WikiHow is a great story, but the word 'bootstrap' doesn't appear in the original article headline or text, because the origin story is a little more convoluted than a simple incremental bootstrap.
Essentially the wikiHow founders bought Web-1.0 also-ran eHow for cheap, turned it around with new content, SEO, and AdSense, and flipped it to Demand Media, keeping the wikiHow sideline as something unique and personally interesting.
There are some scrappy bootstrap elements there, but also, as Herrick is quoted saying in the article, "It was like a microcap turnaround." It's also clear that the "very nice deal" with Demand Media has allowed a patience with wikiHow that might not be available to every bootstrapping team.
Essentially the wikiHow founders bought Web-1.0 also-ran eHow for cheap, turned it around with new content, SEO, and AdSense, and flipped it to Demand Media, keeping the wikiHow sideline as something unique and personally interesting.
There are some scrappy bootstrap elements there, but also, as Herrick is quoted saying in the article, "It was like a microcap turnaround." It's also clear that the "very nice deal" with Demand Media has allowed a patience with wikiHow that might not be available to every bootstrapping team.