I think Google is starting to become even more powerful on the internet, then Microsoft is with software. If there’s a good idea out there that Google hasn’t thought of, then it’s more than likely that they’re going to try to swoop in to steal it. Their newest form of mimicry comes by way of their Knol service.

Wikipedia has pretty much become the “library” of the internet. If you want to know a quick fact about something in the world, then Wikipedia more than likely has it. It’s this fast access to information that has made it so successful. Wikipedia has been so successful in fact, Google has now launched their own version.

I’ve been keeping an eye on Knol since its launch, and so far I’d give it a mixed review. Easily the strongest aspect of Knol is the showing of the authors for different posts. That way you can know who really knows what they’re talking about, along with the ones who don’t. The problem is with this strong feature, there’s a drawback as well. With different posts being submitted, the experience isn’t nearly as streamlined as Wikipedia. When using Wikipedia, the bulk of the information is all on that front page for you to view. While searching through Knol, you have to click through different posts to find certain pieces of information.

So far I wouldn’t prefer Knol to Wikipedia just yet. While Wikipedia might have content issues, it’s still the place to go for that quick bit of information you’re looking for (but I still wouldn’t use it for a research paper).

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