Does anybody have a clue what the reference to copyright
enforcement means here?
Sandy Thatcher
Penn State University Press
From: Outsell Insights December 21, 2007
It's Official! Google Launches a Publishing Entity by Ned May,
Director & Lead Analyst - Boston, Massachusetts
* Google's new "knol" initiative signals the company's intent
to become a publisher.
Important Details: In typical fashion, Google quietly
announced, via a posting on its corporate blog, another new
initiative. This one involves "knols", which Google defines as
'a unit of knowledge'. This new offering is intended to: "...
encourage people who know a particular subject to write an
authoritative article about it"; in return for these
contributions, Google will share 50% of any associated
advertising revenue. Authors can choose whether or not they
want advertising associated with the content which they have
created. Despite the blog post being titled "Encouraging
people to contribute knowledge", the intent of the company
should be clear. Google is going to directly solicit, market,
and deliver original content - i.e. Google is becoming a
publisher.
[SNIP]
Google will not be exerting any editorial control and so must
depend on the wisdom of the crowds to self police. Yet unlike
Wikipedia, multiple entries - and thus viewpoints, will be
allowed for any topic. That approach removes the benefit of
crowds policing the community and will likely result in an
information riot. There should also be serious concerns raised
regarding enforcement of copyright. If individuals are rewarded
directly for having the most informative page, there will be
tremendous incentive for them to source that information in the
quickest of ways.
But focusing on why it might not work should again not detract
from what it is. Knol is Google's new publishing arm - with the
potential to dis-aggregate everyone from the information
marketplace except those who write and those who read.
[SNIP]
Copyright 2007 Outsell, Inc. All rights reserved.
Outsell, Inc.
330 Primrose Rd., Suite 510 | Burlingame | CA | 94010 | USA
Tel: +1 650-342-6060 | Fax: +1 650-342-7135
7-15 Rosebery Avenue | London | EC1R 4SP | UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7837 3345 | Fax: +44 (0) 20 7837 8901
http://www.outsellinc.com