經過七個月試驗，搜尋引擎龍頭Google廿三日正式推出專家版線上百科「Knol」。Knol訴諸權威，由專業人士署名撰寫內容並負文責，是最大特色。 Knol取自Knowledge（知識），是「一個知識單位」的意思。Google去年十二月起邀集專家試寫，現在自認對某一知識領域有專精研究和相當認識者，都可以上Knol闢寫條目。Knol的網址是knol.google.com。 Knol和維基最大差異是維基作者不具名且幕後編審，Knol則規定作者具名，可附註職業，還可以貼上照片，而且文責自負。Google會查證作者身分，但不篩濾和編修內容，也不為文章正確性背書。 維基的條目不限單一作者，可以是多人合作的成品，且可以隨讀隨改。Knol則走「適度合作」路線，融部落格式個人意見和維基集體編修於一爐。 另一明顯差異是，Knol撰文者可和Google共享廣告收入，進帳數千美元都有可能。 維基現有條目七百萬。Knol則僅有數百條目，許多是醫學類。但維基對絲毫不敢掉以輕心，同日推出美國哈佛與史丹福兩所大學醫學院支援的線上醫學百科Medipedia迎戰。
Wikipedia Competitor Being Tested by Google
SAN FRANCISCO — Google is testing a new Web service intended to become a repository of knowledge from experts on various topics, one that could turn into a competitor to Wikipedia and other sites.
If it attracts a following, the service could accelerate Google’s transformation from a search engine into a company that helps create and publish Web content. Some critics said that shift could compromise Google’s objectivity in presenting search results.
The service, called Knol, which is short for knowledge, would allow people to create Web pages on any topic. It is designed to include features that permit readers to submit comments, rate pages and suggest changes. However, unlike Wikipedia, which allows anyone to edit an entry, only the author of a “knol,” as the pages in the service would be called, would be allowed to edit. Different authors could have competing pages on the same topic.
Google said that a main idea behind the project was to bring attention to authors who have expertise on a particular topic.
“Somehow the Web evolved without a strong standard to keep authors’ names highlighted,” Udi Manber, vice president for engineering at Google, wrote in an announcement of the test Thursday evening on a Google corporate blog. “We believe that knowing who wrote what will significantly help users make better use of Web content.”
Mr. Manber said the goal of Knol was to cover all topics, from science to medicine to history, and for the articles to become “the first thing someone who searches for this topic for the first time will want to read.”
That is often the role played by Wikipedia pages, which frequently turn up at or near the top of results presented by Google and other search engines.
“I think Google is looking at the growth of sites like Wikipedia, that aggregate knowledge, and feels it has to play in that space,” said Danny Sullivan, a search expert and editor of the Web site Search Engine Land.
Several other services have taken different approaches in their efforts to become repositories of knowledge on various topics. They include Yahoo Answers, Squidoo, Mahalo and About.com, which is owned by The New York Times Company.
Despite the existence of these services, as well as countless free tools for experts and ordinary people alike to share what they know online, Mr. Manber said Google thought many people who possessed useful knowledge did not publish it “because it is not easy enough to do that.”
Google declined to make Mr. Manber or anyone else available to discuss Knol, saying the project was an experiment that like many Google tests, might never be opened to the public.
While many technology analysts and bloggers noted that Knol appeared to be a direct competitor to Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, that site’s founder, shrugged off the potential challenge.
Mr. Wales said that Google’s service would encourage competing, opinionated articles on any topic, whereas Wikipedia strived for objectivity and had a single article per topic that represented the collective knowledge of its authors.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what it ends up looking like,” Mr. Wales said.
Knol and Wikipedia would be different in other ways. While Wikipedia is a not-for-profit and ad-free endeavor, Knol has a more commercial bent: Authors could choose to have Google place ads on their pages and would get part of the revenue.
“At some point, Google crosses the line, where they are not only a search engine, but also a content provider,” Mr. Sullivan said. Technically speaking, he said, authors, not Google, would create Knol pages. “But it matters how it appears,” he said. “I do a search on Google, I go to some place that Google hosts and I also find Google ads.”
What’s more, Mr. Sullivan said, Google’s goal of making Knol pages easy to find on search engines could conflict with its need to remain unbiased. Google already carries content generated by users in a variety of services, including YouTube, the photo storage site Picasa and Blogger.
hc評:就中文而言 百度已做此舉 不過 希望Google贏
"Forrester Research分析師柏諾夫說，Google擁有網路使用者入口網站「首頁」以及呈現搜尋結果的「第二頁」，但提供內容的「第三頁」，Google付之 闕如，反被Yahoo!超前，導致使用者常常自第二頁連結到對手的網站。如今Google終於補足缺口，跨入內容領域。
然而Google積極發展 內容的野心，也令識者憂心它在網路資訊取得管道上，掌握過於龐大的主導權。Google搜尋引擎上月的市佔率已達69%，但之前使用者至少在點閱搜尋結果 後，就能離開它的掌控；Google knol啟用後，情況可能大不相同。儘管Google信誓旦旦，會「適當」安排knol在搜尋結果中的順序，但實際情況仍有待觀察。"編譯李寧怡
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Google 的挖金腦筋真是沒話說：Google即將推出Google版維基百科，但觀念和設計較維基似乎更勝一籌，撰文者具名，以昭內容信實和充實，附上作者玉照以 鼓勵負責和榮譽感，最厲害的是，撰文者如果同意Google在其大文旁邊掛廣告，Google會支付「可觀」廣告營收。維基碰到危機? 可能還不至於，但專家說，維基真的碰到對手了。 Google版「人民百科全書」取名Knol，Google負責工程的副總裁曼柏在Google部落格說，此字意指「一個知識單位」，既指Google版百科，也意指這百科裡的單一詞條。成立Knol的宗旨，是「鼓勵對某個題材有知識的人，就這個題材寫一篇權威文章」。 Knol和維基百科有數項關鍵差異。最重要是善用人性裡的「名利」之心，使之為知識服務，兼使Google自利利人。 首先是維基的文章作者匿名，Google打破慣例，要作者具名，Google表示，「我們認為，使用者知道文章是誰寫的，將能更善用其內容。書的封面印著作者名字，新聞報導掛記者名字，科學文章也附作者名字，網路卻發展出不掛作者大名的文化」。 專家認為Google點子使Knol成為「明星製造機」，確是高招。作者掛名，還附照片，會有人更孜孜不倦，細心為文。研究生想成名，教授想增加終身聘的機會，都會善用Knol。一般民眾想出名，Knol也是一條不錯的路。 第二個差異是每條知識可有數篇文章並列，而且文責自負，Google本身不當編輯，不對文章增刪損益。維基的文章基本上是合作式，經常合數文為一，以求周 全。Google保存原作，數文並列，讀者提問、評論，適者生存。Google聲明不敢保證來稿都權威、高水準，但事關自己毀譽成敗，文章作者為求大作獲 得問津，應該會珍惜羽毛，審慎下筆。第三個重要差異是，Knol不但是明星製造機，還會是Google又一部印鈔機。Google是全球頭號搜尋引擎，文 章作者自由要不要Google在她或他的大作版面掛廣告，要的話，Google和她或他分享收益。寫文章而以如此方便的平台裨益社會，且出名又獲利。 |
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