What do You Know About Knol?

Knol.  What is it and should you use it?

Founded in 2007, Knol is a Google-run collaboration of information on a range of topics.  Similar to the format of Wikipedia, Knol pages are ”little snipets” of information that provide users with a broad overview on a topic.  The differnce between Wikipedia and Knol pages is that instead of being written by multiple authors, a more personal voice comes through in a Knol article as one author is responsible for the content of each page.  From personal experience, I found Knol to be more similar to Squidoo than Wikipedia.

Spend a little time browsing the 100,000 plus pages of content on Knol’s website and you’ll find it’s very similar to other sites already out there.  Some people have criticized Knol for merely regurgitating already-published information and not offering fresh ideas, but it depends on your point of view.  If you’d prefer to read an article written by multiple people  versus someone’s individual view on a subject, then I would suggest looking elsewhere.

One good metric of the success of a site is how commonly known it is to the average person.  Ask any student what the best online place to find a summary about a topic and they’ll quickly tell you: it’s Wikipedia, hands down.  Ask them if they’re ever heard about Knol.  ”Knol?”  They’ll probabaly reply, “what’s that?”  If a site’s been up for 2 years and hasn’t gained the same popularity as rival sites, it’s normally a good indication they’ve missed the mark.