THE LEARN2 FAQ: QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Here are some of the most commonly-asked questions about Learn2.com. If
you have any more questions, feel free to contact us at info@Learn2.com
WHAT EXACTLY IS THIS?
Learn2.com is "the ability utility." - a unique information site
available free of charge to anyone with access to the World Wide Web. We
provide step-by-step instructions--known as "2torials"--on a wide
spectrum of skills, activities and tasks. We try to use friendly,
acessible language and graphics, and our format is designed for everyday
use by just about everyone.
SO IT'S AN EDUCATIONAL SITE?
Not in the conventional sense. It's not geared at cramming facts into
your head, but at giving you the information you need to do stuff.
Learn2.com teaches everything from the essentials of everyday life (such
as balancing your checkbook, or setting the clock on your VCR) to the
esoteric (how to paint faux-marble finishes or wear a sarong).
THERE ARE A ZILLION WEBSITES. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THIS ONE?
There are two things that make this site especially noteworthy: It's
actually useful. And it's easy to use.
In a time when the vast majority of websites seem to be coasting on
novelty value alone, Learn2.com intends to offer a substantial amount of
content. Not just passive content, but solid information that produces
tangible benefits for all who visit. Moreover, this information is
provided quickly and efficiently, with no unnecessarily-ornate graphics
or distracting techno-gimmicks.
WHO'S THE TARGET AUDIENCE?
There is no single target audience, no prime demographic catered to
solely for the sake of advertising revenue. Learn2.com is geared to
everyone who needs to do something, and needs to learn how to do it as
quickly and painlessly as possible. That means our audience includes:
A new uncle, babysitting for the first time, who realizes that he
doesn't know how to change his nephew's diaper.
A home computer user, who needs to know how to connect the new
hard disk he got as a birthday present.
A young couple throwing their first dinner party, who need to know
how to set the table for a formal sit-down meal.
The sweetheart of a sports fanatic, who wants to learn how to
follow a football game and join in the cheering.
The neighbor invited to join in on a weekly poker game--trouble
is, he doesn't know a flush from a fold.
WHO'S BEHIND ALL THIS?
Learn2.com is a production of Panmedia, a four-year-old multimedia
studio based in Sausalito, California. We're best known for our
corporate work (for clients such as Levi's, Oracle, Philips Electronics,
Cartier and Addison-Wesley ), and for the instructional book/CD-ROM
"Director Demystified" (Peachpit Press).
HOW DO YOU MAKE MONEY AT THIS?
We don't! Not just yet. We're currently developing sponsorship programs,
but we have no plans to start charging for our service.
WHY DON'T YOU ADD LINKS TO OTHER WEB PAGES??
We'd like to take full advantage of the hyperlinked medium by placing
links to everything relevant, and indeed early prototypes of Learn2 did
just that. But two issues quickly arose:
1.) How do you make sure all the links stay current? Other pages change
over time, and it would take us a significant amount of time to audit
and update them all. We felt our limited resources were better spent
creating new 2torials.
2.) If you place one link, why not another? There's an implied
endorsement that comes from suggesting another page as a continuation
point, and we would need to carefully weigh the completeness and
accuracy of that page before placing a link (you'd be surprised at how
many people aren't aware when they've left one site and entered
another). If one link is relevant, why not another one? We found that we
were all-too-quickly becoming another Yahoo!--building lists of links on
related topics--and we_definitely_ don't have the resources to do that.
So we've decided to stay within our bounds, at least for the time being.
If people want more information on a certain topic, we invite them to
dip into their favorite search engine...which is how we would have found
out about relevant pages in the first place.
----
adam@cs.caltech.edu
For the services he has given our firm over the years, we are deeply
indebted.
-- Lexicon of Intentionally Ambiguous Recommendations