Google's Wikipedia Version

Google recently announced Knol, an experimental Web site that allows individual authors to create subject pages on topics of interest or expertise. Knol is seen as a response to Wikipedia, but will differ from Wikipedia in that pages will not be open for anyone to contribute to. Knol articles will have individual authors that will list their credentials, including work history, institutional affiliation, along with references to build credibility. Individual topics may have multiple pages by different authors, allowing Web users to read multiple but possible conflicting viewpoints on a subject. Currently, participation in Knol is by invitation only, but Google may eventually make Knol open to the public. "A Knol on a particular topic is meant to be the first thing someone who searches for this topic will want to read," says Google's Udi Manber. Wikipedia's Mark Pellegrini sees several problems with Knol. "I think what will happen is that you'll end up with five or 10 articles," Pellegrini says, "none of which is as comprehensive as if the people who wrote them had worked together on a single article." Pellegrini says Knol authors will tend to link to other articles they have written, but ignore other people's work on the subject, and that Knol articles could end up being less complete than if they were written by a community of authors. However, Google has a major advantage in that it may pay Knol authors if the pages attract a large number of visitors and advertisers are willing to publish ads on Knol pages.