Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter
Back in the “stone age” (i.e. before we humans had the Internet) learning a new skill was time-consuming and often simply not worth our while.
With time being our most valuable asset, we often found it faster (and therefore “cheaper”) to simply hire someone who already possessed a certain skill to do that essential, yet one-time job for us instead of taking the time to learn how to do it ourselves.
But then along came the Internet, and before we knew it we had countless volumes of information at our fingertips.
Google has become the modern day version of Mr. Know-It-All (or at least Mr. Know-THEM-All), providing instant links to virtually any piece of information we might need.
YouTube (which is itself a Google entity) takes that concept even further by offering up videos-on-demand that show us in incredible detail how to do virtually anything worth doing, step-by-step, and in color.
Whether you need to learn how to install a light switch, change the thermostat in your vehicle or perform one of thousands of other tasks, you’ll likely find multiple videos that will show you exactly what you need to do in order to get the job done as quickly, efficiently and cheaply as possible.
Using YouTube is as easy as using the Google search engine. Simply visit www.youtube.com and type a short description of whatever it is that you need to do into the search box.
You’ll immediately be presented with a list of available videos on that topic, complete with a photographic “screenshot” from each video. Just click on the screenshots that interest you to watch the videos.
As you can see, it’s easy to use YouTube as your very own private “university/technical school”. What’s more, the “classes” typically consist of watching just one or two short videos!
Bottom line: The next time you need to have your sheep sheared, have the oil in your air compressor changed, or perform most any other task you can think of, don’t bother calling in an expert.
Become an expert yourself in minutes by “researching” the task on YouTube!
Bonus tip: This post explains how to watch a YouTube video in slow motion.