Google unveils Googlepedia (Knols)

[method77]

“The challenge posed to us by Larry, Sergey and Eric was to find a way to help people share their knowledge.”

“Our goal is to encourage people who know a particular subject to write an authoritative article about it,”

Google blog post.

They have never heard of Wikipedia?

[DudeAsInCool]

They have never heard of Wikipedia?

Wikipedia doesnt allow ads... I think 'Knols' is a dumb choice for a name. And I prefer how Wikipedia is set up - it's more democratic

The UK Times does a good job at distinguishing the two services: "Where Wikipedia promotes collaboration between authors, knol looks set to foster rivalry. Contributors to knol will not be able to contribute anonymously and will not be able to edit each other’s work, two defining characteristics of Wikipedia. Whereas on Wikipedia, readers find only one entry on, say, the First World War, on knol authors will submit separate pieces that will compete for advertising dollars.

Wikipedia, founded in 2001, has more than eight million articles in 253 languages, from Afrikaans to Zazaki. In contrast to Google, it has refused to alter its policies to operate in different countries, which has led it to being blocked in states such as China."

Source

[Malicious Intent]

It doesn't sound as good as Wikipedia, but I don't see how choice can be a bad thing for anyone.

[method77]

Malicious is correct although I predict failure