Will Knol Reach Verb Status?
August 14, 2008 – 5:55 am
Wikipedia has not quite reached the mainstream “verb” status that Google enjoys, but it is close. Now Google, the all knowing one, has decided to to launch a new service that will challenge Wikipedia’s domination of the socially generated web encyclopedia market. Google launched Knol in July 2008 and is hyping it as “a new way for authors to collaboratively write, edit and publish articles online.”
Knol differs from Wikipedia in several key areas. Whereas Wikipedia allows anonymous users to contribute to any article, content on Knol (called knols) is automatically linked to its creator by name so a reader can check the information presented in the knols. In addition, a user can only “suggest” changes to a knol since the original article writer retains the right to view and accept changes before they are posted.
Finally, Google throws in a little capitalistic inducement for authors by permitting them to insert advertisements on their page and collect the advertising revenue from them. Will Knol surpass Wikipedia’s 10 million articles in 253 languages? Probably not but it may prove to be a more acceptable source for school papers and more reliable source for political information. Only time will tell. Check it out!
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