Online hub helps people pack & sell their know-how

Since free information is abundant, finding a way to sell knowledge or monetize content can be a challenge. Los Angeles start-up Knowledge Genie aims to offer a solution, allowing users to centralize their knowledge on a particular topic and present it in a customizable, tutorial-style package—a ‘Knowledge Genie’—that can be shared for free or sold for a fee. Genies can be quickly set up through a wizard-style process which aids users in creating a learning-oriented structure, enabling them to break down their chosen subject matter into a series of steps and append downloadable resources and links. Creators can also build in checklists for learners to help keep tabs on their progress. One (ad-supported) Knowledge Genie can be created free, but if users want to sell it they’ll have to subscribe, with prices ranging from USD 5 per month for one Genie, to USD 99 per month for 20 Genies. Social sharing options and PayPal / Google Checkout payments are all integrated. There are of course other options for people to share their knowledge online, from eHow and Instructables to Wikipedia. For those who aren’t as active on the web or aren’t accustomed to putting their know-how into writing, tools like Knowledge Genie lower the barrier to entry, making it easy to assemble instructional information and sell it online. (Related: Sell what you say — Peer-to-peer ‘(un)classes’ match interest with passion — Local lessons, advertised and reviewed.) Spotted by: Sylvie Lafave