eHow

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200px
URL	eHow.com
Commercial?	Yes
Type of site	Content farm
Registration	Yes
Available language(s)	English
Owner	Demand Media, Inc.
Launched	March 1999
Alexa rank	130 (June 2012[update])[1]
Current status	Active

eHow is an online how-to guide with more than 1 million articles and 170,000 videos offering step-by-step instructions. eHow articles and videos are created by freelancers^[2] and cover a wide variety of topics organized into a hierarchy of categories. Any eHow user can leave comments or responses, but only contracted writers can contribute changes to articles. The writers work on a freelance basis, being paid by article. eHow is frequently called a content mill.^[3][4][5]

History[link]

eHow.com was founded in March 1999 by Courtney Rosen. The company raised $25 million from venture capitalists, including Hummer Winblad, Peter Gardner of Media Technology Ventures, now Allegis Capital, General Electric and Fingerhut. An editing team, led by Bill Marken (former editor in chief for Sunset Magazine) and Sharon Beaulaurier, hired 200 professional writers, and the company employed a 50-person engineering team. By 2001, eHow had created ten thousand articles. eHow logged 4 million unique visitors per month. Despite the popularity, eHow was not profitable and ran out of funding in the Dot-com bubble of 2001.^{[citation needed]}

In 2001, IdeaExchange bought eHow with the hope of charging eHow's readers to access how-to instructions. eHow remained unprofitable and in early 2004, IdeaExchange sold eHow to Jack Herrick and Josh Hannah.^{[citation needed]}

To keep costs low, Herrick and Hannah maintained eHow themselves with the assistance of one part-time software engineer. They restored content that had been lost during the bankruptcy and added improvements that made the site easier to use. In January 2005, they started a wiki-based companion site, wikiHow, which allowed both anonymous and registered users to create and modify articles. Between March 2004 and April 2006, eHow traffic increased from 250,000 visitors per month to more than 4 million visitors per month.^[6]

In May 2006, eHow was acquired by Demand Media while Herrick and Hannah retained control of wikiHow.^{[citation needed]}

In September 2006, eHow launched weHow.com, which allowed registered users to create new how-to articles (eHow articles continued to be written exclusively by hired writers). In March 2007, in concert with the introduction of social networking features such as messaging, friend lists and forums, weHow merged with eHow.^{[citation needed]}

As of December 2007, eHow.com hosted more than 140,000 how-to articles and videos and has received more than 11 million unique visitors per month. By May 2008, the number of articles had increased to more than 337,000.^{[citation needed]}

In April 2010, eHow closed its ability to accept newly generated user content. Professional writers and topic experts can submit an application via Demand Studios for the opportunity to write articles for eHow.^{[citation needed]}

As of August 2010, eHow was hosting more than 2 million articles and videos and had received visits from nearly 46 million visitors each month.^{[citation needed]}

Demand Media went public on January 27, 2011 at which time eHow was valued (based on revenue contribution to Demand) at $1.8 Billion.^{[citation needed]}

In May 2011, eHow canceled its revenue share program that paid part of the advertising profits of writer generated articles to the writers. The company offered one time cash payouts to buy the rights to profitable articles. The writers had the option to sell the rights to their articles to eHow or remove them from the website.^{[citation needed]}

Criticisms[link]

Demand Media and eHow in particular have been criticized for large amounts of low-quality content and for operating as a content mill, paying contributors low rates for content intended to rank high in search results, rather than focus on quality information,^[3][4][5] with poor quality articles intended mainly to drive up search results rather than inform, specifically by targeting the long tail search results missed by other sites, a category considered by Google to be a modern update on spam.^[7]

In 2010 and 2011 Google implemented changes to their algorithms intending to reduce the ranking and impact of content farms. These changes led to a 40% drop in traffic to Demand Media sites.^{[3][8][9][10]} Demand Media responded to the algorithm changes, saying their business model remained solid.^[11]

Search engine DuckDuckGo's CEO Gabriel Weinberg has criticized eHow, along with other Demand Media websites, labeling the company a "content mill," because of the website's search engine driven content, low article quality and low writer salaries. DuckDuckGo filters out eHow content because of Weinberg's perception that Demand Media produces low-quality content designed specifically to rank highly in Google Searches for the purposes of promoting advertising.^[12]

Another search engine, Blekko also regards eHow as spam, blacklists the site and filters eHow results out.^[13]

