

An exciting aspect of HowCast is the opportunity to share expertise and to collaborate on video production. Share your expertise by submitting a how-to video or a written guide.  Your how-to guide could possibly be made into a video by members of the HowCast Network.

The HowCast Network is a place for film-makers, experts, and businesses to connect and collaborate on video production. Join the Network to get involved.

Check out the Emerging Filmmakers Program at HowCast for up-and-coming filmmakers, Internet superstars, film students, and recent graduates.  Earn $50 for accepted videos, and some possible ad revenue.

Watch and Enjoy HowCast Videos

You can watch HowCast videos on your computer, mobile phone, or cable television. HowCast content is distributed through notable media partners such as YouTube, MySpace, Hulu, AOL, Yahoo!, Comcast, Apple, TiVo, and Verizon. HowCast videos work beautifully with VodPod apps, too.

You’ll appreciate the consistent professional quality among HowCast videos.  They’re clear, succint, and attractive; and the progress bars are really efficient, letting you can scoot back and forth through a video with ease.

Final Summary: HowCast Pros and Cons

HowCast videos provide valuable information and/or entertainment.  It’s a site worth keeping up with.

Pros

• All HowCast videos are professionally produced, achieving a consistent high-quality. You can set up a widget on a site with an automatic feed, for instance, without needing to moderate every new video.
• Whether you are playing videos or searching for topics, the HowCast user interfaces are clean, uncluttered and intuitive to use. (I love them!)
• HowCast makes a positive contribution to their industry by supporting collaborative networking amongst experts and professionals, including filmmakers who are just getting started.

Cons

• HowCast documentation is confusing on a few points. For instance, members are encouraged to suggest topics for videos and wiki guides by clicking on the “Suggest button found on most pages.” There is no such button. Likewise, written Guides are supposedly in an editable wiki format, but the small blue boxes marked “Edit” do not exist. Somebody at HowCast probably needs to comb the site to update these inconsistencies.
• In practice, HowCast isn’t quite as collaborative as some of the site content suggests. Again, a few places just need to be updated to be consistent with the site’s current focus.

No related posts.