Instructify

August 1, 2008

In its never-ending attempt at taking over the Internet, and thus the world, Google recently launched its Knol project to the public. You might be asking yourself, what is a “knol” exactly? Google defines a knol as “a unit of knowledge” or “an authoritative article about a specific topic.” Okay, then what’s Knol?

Knol is an informational site, similar to Wikipedia and Britannica’s new platform, that hosts many knols written about various subjects. Anyone can write a knol (as long as they stick to the Content Policy), and other users can provide feedback, comments, related information, and — depending on the author’s settings — can even edit the knol. Even though Knol is a collaborative, user-driven information sharing platform, since it identifies its authors and allows them to document their credentials, its easy to evaluate the quality and veracity of the information.

Not only is Knol a great tool for top-level research, it also lets everyone (yes, even you!) share some knowledge on any topic imaginable. And, even if a knol on a topic already exists, you can still write your own article. Unlike Wikipedia, Knol is a forum that encourages individual perspectives, rather than enforcing a stringent neutral point-of-view. As they put it:

Google “[believes] that knowing who wrote what will significantly help users make better use of web content” and hopes “knols will include the opinions and points of view of the authors who will put their reputation on the line.”

Google might be onto something by incorporating a sense of community into information sharing by putting a face with each article. It looks like they might also be another step closer to world domination. –LAUREN FROHNE

Knol