Last month, Google announced the rollout of a new community-based Web tool called Google Knol. “Knol” stands for unit of knowledge, and the project aims to get Web users to contribute authoritative articles on subjects they know extremely well.
Knol hasn’t been opened to the unwashed Internet masses yet; still, it’s significant because it marks the first time that Google has ventured into the content space.
Like the highly trafficked Yahoo Answers, Google Knol is likely to become popular because it highlights authors and invites people to make unique contributions to a larger base of knowledge. It appeals to Web users’ egos while giving them an orderly, standardized way to empty the contents of their brains. In addition, Google’s ability to categorize and rank Web content will help ensure that Web searchers find relevant Knols when they are seeking information about a certain subject.
Though Google Knol will be, in a way, a competitor of Wikipedia, it differs from Wikipedia in a few key ways. First, Google Knol promises to highlight individuals and honor their unique contributions; Wikipedia, despite its populist mission, is controlled by a small group of editors and folds individuals’ contributions into communal articles. And because Google Knol puts authors’ names front and center, authors will also act as editors, and authors can make money from their contributions through ads placed on their Knols, the tool is likely to yield high-quality content, discussions and comments.
Google Knol has the potential to blend all the best traits of Wikipedia and Yahoo Answers. As the tool becomes open to everyone, it will be interesting to see how well it catches on.
