Knowledge is power, and two heads are better than one. That’s why collaborative knowledge has become the battle call of different websites aiming to teach other people about what they know. By writing what they know online, not only do they teach people on what they know, they also invite other experts in the field to add more or change some information that might be a little bit off the topic. In this information driven world, we all need to have our daily dose of information and become smarter and knowledgeable everyday. That’s why Wikipedia, Answers.com and DIY websites are very attractive since they provide us with up-to-date information compiled by experts.
Given the importance of such collaborative knowledge sharing, the leader of almost anything in the internet has even widened its horizon. According to the latest post of the Google’s official blog, different bloggers and leaders in the industry have been invited to try out their own collaborative knowledge website called “Knol” which they refer to as a unit of knowledge. When it was launched in private closed beta, different bloggers who have been invited gave their opinion about the latest offering of Google, and it looks promising. Wikipedia may be in big trouble because of this latest offer of Google as it works almost the same as Wikipedia.
Since it was just announced in Google’s official blog, it could take some time before we could have a glimpse of this technology. In my opinion, Google is really fast in developing this type of technology so it could be available for beta testing in the first quarter of 2008. But Google was able to provide us with a good screenshot of what do we have to expect from “Knol.” It looks like Wikipedia only with different tweaks. Google ads will be on the right site of the website and the author on top of the ads. This is something different when you compare it against Wikipedia. As Google said it in their blog, “The key idea behind the knol project is to highlight authors.” Using Knol, experts on a specific subject should be able to maintain their popularity on the subject. People who will come in looking for information will know who wrote on that, making the Knol more trusted compared to Wikipedia.
On the other hand, Google will not edit any of these articles. All information will be primarily given and edited by the author. In terms of who moderates who, we just have to wait on how those things will work when it is officially released.
Some see it as a way for Google to earn more money and take away the popularity of Wikipedia. By tapping into credible authors in a specific field, they might do something that Wikipedia cannot. We just have to wait till the next year and find out whether the buzz that started by Google is worthy enough to be followed. The year 2008 will be a great time for more and better knowledge for everyone.
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While it used to be known as the predecessor of the online library Nupedia, Wikipedia is now known as the biggest online encyclopedia in the world. What makes this website truly unique is that all the articles on this website are user-created. These submissions are all free and the company itself lives on donations alone. The submissions created by someone can also be edited by anyone who has created the account.
Therefore, the information being placed on the site is constantly updated. Currently, Wikipedia has 252 versions in terms of languages, and all of them are also user submitted. Since it’s freely used and edited by virtually anyone, Wikipedia has volunteers based on their headquarters in Florida to check the accuracy of the information given. This is done to prevent online defamation and article vandalism. There are currently 1,831,159 articles in English language alone.
However, Wikipedia is not known only for it’s free articles. Read on and you’ll see the other services Wikipedia has to offer to visitors.
Wikepedia only has articles for you to read. Even though they are complete in themselves, many are still lacking information for people who want to know more than the general information. Don’t worry, Wikipedia has thought of that, and has launched something that will rival it. Wikibooks is an online library which stores books that are freely given because they are all freely created. These books were also created through the collaboration of various writers who are experts in the subject. People can freely check into the website and look at the finished books and download them as PDF files or sometimes as Document (.doc) files. You can also register to join in the collaboration in creating books for any of the subjects you are trained in.
The next feature of Wikipedia targets not only information lovers, but also teachers and professors as well. Wikiversity is a part of wikipedia that deals not only with articles and books, but on learning materials for all kinds of subjects at any grade or skill level. There is also a free curriculum for anyone who wants to learn something online. You can browse various courses online and download all the materials necessary to “graduate” in this course. There are also unfinished projects that are currently worked on by volunteer professionals. You can also take a peek at what they are currently worked on. All of these are for free.
Lastly is the Wikispecies. This free content site is dedicated in indexing all known living forms in the world. Each of them is classified according to their kingdom and classification. There are living things that have pictures and complete information about the species. But there are obscured living beings that are only known through their scientific name and location.
Wikipedia has single-handedly shown us the power of collaboration. If everyone around the world would help each other, There would be no one left uneducated and everyone will prosper slowly, but surely.
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