When a consumer believes that an advertisement is a sales tool rather than information dissemination medium, the consumer feels threatened. He turns for a solution to hos problem and the answer comes in the form of "Word-of-Mouth"
Suresh is single and is unsure on How to impress a girl. His friend Ravi is dating priya, but is unsure on "How to" kiss. Kritika and Yogesh are married for 4 years and are having troubles with pregnancy. Raj just bought a new Nikon camera and is seeking advice on how to use it. His wife, Deepti is also keen on knowing "How to" use this latest facial cream that she brought from a lucrative sales promotion offer. Deepti's mom Neha is interested in knowing "How to write a blog" where she can talk about her cooking insights that she has gained in the last 20 years. She hopes her daughter Deepti will read her blog and prepare a delicious meal for her husband.
The concept of "How to..." has become very popular in the last year or so with a website eHow specifically dedicated to solve queries related to "How to". The leader on internet (Google) directs people to communities, blogs and websites where people can ask or read things such as "How to use a camera, kiss, impress etc. It is this advice-seeking motivation that makes portals such as eHow popular and this motivation leads people to forums or groups where they can post specific queries, which are answered by other members. It follows a simple demand-supply, student-teacher paradigm. A consumer like a good kisser, Casanova, or a Nikon camera expert has enough motivation since people are willing to ask, and in return the expert gets social approval from the community members.