Demand Media has acquired another company, year-old video how-to site ExpertVillage. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
This purchase is an effort for Demand Media to increase its library of how-to sites, which already includes Answerbag, eHow and SoYouWanna. The number of online how-tos is increasing, and has proven to fill an existing need for those looking online for information, getting good search placement with the major search engines and offering great niche communities for advertisers. Similar to what we're seeing with the user-generated online video market, those involved with how-to sites are experimenting with a lot of different business models and ways in which to pay content owners.
ExpertVillage operates by presenting "assignments" for experts, which are based on topics that are the most searched on over the web. Experts can create a how-to video and ExpertVillage purchase the rights from the video's creators. This process will ensure premium content coming through the site, making it of better authority for viewers, though limiting its community capabilities to some extent.
Demand Media, which recently raised funding of its own, was founded by former MySpace Chairman Richard Rosenblatt, who has recently funded Bambi Franciso's Vator.tv.