At first glance, Google's Knol project seems very similar to the idea behind our own everything2, and that of our beloved arch-nemesis Wikipedia. Announced on the 13th of December 2007 and making it to public beta on the 23rd July the following year, the general idea of a knol is to give a first-time searcher for information a thorough introduction to a particular topic. The Knol site describes itself as having one goal - 'to help you share what you know'.

A 'knol' is Google's term for what we would call a node, and each knol can have multiple articles written by different authors, exactly like the different writeups that fill up our nodeshells. Other users may read articles, suggest edits to them, give them a rating or add comments. Google is hoping this will provide a way for users to judge the veracity of an article, and presumably cut down on the vandalism problems that Wikipedia occasionally finds itself subject to. The article remains the author's responsibility, and it is up to them whether or not they make any suggested changes. It seems that authors also have the option of making an article collaborative, effectively giving writers the opportunity to work in the same way as Wikipedia.

Google says that you can write what you like about whatever subject you like, although there are the Terms Of Service and Content Policy to take into account. Forget about writing sexually graphic material (unless it's educational), hateful content or violent content. Copyright infringement is also a no-no, and impersonation, commercial activities and private or confidential material are out. Not too different from Wikipedia's content guidelines there, and hardly dissimilar to ours. Of course, we allow fiction and poetry, and don't get up in arms about sexual content either. I do feel that the best nodes on e2 are the ones with a bit of a personal touch, so perhaps Knol will end up being a rather dry source of information. It will be interesting to see how recipes are received on knol, as well.

Already, Google Knol is kitted out with knols. There's an awful lot of rather scary medical knols, and one or two people have clambered on board and are having a go: there's a knol about Devil May Cry 4 nestled in amongst neck disorders, Hypothyroidism and coronary heart disease. There are also one or two knols that tell you things to do and things to avoid. There are little guides to inserting images, adding tables and other formatting stuff that we don't use here on e2, but is de rigeur for migrating Wikipedians. A good knol is an authoritative article about a specific topic, and it looks like Google Knol is keen for writers to put in the time and effort to produce good, referenced work.

Going back to that first glance, it looks like Knol lies somewhere in the middle of e2 and Wikipedia, but probably closer to e2, with its freedom to choose a subject and remain in control of the writeup, and the exhortation to voice an opinion - "Your name is behind your knol, and it should reflect your unique point of view". It's one to keep an eye on, particularly as it might well drive a little traffic our way, and knols are undoubtedly going to start popping up in your google searches. First challenge of the day, for interested parties, is to get over there and write an everything2 knol.

You can visit Knol at http://knol.google.com, but please... leave the door on the latch!