[tt] CHE: Google Launches Wikipedia Competitor

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Google Launches Wikipedia Competitor
http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/3190/google-launches-wikipedia-competitor?utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
July 23, 2008

Google today launched Knol, an online encyclopedia that, in many ways, 
mimics Wikipedia, the popular encyclopedia that anyone can edit. As in 
Wikipedia, anyone can create a page in Knol. But changes to the page 
become active only after they are approved by the page's author or 
authors. And unlike Wikipedia, the author's name is featured prominently 
on Knol articles.

Among the featured articles on the Knol site today are "How to Backpack," 
"Lung Cancer," and "Toilet Clogs."

Daniel Colman, director and associate dean of Stanford University's 
continuing-studies program and author of the blog OpenCulture, predicted 
in December that Knol would have a hard time attracting experts to write 
articles.—Andrea L. Foster
Posted on Wednesday July 23, 2008

Comments

1. Wikipedia, while very accessible and useful, has the major shortcomings 
that we all know about. I hope Google does a credible job.--Larry Gillis 
Jul 24, 06:48 AM

2. Competition is almost always good, but W will be tough to improve upon. 
For example, take a look at the articles on Ratko Mladic', Slobodan 
Miloševic', and Radovan Karadžic' in W today. While I am sure there are 
more complete, and possibly more balanced biographies of all three 
individuals around, where would you direct the non-specialist for a better 
overview of their lives, up to date as of yesterday? As an academic 
library director I like to repeat a dictum I heard from Joe Lucia. "Only 
librarians are interested in looking for information— everybody else is 
interested in finding it." Those of us who get mildly aroused hunting down 
the "truth" will always know of a better place than W for the real deal. 
But as an all-purpose resource freely accessible to everyone else, please 
tell me what beats W?
--Philip J Tramdack    Jul 24, 07:45 AM

3. I think Knol has a way to go. Searches for such simple entries as 
"cheese" and "tomato" produced no results.--Some guy    Jul 24, 09:55 AM