Wonders of the Wiki

Trial and error. Trial and error. The process of creating a WikiHow page can be time-consuming and tedious to learn, but an important lesson in the end. The use of advanced editing makes designing a WikiHow webpage much more difficult for beginners. At the same time, this way of editing (once learned) provides a resource to fix specific problems that basic editing does not. Targeting errors in advanced editing can be challenging to do, but fixing them results in perfect formatting if done correctly. The HTML code is meant to allow the creation of a custom format. Through the process of substituting information into HTML, the importance of each individual space and character within the code was emphasized. Symbols used are specific and require a certain order and placement to be able to translate correctly.

 

Fleshing out steps for the WikiHow page, How to Create a Macrame Plant Hanger, was clear cut due to prior knowledge of the topic. Having experience assists when thinking of tips, warnings, and specifics that wouldn’t be thought of otherwise by a person unfamiliar with the project. The plant hanger design chosen is one that has been done many times in different ways. The three knots used are very basic and easy to tie for beginners. Ensuring the simplicity of the design is essential because viewers are looking for successful results, not an incomprehensible challenge.

Having outside sources to review the draft before publishing it ensured that the steps included were clear enough for the common person to understand and follow with ease. Additionally, these people recommended how to improve the content of the article. Edits included more specific warnings and exact measurements for materials.

Specific Materials

Instead of breaking the steps down into different methods as the website had recommended, each section of the plant hanger had a heading. Such as “The Top,” and “Fitting the Pot into the Hanger.” This was important because although methods would work within this topic, the methods used are not used only one time. It is important for the steps to be in order instead of just stating the methods of tying each knot. There are too many specific steps within the methods that are necessary to state. The use of headings instead of methods will increase the audience's understanding because they will be able to visualize the section they are working on before completing it. It also assists in focus so that the project doesn't get overwhelming.

 

Along with headings and steps, photos for each type of knot and each section of the plant hanger were included. A challenge that arose in this section of the project was knowing exactly what the steps needed to entail before creating the actual plant hanger to take pictures of. During this process, more steps that hadn’t been included in the draft were discovered to be essential. More photos were also necessary to accompany the additional steps. Recommending that an abundance photos be taken while the process is physically being completed proved to be a useful tip. 

 A small issue was the lack of hands available when taking pictures and videos of the physical process. Since this project requires two hands to complete, there are no more hands leftover to hold the camera with. It was important to take videos of the knots being tied so that viewers can have a better understanding - a visual understanding - that is more valuable than words when learning a process like this one. Thankfully, a roommate working on the same project agreed to assist. 

The largest bump in the road was inserting videos within the advanced code. Several videos were taken to be included after the step they correlate with but WikiHow does not allow that. Instead, the video had to be compiled into one. Then, it had to be uploaded onto YouTube. After this, the video could be embedded into the Wiki page, but only at the bottom. While it is helpful for the viewers that the video was included at all, it did not match the initial layout plan. Viewers will now see the video after they read the steps and will have to reference the video as they go- scrolling up and down repeatedly.

 The experience behind the WikiHow page created came from reading books on Macrame. By learning the different things to be made and actively attempting them, the creation of projects by personal design is bound to happen. Through trial and error (knot and unknot,) the techniques became easier to comprehend. It became a passion. But in all honesty, an expensive passion to have, unless the intention is to flip them for profit.

 

Final Product