Users Demand Expertise At How-To Web Sites
If the Internet can make anyone a star, can it turn Barnes & Noble into one, too?
The bookseller has taken another step beyond its traditional business into the online publishing world, recently introducing Quamut.com, a site that teaches Web users things as diverse as the basics of football and how to build a Web site.
“Building a how-to Web site” is not on the list, but judging from the number of such sites in existence, it may be easier to do than follow a football game.
Quamut is the latest brand to capitalize on what company executives said is a growing disinclination among Web users for amateur how-to advice. Whether that distaste can support a departure from Barnes & Noble’s core business is a question investors will be considering.
Quamut differentiates itself from the long list of how-to sites like eHow, HowStuffWorks.com and, to a lesser degree, About.com (which is owned by The New York Times Company), with a somewhat novel twist: selling downloadable documents of its otherwise free content.
For instance, users who want to know how to make sushi can browse through 15 pages of information, like “how to make sushi rice,” or can copy and print the information themselves. But Quamut sells a more polished version in a six-page color document for about $3. The document, in PDF, is without ads “and all the junk on the sides,” said Daniel Weiss, Quamut’s publisher and managing director.
“We think these will be a very big hit,” Mr. Weiss added. “We’ve seen some evidence of that already. People often need that physical reference.”
Photo by Quamut.
Brett Tilford on October 20th, 2008 3:18 pm
Interesting revenue idea. I think there may be something to this because I’ve noticed more and more people selling ebooks and downloadable pdf’s just because of the convenience the “take it with you” factor affords. I’ll guess we’ll see if it works.
cassy on October 20th, 2008 7:57 pm
I have a client before doing like this selling ebooks and downloadable pdf and I wonder if it really click in the market or they get profit back but I think so yah as they sill alive until now. I think this is good idea too for business.
Nick on October 21st, 2008 5:45 am
How would you make the MyFavouriteSocks.com website better?
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Scott Guertin on October 26th, 2008 5:03 pm
This is a very good idea. ordering books online and paying for shipping cost and waiting is getting overrated. People want instant gratification. Now that computers are a staple to everyday lives it is easier to to download what they need and just print it out. This could be a very profitable idea.
DemoGeek on October 27th, 2008 10:18 am
That’s an interesting business model. May be I should adopt a similar model to my DemoGeek.com Technical How To web site.
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