Last week Google released Knol™ (http://knol.google.com/), a user-generated encyclopedia poised to surmount Wikipedia. Users who compose articles on Knol will not be anonymous, and will receive recognition for their contributions. Authors will also have the opportunity to profit from their articles with advertisements.
I like the fact that Knol articles will be tied to a specific author, but I do not think it’s a good idea (as a librarian concerned with access) that the Google search engine will be directing traffic to these articles. I have read on other websites that currently the Name Verification is only open to U.S. users as well. So what do you librarians think about Knol?
The Trap of Knowing
1 day ago
2 comments:
I actually started working on a Knol about copyright, but it's a long-term project. I think that it's interesting that you can kind of self-proclaim as an expert (there is some validation involved, but not to an extent that I'd recommend anyone use it for a paper).
I am not sure that Knol will be new and different enough to become the Nexgen of Wikipedia - which is the only way, I think, that it would really be replaced. Instead, I think it's going to become the Facebook to MySpace, so to speak - a different audience base.
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