Will Google Knol Betray Thousands?
The breaking news of Knol's fall from QuantCast grace -- brought about by the revelation that Craigslist-style ads are beginning to appear as Knols, has filled the airwaves with mis- and dis-information. TechCrunch's breaking story last night stimulated dozens of smarmy comments. Few of them contained actual wisdom anchored by analysis. Oddly, one of the latest comments, by the Craigslist ad perpetrator himself, was more insightful. Will Johnson basically argues that we should follow the money. Google would much rather publish his kind of content (in this case audio speakers for sale) than host Knols about academic subjects. At least the Panasonics, Bose' and JBLs of the world might purchase Google ads to appear in the related content. Who would ever purchase an ad to appear in an article about "the spin of the electron or the meaning of Kant" asks Johnson. (Don't tempt me to answer; I have a bigger fish to fry). Insight is oh so evanescent, Will. Let's hope Google is operating on a different frequency. Otherwise, thousands of authors will be betrayed. For those who take a little time to actually read about Knol, they'll learn that Google ramped the launch by recruiting armies of university talent to pen an inaugural set of articles (Knols). These are about some of the most pressing medical and dental conditions facing humanity, and a lot more. And this is exactly how I discovered Knol. I was doing research on Leukemia. Knol acquired at least three significant articles -- peer review worthy -- on blood cancers and bone marrow transplantation, and they showed up in my browser. I joined Knol immediately, on July 24, 2008. These legacy authors include noted research professors, MD's, DMD's, DDS's and Ph.D's from top schools. Most of them have earned a ton of page views plus quality awards as top picks. For example, the Chairman of Tufts University's School of Dentistry, Dr. Noshir Mehta, is the top ranked English-language author at Knol. He's penned four popular articles on tooth pain and TMJ, hitting well over 100,000 page views. Together with a growing library of Knols by his university colleagues around the world, this legacy body of work greeted the public upon launch. It also demonstrated the full rich meaning of "a unit of knowledge." Google's launch slogan and elevator speech for Knol is absolutely clear. Today, these Knols hunt extremely well in search. Just Google "tooth pain" for a nibble. By Johnson's argument, an ad for Bose bookshelf speakers is a better deal for Google than any of this academic stuff. Professors of physics and Kantian philosophy, stay away! Based on Google's behavior following the public launch, Will has evidence (some of it self-produced). After all -- and in spite of the care that went into the pre-launch library -- Google has allowed nearly anything and everything to become a Knol. Throwing caution to the wind, Google's content policy is so vague that Will Johnson believes with utter certainty that an ad to sell speakers is "a unit of knowledge." By that logic, Craigslist is the greatest repository of knowledge the world has ever seen, and is not likely to be dislodged anytime soon. I wonder what they know about Leukemia? OK, I've stated the obvious. However, if the Quantcast data is right, Knol is failing. Craigslist-like ads just pour gasoline on the problem. And if Knol fails, thousands of legacy and street authors will be betrayed by Google. I am one of those street authors. Like the legacy guys, I've put my a-- into writing Knols based on deep research and workmanlike conduct. I'm going to be mighty fried if Google pulls that plug. There are several thousand Knol writers like me. What will it take to save Knol? I've been getting the question all day. Two things leap to mind:
- Set up an algorithm that automatically blocks from public view any Knol that fails to achieve a 3-star reader rating within 120 days. No traction, no publication. This just might begin to reverse the Quantcast data as readers learn that they no longer have to hold their nose due to the stench of a rotting mountain of garbage. There are thousands of high rank Knols in the system, written by earnest authors who grok the meaning of "a unit of knowledge."
- Add explicit language to Content Policy to outlaw Knols that are ads. By saying yes to certain "commercial activity," Google is sending mixed and misunderstood signals to naiive writers who continue to believe in a free lunch. Knol's administrative team removes Knols that get flagged all the time. Will Johnson's Craigslist-like Knols (several ads) remain in place even though each has been flagged multiple times. Obviously, they've decided to turn this incident into "research." Or, they are waiting to see if Bose will buy a speaker ad for insertion with the Johnson Knols.
