Stiri
Google unveils rival to Wikipedia
Google is to go head-to head with Wikipedia, the web’s largest reference work, setting up a clash between two of the web’s biggest brands.
A new Google service, dubbed "knol", will invite individuals to write “authoritative articles” on their areas of expertise, the firm revealed yesterday.
As on Wikipedia, content on knol (the name comes from “knowledge”) will be free to access. In a departure from the non-profit Wikipedia model, however, knol's authors will be able to attach advertising to their work and take a share of revenues.
Google hopes that knol articles will cover “all topics, from scientific concepts ... to entertainment.” Significantly, the project will see Google help generate new editorial content, a process its executive have previously said it is “philosophically opposed to”. Knol, which is currently in a test phase but is expected to be opened to the public in the coming months, also pitches Google against yet another new rival in a fresh sector. Moving away from its roots in internet search, Google recently opened a new front against mobile makers such as Nokia by unveiling a new operating system for handheld devices.
It also has ambitions to compete with groups such as EDS in data storage and Oracle and Microsoft in business software. Last month it confirmed it will bid against groups likely to include AT&T for a portion of America’s airwaves that could be used to roll-out a wireless broadband network.
Wikipedia represents another similarly well-established incumbent. In October the online encyclopaedia, which relies on donations for funds, was visited by 107 million people, or a third of the "active global internet population", according to Nielsen Online, the analyst. That made it the eighth most-visited online destination.
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Google is to go head-to head with Wikipedia, the web’s largest reference work, setting up a clash between two of the web’s biggest brands.
A new Google service, dubbed "knol", will invite individuals to write “authoritative articles” on their areas of expertise, the firm revealed yesterday.
As on Wikipedia, content on knol (the name comes from “knowledge”) will be free to access. In a departure from the non-profit Wikipedia model, however, knol's authors will be able to attach advertising to their work and take a share of revenues.
Google hopes that knol articles will cover “all topics, from scientific concepts ... to entertainment.” Significantly, the project will see Google help generate new editorial content, a process its executive have previously said it is “philosophically opposed to”.