Jack Herrick

Jack Herrick

Jack Herrick, appearing at Maker Faire
Born Jack Herrick
(1969-06-02) June 2, 1969
Palo Alto, California
Occupation Owner of wikiHow
Website wikiHow.com

Jack Herrick (born June 2, 1969) is an American entrepreneur and wiki enthusiast. His entrepreneurial projects include wikiHow, eHow, Luminescent Technologies, and BigTray.

In January 2005, Herrick started wikiHow with the goal of creating "the how-to guide for everything"[1] because "providing people with a practical education is one of the most empowering things you can offer a person."[2] As of December 2009, wikiHow was read by 20 million visitors per month.[3] At wikiHow, Herrick was noted for introducing opt-out advertising,[4][5] co-developing the Universal Edit Button,[6] building a collaborative online environment,[7] and combining business with social good.[8]

Prior to starting wikiHow, Herrick ran eHow, a popular how-to website now owned by Demand Media. Herrick sold eHow after concluding the wiki method of content creation would ultimately produce higher quality work. He described the difference between eHow and wikiHow as "eating a McDonald's burger vs. a wonderful, home cooked meal."[9]

Herrick is also on the Board of Directors for StatusNet, an open source microblogging company, and the Board of Advisors for Mixer Labs, a startup acquired by Twitter. Prior to focusing on building how-to manuals, Herrick was a co-founder of Luminescent Technologies, a computational semiconductor lithography company, and BigTray, an online marketplace for restaurant supplies. Herrick received a degree in history from Stanford University and a degree from Dartmouth College.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Levine, Robert (4 September 2006). "New York Times: New Web Sites Seeking Profit in Wiki Model". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  2. ↑ "WikiNews: Jack Herrick, wikiHow founder interviewed". Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  3. ↑ "TechCrunch: WikiHow Gets Pretty, And Hits 20 Million Monthly Visitors". Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  4. ↑ Taylor, Marisa (30 January 2009). "Wall Street Journal: Turning the Ads Off". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  5. ↑ "WebProNews: Can Your Business Benefit By Letting Users Hide Ads?". Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  6. ↑ "WebMonkey: Wikis Rally Around Universal Edit Button". Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  7. ↑ "San Jose Mercury News: WikiHow tries to help". Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  8. ↑ "SocialBrite: Incentives for Doing Good". Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  9. ↑ "ReadWriteWeb: wikiHow vs. eHow: Is the Wiki Way Better Than Content Farms". Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  10. ↑ "LinkedIn Profile of Jack Herrick". Retrieved 12 February 2010.


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