Wired magazine has also criticized eHow and Demand Media, calling their content: "slapdash" and a "factory stamping out moneymaking content".^[2]

References[link]

External links[link]

• eHow website
• Demand Media, Inc.
• "For these sites their best asset is a good name", Wall Street Journal, May 1, 2006

This biographical article is written like a résumé. Please help improve it by revising it to be neutral and encyclopedic. (March 2011)

Victoria Stilwell
Born	(1969-07-20) July 20, 1969 (age 42) Wimbledon, England
Residence	Atlanta, Georgia Notting Hill, London
Nationality	British
Occupation	Dog trainer, Television presenter, Author, Actress
Years active	1995–present
Employer	Animal Planet, Channel 4, CBS
Known for	It's Me or the Dog Greatest American Dog
Website
Official Website

Victoria Stilwell (born July 20, 1969 in Wimbledon, England) is widely known as a dog trainer, author, and television presenter. Stilwell served as a judge on the CBS show Greatest American Dog and presents the Animal Planet dog training TV show It's Me or the Dog, counselling families with problem pets and solving their dogs’ behaviour problems.

Background[link]

Stilwell originally trained as an actress, playing roles in Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1992, ITV1's The Bill in 1994, and onstage in London's West End theatre, as well as several commercials and voiceovers. She received a BA honours degree in Theatre from Middlesex University.^[1] In order to supplement her income as an actress, Stilwell's veterinary nurse sister suggested Victoria start a dog walking agency. Within a month Victoria was walking 20 dogs per day - 10 in the morning, 10 in the afternoon - and immediately recognized the need for qualified professionals to help her clients with the training process. She then expanded her focus to dog training by learning from some of Britain's most respected positive-reinforcement dog trainers and behaviorists. After moving to the U.S. with her husband in 1999, Stilwell co-founded several successful dog training companies up and down the East Coast. Born and raised in Wimbledon, England, Victoria Stilwell is one of the worlds most recognized and respected dog trainers, reaching fans in over 50 countries. She is best known for her role as the star of Animal Planet's hit TV series “It's Me or the Dog”, through which she is able to share her understanding and desire for positive reinforcement dog training by taming some of the world’s most uncontrollable pets as she counsels families on their pet problems.

Dog trainer[link]

Stilwell has become an influential advocate of science-based, humane and effective dog training movement. Stilwell rejects dominance-based, traditional training techniques, instead, promoting positive reinforcement techniques. These techniques, she says, increases the dog's confidence and happiness, and allows a healthy, co-operative and kind relationship to be maintained between owner and dog. Stilwell believes that positive training results in a dog who follows an owner because it wants to rather than following out of fear, while traditional training uses punitive methods to force a dog to behave, often resulting short term solutions which never truly identifies the root cause of the misbehavior while promoting insecurity and negative behavior.^[2][3][4]

In 2010, Stilwell created Victoria Stilwell Positively Dog Training - a global network of positive reinforcement dog trainers dedicated to spreading the word about positive reinforcement techniques^[5] Born and raised in Wimbledon, England, Victoria Stilwell is one of the worlds most recognized and respected dog trainers, reaching fans in over 50 countries. She is best known for her role as the star of Animal Planet's hit TV series “It's Me or the Dog”, through which she is able to share her understanding and desire for positive reinforcement dog training by taming some of the world’s most uncontrollable pets as she counsels families on their pet problems.In the early 1990s, Victoria began her career in pet training when she created her own successful dog-walking company and instantly recognized the need for capable professionals to help her customers with the training process. While pursuing a successful acting career (working in London's West End as well as in numerous films, TV series, commercials and voiceovers), she expanded her focus to dog training by learning from some of Britain's most respected positive-reinforcement dog trainers and behaviorists.

Charity[link]

Stilwell created the Victoria Stilwell Foundation, whose mission is "to provide financial support and canine behavior expertise to assistance dog organizations and small animal rescue shelters while promoting the concept of reward-based, positive reinforcement dog training philosophies in organizations and households throughout the United States."^[6]

With a particular fondness for rescue animals in need of behaviour rehabilitation, Stilwell devotes much of her time and energy to a number of animal rescue organisations around the world, serving as a behaviour advisor for shelters in Atlanta, New York, the UK, and Hong Kong while giving regular seminars on the subject of dog rescue, training and rehabilitation. She worked as a volunteer adoption counsellor for the ASPCA, and has been featured in numerous magazines and journals including The New York Times,^[7] USA Today,^[8] Cosmopolitan, the Daily Mail, MSNBC.com,^[9] Psychology Today and The Sun^[10]. Stilwell is a regular columnist for The Bark, Dog World, American Dog and Dogs Today magazines, and she has appeared on numerous talk shows, news broadcasts and radio shows in the US, Europe and Asia as a dog training expert.

