An instructional video site with ambitions to become the YouTube of How To sites has recently launched after being founded by thee ex-Google employees.
In fact, before leaving the company to set up Howcast, the trio of Jason Liebman, Daniel Blackman and Sanjay Raman worked on Google Video and YouTube itself, so clearly have the knowledge base to make this venture successful.
A Crowded Market
The instructional video market is currently a crowded one, with Expert Village and 5min probably the two biggest competitors.
Unlike some other sites, most of the videos on Howcast are professionally made, with audience participation more about suggesting and voting for the next ideas to get made.
There is also the option to upload your own How To video by using a pre-approved script. Advertising revenue is then shared between the site and the video makers thanks to rolling adverts laid over the videos.
Here is an example of one of the short How To videos from the site:
How To Make Yourself Irresistible To Girls
The site has a very nice web 2.0 look and layout, and everything is easy to navigate. Whether that’s enough to see Howcast rise above the rest in this already saturated market is yet to be seen.
