eHow: Clear Instructions on How to Do (just about) Everything

Interpreters’ Resource Shelf (appeared in RID VIEWS July, 2006, reprinted with permission)
By Kathy MacMillan, M.L.S.

eHow: Clear Instructions on How to Do (just about) Everything
www.ehow.com

Billing itself as the “world’s most widely read how-to manual”, this massive site is a great resource for interpreters preparing for assignments. Whether you’re prepping for a job-hunting workshop, an archery class, or a macramé demonstration, you can find clear, step-by-step instructions on this site to help you understand and interpret the topic better. With hundreds of thousands of articles, it’s possible to find very specific information here; for example, a search on finding a job brings up not only general job-hunting resources, but articles on topics like finding a job while in college, looking for work abroad, and job-hunting for teens. Founded in 1999, eHow features staff-written and reviewed articles supplemented by user tips, and its newest feature, wikiHow, allows users to submit and edit their own articles in a separate collaborative workspace. With easy access through keyword search or browsable categories, this site should be the first step in any search for easy-to-follow instructions.

This column appears monthly in VIEWS. Please direct questions, comments, or suggestions for resources to highlight in future issues to Kathy MacMillan at info@kathymacmillan.com.