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Google launches Knol as rival to Wikipedia


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Google has launched an online encyclopaedia to take on Wikipedia. Knol, which stands for unit of knowledge, allows internet users to write articles on their own areas of expertise. The world's largest search engine is hoping that "knols" will be written on every conceivable topic ranging from gardening and pottery to Byzantine art and neo-classical literature.

The free service will inevitably draw comparisons with Wikipedia but Google says it differs from it in many ways. Unlike Wikipedia, which allows visitors to edit its pages, people will not be able to make changes or contribute to a person's knol without their permission.

Knols written on the same subject will also remain separate and compete for the attention of visitors, who will be able to give online feedback. Pictures of authors will also be displayed on their knol web pages. Udi Manber, Google's vice president of engineering, said: "We believe that knowing who wrote what will significantly help users make better use of web content. Books have authors' names right on the cover, news articles have bylines, scientific articles always have authors; but somehow the web evolved without a strong standard to keep authors names highlighted."

Contributors will be able to make money from the service by allowing adverts which relate to their articles to appear on their pages.

Juergen Galler, Google's director of product management said: "The internet is huge, but still a lot of expert knowledge remains untapped. Knol provides a way for people to share their expertise with others - and get credit for their contribution."

The service is part of a growing drive by Google to expand beyond simple search and into other areas such as desk top publishing and mobile phones.

But taking on Wikipedia is no mean feat. With 116 million global users a month - a third of the internet population - it consistently ranks among the most visited websites in the world.

Anyone wanting to write a knol should go to knol.google.com
goldenways

33 responses // Google launches Knol as rival to Wikipedia

  • cool, maybe knol will have more topics than wikipedia, since people cant changed another persons page, but couldnt it become like a myspace, if you could write about any topic, the only difference is that you wont have any friends and you cant leave comments
    knightlynight200
  • somewhat agood idea,but ads?I know,ya gotta make a buck.how about links to adverts? Then we would have more space for info and feedback
    kenandweezy
  • We'll see
    jimenagamio
  • this is going to keep happeining now that the internet is expanding and companies start firhgting and buying each other out but honestly name the thing "Knol" ????
    Crenshaw_Brothers
  • lol crenshaw why knol
    clayjj05
  • I think Knol combines the spirit of Wikipedia with the reliability of traditional encyclopaedias. The fact that every article is authored is a significant improvement and attacks its competitor's weakest point.

    This is the reason why the era of Wikipedia ends here.
    Mark my words.
    saverio
  • Nobody likes a Knol It All.
    nkovach
    2 responses to this
  • The revolutionary thing about wikipedia, is its truly democratic nature. Anybody can edit anything, anonymously, uncredited for the sake of knowledge, not acclaim.
    joshuaheller
    1 response to this
  • I definitely think that intorducing some measure of author accountability is a good idea. Now we just need to find a way to encourage people to only contribute for something that they actually have some area of expertise in.
    constantdisregard
  • ....Wikipedia is one of those cool things that really doesn't need a rival. It just works. I think this idea is flawed and down by other websites. Google should just stop and be Google and not take over what other people are doing fine without them.
    J_Jammer
  • http://blankislikeblank.com/?p=14
    "Wikipedia is like hearing a great story in a bar:

    You hope it’s true, but never bother confirming it."
    saverio
    2 responses to this
  • This a stupid move by Google.
    Wikipedia is extremely famous and has large quantities of people checking on every subject.

    What Knoll is doing is what microsoft does to open-source.
    Juas
  • Wikipedia is a far from perfect platform and leaves no room for expert opinions. How can anyone believe that 10 amateurs could have a better aggregated opinion than 2 or 3 experts?

    The whole "open-source encyclopedia" is quite a nice notion as far as getting as much information as possible, but Wikipedia is too easily manipulated and susceptible to abuse from vested interests.

    I think this move by Google should be welcomed and if you're a fan of the Wikipedia way of doing things then you should be incapable of standing against somebody offering an alternative approach.
    recommended by  saverio
    constantdisregard
    2 responses to this
  • http://www.wired.com/software/coolapps/news/2008/07/goo...
    More free information, yeah what a crappy idea.
    Encyclopedia Britannica may start offering free content as well.

    Ever do a search for something and get squat?
    If someone else is willing to help fill in the gaps and offer another information resource for free, how is that a bad thing?
    jay_ct
  • Maybe they will do a better job of editing the entries.
    bluestranger
  • I think it's an interesting idea, and I am curious to see how it evolves. Instead of having many people editing the same article on a particular topic, it seems that we will end up with many distinct articles from different authors on the same topic. It seems to me that the ultimate usefulness of Knols will come down to the users ability to sift through the multiple knols on the same topic, and separate the good information from the bad.

    When Stephen Colbert writes a knol on African Elephants that triples their population, and directs "the Nation" to endorse it, how will that be handled?
    Bovey
  • What's the point?
    JohnnyT426
  • cool, all things need challenges
    passjay
  • Indeed. A little competition never hurt, right? Hopefully this move will be incentive for Wikipedia to fix their flaws and maybe even an opportunity to prove that they can be taken as a credible source.
    cbritain
  • Google is just trying to take over everything aren't they?
    Ayahuasca2012
  • I edit wikipedia every time I need to win an argument, it's awesome.
    RudyRudell
  • http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Wikipedia
    from the encyclopedia dramatica:

    "Wikipedia is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) in which participants play editors of a hypothetical online encyclopedia. The goal is to try to insert misinformation that is randomly assigned at signup, while preventing any contrary information from being entered by others. Players with similar misinformation will generally form "guilds" in order to aid one another."
    recommended by  saverio
    donkeyfly69
    1 response to this
  • http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Knol
    they give a better review of knol
    donkeyfly69
  • Lively? Knol??

    who's coming up with these terrible names??
    purplefox
  • http://bitworking.org/news/Stigmergy
    I think that "knol" is a reference to stigmergy, the variety of stimuli through which social insects interact to build nests.

    Just a guess.

    You might want to read this seminal article by Joe Gregorio. He finds a very interesting metaphor for Web 2.0 in insect colonies.
    saverio

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