Google to launch new Wiki whacker

[mr friendly guy]

linky

Google to launch new Wiki whacker
December 16, 2007

Google is building its own version of communally-constructed online encyclopedia Wikipedia.

The internet search powerhouse is inviting people to test a free service dubbed "knol", to indicate a unit of knowledge, vice-president of engineering Udi Manber said in a posting on Google's website on Friday.

"Our goal is to encourage people who know a particular subject to write an authoritative article about it," Mr Manber wrote.

Millions of people possess knowledge they would like to share and "there are billions of people who can benefit from it", he said.

While Wikipedia lets visitors make changes to its pages, trusting that people with accurate information will correct errors, Google is inviting people to write their own articles.

Pictures of authors will be displayed on their knol web pages, a sample provided by Google reveals.

"Books have authors' names right on the cover, news articles have bylines, scientific articles always have authors ... the web evolved without a strong standard to keep authors' names highlighted," Mr Manber wrote.

Google hopes knols will be written on all conceivable topics and says it has no plans to edit or endorse content. Editorial responsibility will rest with authors, whose reputations will be at stake, Mr Manber said.

Knols on the same subjects will "compete" for the attention of visitors, who will be able to give feedback.

Knol authors will have the option of letting Google post ads on their pages and sharing in the revenues.

Luring Wikipedia users to its own community-created online encyclopedia promises to be another rich vein of income for the search giant.

Wikipedia is consistently ranked among the top 10 websites by research firms Hitwise and comScore.

Posted without comment for the moment.

[Winston Blake]

For starters, 'knol' is a stupid name. It might grow on me, but it's still stupid. It's like something a stoner would say: 'Yeah dude, dat guy's gots the knols'.

While Wikipedia lets visitors make changes to its pages, trusting that people with accurate information will correct errors, Google is inviting people to write their own articles.

Pictures of authors will be displayed on their knol web pages, a sample provided by Google reveals.

Of course, these pictures will be faithfully transferred when the content of these 'knols' is copied and pasted into Wikipedia. Further, knol authors wouldn't dare inflate their article count by copying and pasting vast swathes of Wikipedia.

Knols on the same subjects will "compete" for the attention of visitors, who will be able to give feedback.

Sounds like Everything2. So if want an overview of zeppelins or something, I have to wade through the first three of a hundred articles, the first of which is an overvoted Scientology spiel explaining why Xenu invented coconuts.

I don't see why it's better than Wikipedia, except that the administrative philosophy might avoid the Golden Mean bullshit that has become synonymous with Wikipedia.

[Darth Massacrus]

I can't wait for some conspiracy-theorist to start a 'grassy knol' article...

I wonder what will happen to the people who purposely vandalize an article...

[Rye]

I can't wait for some conspiracy-theorist to start a 'grassy knol' article...

I wonder what will happen to the people who purposely vandalize an article...

From the sounds of it, they'll be held accountable and they will lose their reputation.

[Admiral Valdemar]

I can't wait for some conspiracy-theorist to start a 'grassy knol' article...

I wonder what will happen to the people who purposely vandalize an article...

Yeah, can't wait...