Google launched their answer to Wikipedia last week: Knol. It differs
from Wikipedia in that authors may opt for various levels of editing
control over their pages. This, combined with a system for rating
author authority, gives knols a greater level of credibility.
Authors can change the way readers collaborate on knols by choosing
between three different models. Open collaboration allows anyone
with a Knol account to modify a knol. Moderated collaboration allows
anyone with a Knol account to suggest modifications and corrections to
a knol, but these modifications will not be visible publicly until an
author has reviewed and accepted them. Closed collaboration only
allows authors to modify a knol.
I opted to use the moderated collaboration model, but have yet to
receive any suggestions. It was very easy to invite others to review,
using a pull down menu.
I started the process by importing text from a peer-reviewed article
that I retain the copyright to. Importing this as a pdf did not work
very well, since text and tables were reformatted in an unfriendly
manner. Importing as a word file was seamless and transparent,
although equations edited with the Microsoft's equation editor had to
be replaced with plain and greek characters using subscripts and
superscripts. Drawings had to be under 200k, and I had no trouble
uploading several GIF files. Editing the text, adding links, and
replacing drawings with updated versions using self explanatory pull
down menus was simple and quick.
Google is apparently vetting the knols somehow, since it took several
days for it to become publicly available and appear on their search
pages. There are several other physics related knols, which can
easily be found by entering "physics" in the knol search window.
I am interested in thoughts of others on this list regarding knols.
Any feedback or constructive criticism regarding my knol, entitled
"Speed Costs Power," will also be appreciated.
--
Jeff Radtke
jr@cloudchambers.com
www.cloudchambers.com