Google’s recent addition of Knol shows willingness to combat such web entities as Wikipedia for web supremacy. Wikipedia, oft a subject of debate as to its impartiality and accuracy, is still a popular site to find facts and data. Knol seeks to take away the anonymity of Wikipedia’s author base and instead put experts into the spotlight, creating a sort of blog relationship with an encyclopedic function.
The basis for this will be ad generated revenue, an incentive for writers to draw in hits and to contribute often to their subject of expertise. This can be seen as a step forwards by some, leaving behind Wikipedia’s controversial subject matter and editorial disputes by placing sole ownership in the hands of the subject author. I see it not as a step forward though, but a step parallel.
If you took, for instance, somebody like Einstein and made him write a similar physics explanation for Wikipedia (as an anonymous contributor) and one for Knol you’d be getting a pretty fair representation of what I am thinking. Einstein is considered an expert on advanced physics, and yet even he is not without criticism, especially as we learn more about the science he revolutionized. Google’s claims that Knol operates on popularity means that there will be a natural settling of the contributors once the site gets going; the end result being that certain users are regarded as authorities on a subject. If that user is later ousted due to a fallacious claim, the damage is already done and you still have a sector of the readership that might regard the false information as still true.
The end result is not that Google has solved the problems of Wikipedia, but rather they are simply taking a different route to the same end. Wikipedia is becoming more of a useful reference if nothing else, whereas Knol is setting up to establish cults of personality, not unlike a favorite columnist might have in a newspaper. This is something I am sure tickles bloggers and self-proclaimed experts everywhere.
Garett Kopczynski is an IT professional for the City of Keene, NH and has been involved in the transformation of the IT group as it increasingly explores cloud computing and other next-generation initiatives. His hands-on involvement with Google Apps, and its impact on the IT environment in a municipal government organization, gives him unique insight into other applications of Google within (and beyond) a corporate office environment. In addition to his role as an IT professional, Garett has also been involved in ongoing research efforts for a number of "future impact" technologies such as e-waste and open source vs. licensed software.
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