Google's Knol service goes live

ThraxThrax 🐌Austin, TX Icrontian
edited July 2008 in Science & Tech
There is no argument that the founding idea of the Wiki is an admirable one. Collaborative contribution to the betterment of information is a noble goal that has had its fair share of successes. And its share of ignominies.

The simple problem for Wiki's simple idea is that humans are easily incited by disagreement. Further more, many people who have slept at a Holiday Inn Express understand that they are experts in a field with which they have no experience. Therefore sites like Wikipedia are often corrupted by misinformation or ninja-edits. The problem is severe enough to spawn corollary websites designed to track and identify illicit editors.

Google hopes to address these problems with the introduction of Knol. All contributors to their service will be certified professionals in their given field. What's more, their content will be presented with their real name and subject to peer review just as science handles the introduction of its new information.

The service has launched with a preponderance of medical-related information, and is expected to fill out in the future as more professionals sign on and Wiki their skills.

Comments

  • BlackHawkBlackHawk Bible music connoisseur There's no place like 127.0.0.1 Icrontian
    edited July 2008
    Looks more like About.com than a wiki.
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