A knol is a unit of knowledge, and is also Google’s latest invention. Similar to the popular Wikipedia, Knol is a hybrid of an encyclopedia, article submission site, and link aggregator. It allows users to take credit for their work while submitting their view and opinion of a subject. These Knols can also be edited by other users at the writer’s approval. It allows more than one article to be submitted on the same subject, expanding ideas and views. The real kicker comes in when Google adds in their AdSense revenue split advertising system to the formula. People who write Knols’ can also register for an AdSense account which allows them to profit off of the ads on their Knols. The incentives are high for users who want to create multiple Knols (usually on a similar subject) just so that ads can be placed and they have a higher chance of people clicking them.
Knol offers a nice opportunity for search engine optimization, because it allows you to write about what you specialize in and gives you recognition. In your Knols you can talk about what you know, and tell people to check them out. You get credit as being and expert in your field. And most importantly from the SEO side, the links you embed in your Knol, as of this writing, do not contain the rel=”nofollow” tag that nullifes the SEO importance of those links.
But please note; this is a LIMITED TIME OFFER! You must ACT NOW! Unfortunately, Knol will be better to the early adapters than the ones that come later. It’s an opportunity to write about what you know before others do - and connect yourself to something that could possibly develop a very high PageRank with high search results.
Currently, on almost any phrase you type into Google, a Wikipedia article comes up on the first page with very high PageRank. This begs the question of Google; will they start to index Knols and start to compete with other content sites for listings in their own search results (and we don’t care what Google says - Knol is a content site)? By indexing their own content they’re taking away from others and making their likelihood for revenue higher by keeping on Google products running Google ads. A blog posting at Pratical eCommerce suggests that:
“As Knol matures and grows, Wikipedia results will be gradually pushed down and/or out of top-end results. It’s a financial likelihood: a year from now, [there will be] a Knol article as one of the top five results in Google, with a Wikipedia result hovering somewhere below.”
Already we are seeing examples of Knol users trying to capitalizing off Wikipedia by submitting Wiki articles as Knols under their name to make the AdSense profit. They take one person’s hard work (or everyone’s one or two sentences as is often the case with Wikipedia entries) and copy and they paste it into Knol, thinking its okay as long as they admit that they pulled a C and P. Now the question of legality comes in. This blog tried to explain it, but with all the big legal words that both Wiki and Google lawyers used, its still kind of hard to find that fine line between what is permitted. For sure though, AdSense revenue won’t pay for your lawyer fees if Wiki or Google sues you. At least Knol recognizes when a C and P has been pulled. It states on the sidebar the name of the site with similar content and the percentage that is similar.
So now lets trip beyond AdSense. Through Surfing tons of Knols’, I discovered that not only are people trying to capitalize off of AdSense, but they’re selling things on Knol too. Under an article for Lyme Disease, a Doctor discussed potential treatments and supplements to take to help with the symptoms of Lyme Disease. At the bottom of the Knol, you could buy them. It read something like: Supplement Ordering Information, Please Email your Name, Address, Credit Card, and Quantity Desired to sales@somemedicaldoctor.com. Something is wrong here. Could that make the real difference between Knol and Wikipedia? Knols aren’t as highly monitored as Wikipedia entries are? Or is it just a matter of time before it is? For sure something like this wouldn’t fly among the community of Wikipedia editors.
Similar to everything on the Internet, only time will tell how well Knol really does. It is still new and very rough around the edges, but if everyone clings tight to a subject they know about, these rough parts will roll out to a smooth rolling money ball for Google. But the better question is; has Google gone to the dark side with this model? Are they transitioning from the cute little company with the mission of “don’t be evil” into a classic multi-national, publicly traded, investor led monster that will do whatever it needs to in order to continue to meet and exceed the ridiculously high expectations its past performance has set? Stay tuned…
RSS
