Posted on Monday, February 9th, 2009 by Shachar Pessis
Dummies – With more than 150 million books in print, covering 1,300+ topics, For Dummies is one of the most widely recognized reference series in the world. It all started back in 1987, new technologies were popping up all over the place. But computer manuals were dull and difficult to understand. A frustrated customer in a computer store, who knew nothing about computers, was looking for a simple, basic book about the difficult DOS operating system. “Something,” he suggested, “like DOS for dummies.” Thus, the For Dummies phenomenon began. From the start, For Dummies was a simple, yet powerful concept: Relating to the anxiety and frustration that people feel about technology by poking fun at it with books that are insightful and educational and make difficult material interesting and easy. Now, you can find the Dummies brand online, where you’ll find the Dummies experts presenting even the most complex subjects in plain English. Whether that means directions on how to set your Xbox before playing, carving a turkey, or knitting your first scarf. Answers are accompanied by how-to videos, step-by-step photos or by an experts article. A disappointed writer’s note: Dummies is indeed a well known brand and I have already taken advantage of their literature but, to be honest, their online execution is rather poor when compared to the Dummies’ hard copies. It seems they’re relying too much on the power of the brand alone as a means of increasing sales. Instead, they should make the online version just as complete as their printed how-to resources. So if you can’t find your answers with the Dummies, check out additional, and perhaps more appealing alternatives of how-to-sites we have previously featured on our Weekly Faves, including 5min, VideoJug, Fix It Club, wikiHow and Instructables.