TV programs[link]

[edit] It's Me or the Dog

Since 2005, Victoria Stilwell has worked with unruly dogs on her TV show, It's Me or the Dog, which airs in over forty countries. The show features Victoria as she counsels families with problem pets and uses positive reinforcement training techniques to help them learn how to correct their dogs’ behaviour. Originally produced for Channel 4 in the UK, the show premiered in the US on Animal Planet in April 2007, and over 90 episodes have been aired worldwide. A typical episode involves a family struggling to cope with their misbehaving dog(s). Victoria initially observes the problems in situ, then presents the family with her opinion regarding the causes of the issues. Victoria then works with the family and their dogs to restore balance. After a period of time alone to implement Victoria’s positive reinforcement training regime, the family reunites with Victoria to check progress, get a few tune-ups and encouragement. Special episodes of the programme have featured overweight dogs, Victoria’s public seminars at an outdoor dog festival, her work with the caretakers of a wild wolf rescue park, and her training of out-of-control pedigree dogs on their way to the world's largest dog show.

[edit] Greatest American Dog

Victoria was one of three judges on the CBS show Greatest American Dog, in which 12 dog-owner teams compete for the title 'Greatest American Dog' and a $250,000 prize. The series debuted on CBS July 10, 2008.

Awards[link]

Victoria was honored with the prestigious "Excellence in Journalism and Outstanding Contributions to the Pet Industry Award" at the 2011 Global Pet Expo^[11] and was named 'Dog Trainer of the Year' by DogWorld Magazine at the 55th Annual Purina Pro Plan Show Dogs Of The Year Awards Presented By Dogs In Review.^[12] She was named among 2009's '100 Best & Brightest' in the dog world in The Bark magazine.^[13] Victoria won a 2009 CableFax award as Best Host in the Animals & Nature category. In 2009, It's Me or the Dog was nominated for a People's Choice Award in the US, and after its first season in the UK, It's Me or the Dog was nominated in the 'Best Factual Entertainment' category in the UK's TV Quick Awards. Her first book, It's Me or the Dog: How to Have the Perfect Pet was voted one of the 50 greatest dog books ever written by Dogs Today magazine.

Campaigns[link]

She advocates animal rescue and supports Paws Atlanta, "Atlanta Pet Rescue", Stray from the Heart (NYC), Hong Kong Dog Rescue and Greyhound Rescue West of England (www.grwe.com), Wisconsin Puppy Mill Project, the Waterside Action Group, Deed Not Breed (campaigning to re-write the UK's Dangerous Dogs Act to remove breed-specific legislation) as well as Vets Get Scanning, promoting mandatory pet micro-chipping and scanning by vets.

Books[link]

• It’s Me or the Dog: How to Have the Perfect Pet (Hyperion)
• Fat Dog Slim: How to Have a Healthy, Happy Pet (Harper Collins UK), 2007

Personal life[link]

Stilwell met her actor husband, Van Zeiler, while starring opposite him in the West End production of Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story. The couple and their daughter live in Atlanta, Georgia.^[14]

After many years without a pet dog of her own (due to work commitments), Victoria adopted a rescued chocolate Labrador named Sadie. In early 2011, Stilwell fostered a Chihuahua/Miniature Pinscher mix named Jasmine and decided to adopt her in Late February/Early March 2011. Prior to that, she had spent her time since 2000 fostering dogs due to be euthanised by local municipal shelters. Stilwell and her husband then gave the dogs a home while rehabilitating them and eventually finding suitable homes for the animals. She has explained that, until recently, owning a dog would have been irresponsible and not fair to the dog, considering how much the whole family travels. The couple has re-homed over 50 dogs and cats.^[15]

Qualifications[link]

Victoria is currently certified by the Animal Behavior and Training Associates and is a longtime member of the US Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT).

Bibliography[link]

• It’s Me or the Dog: How to Have the Perfect Pet (2005)
• Fat Dog Slim: How to Have a Healthy, Happy Pet (2007)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Animal Planet Website
• Victoria Stilwell on the Mother Nature Network
• Victoria Stilwell at the Internet Movie Database