All collaborative learning service Pakt needs, is a small and enthusiastic community
Story byErnst-Jan Pfauth
Ernst-Jan Pfauth is the former Editor in Chief of Internet at NRC Handelsblad, as well as an acclaimed technology author and columnist. He a(show all)Ernst-Jan Pfauth is the former Editor in Chief of Internet at NRC Handelsblad, as well as an acclaimed technology author and columnist. He also served as The Next Web’s blog’s first blogger and Editor in Chief, back in 2008. AtDe Correspondent, Ernst-Jan serves as publisher, fostering the expansion of the platform.
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Organize what you have learned
So Pakt’s mission is to empower people to learn and share knowledge, therefore the site is open to everyone. The mission sounds good to me, yet I always wonder who will sign up. When I’ve a question, I just hop on the Google train. So Chris, why would I sign up?
“It becomes a problem to organize what you have learned, where it is located, and getting help to finish if needed. Pakt allows you to track your progress of learning step by step in every tutorial. You can then share that progress with friends or everyone. This makes the learning experience more interactive and helps you complete your learning objectives more effectively. You can further reach out to the community for help and set up a one-on-one or one-to-many private mentoring chat session. Just like in school, many people may need help, but don’t want to ask for it in a public setting. Pakt also offers a revenue sharing program that can be an incentive for bloggers or freelance writers to express their expertise on Pakt.”
Experts
Ah! Expertise, sounds like Pakt has a 3.0 flavor over it. Chris: “From my perspective, anyone can be an “expert”. The main problem I have with sites likeAbout.comis that they only offer one solution to a problem. Where in reality, there is rarely one correct way of doing something. Pakt leaves it up to the audience to determine relevant and quality information.” Taking this in account, it’s a Web 2.0 service after all, since it embraces the wisdom of crowds and doesn’t use an experts filter like lots of services do.
I like the idealistic approach of Chris Weitenberner, yet I wonder whether there is a need for Pakt. Since most people use Google to find tutorials, find answers at services likeYahoo Answersand browse through Wikipedia for specific knowledge. Pakt does make a chance when it manages to build up an enthusiastic community of a few hundred people. They’ll help each other in everyday life and at the same time push the pages up in the Google results.
Pakt really deserves this, even if it was just for the diversity of the tutorials and answers. Chris: “Since the inspiration for Pakt came from a humanitarian interest, I tend to like tutorials that inspire people to change the world around them, like “Take the Live Earth Pledge”, or “How to Donate Your Hair to Children with Hair loss Medical Conditions”. You never know what to expect with Questions & Answers, they go from “How do I unlock my iPhone?” to “How many days should you call a girl after the first date?”. I enjoy reading them all.”
