• Google Knol is a feature from the search engine Google with the goal "to encourage people who know a particular subject to write an authoritative article about it."The Official Google Blog: Encouraging People to Contribute Knowledge (December 13, 2007) With Knol, Google is allowing users to write informational articles on all kinds of topics, from do-it-yoursef and how-to instructions to medical tips and information.

• 1. Announced December 13, 2007
  2. Unveiled July 23, 2008
  3. Knol not only refers to the service, but the articles themselves are called "knols"The Official Google Blog: Encouraging People to Contribute Knowledge (December 13, 2007)
  4. Each knol written by a single author; multiple articles on same topic allowedThe Washington Post: Google Launches Its Challenge To Wikipedia... (July 23, 2008)
  5. Must have a Google account to write a knol
  6. Users must be at least 13 years of ageOfficial Site: Terms of Service
  7. Has been interpreted as Google's competitor to WikipediaThe Washington Post: Google Launches Its Challenge To Wikipedia... (July 23, 2008)
  8. A "Knol" is a single unit of knowledge

• Quote

  "The key idea behind the knol project is to highlight authors. Books have authors' names right on the cover, news articles have bylines, scientific articles always have authors - but somehow the web evolved without a strong standard to keep authors names highlighted. We believe that knowing who wrote what will significantly help users make better use of web content."—Udi Manber, Google VP of EngineeringThe Official Google Blog: Encouraging People to Contribute Knowledge (December 13, 2007)

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