Knol is a wikipedia-type offering from Google opened to the public in beta, or testing form, in July 2008. Its aim is to promote user-written, user-reviewed, articles on a wide range of topics. As of January 2009, Google boasted 100,000 articles available on Knol read by users from 197 countries and territories.

Google defines “knol” as a “unit of knowledge”, that refers to both an article in the project and the project itself. According to Udi Manber of Google who leads the project, Knol articles are “meant to be the first thing someone who searches for this topic for the first time will want to read”. Though some suggest that this project is intended to compete with Wikipedia, there are differences in the projects.

Authors of Knol articles are supposed to contribute under their real names. Google states its belief that “knowing who wrote what will significantly help users make better use of web content”, and that “knols will include the opinions and points of view of the authors who will put their reputation on the line”. With permission, Google checks the truthfulness of the identity provided by phone or credit card.

Those with Google accounts are able to comment, rate, and offer corrections to the knols in the form of comments such as those used in blogs. Google maintains that all control and editorial responsibilities lie with the authors. Authors may choose the default option of allowing anyone to republish the material with attribution to the author, or authors may opt to prohibit commercial reuse, retaining all copyright protection. It uses “nofollow” outgoing links to avoid search ranking influence.

Though Knol has been considered by some as a rival to Wikipedia and other encyclopedia sites, it offers a different format and approach. Wikipedia articles are collectively written to reflect a “neutral point of view”, while Knol emphasizes personal expertise and opinions of its authors.

Categories: Glossary
Tags: knol