| The new Google knol may be the most lucrative | | | | Google. So it's possible, if a knol is on a particularly |
| opportunity yet for authors who want to make | | | | popular subject, for example, money or health and |
| money writing online. | | | | medicine, that a single knol might be visited MILLIONS |
| The internet giant's new project offers experts in all | | | | of times worldwide every day. |
| areas the opportunity to write authored "knols" or | | | | AdSense pays members of its program money |
| "Units of Knowledge" on their specialist subjects. In | | | | every time someone clicks on their adverts. (The |
| time these will accumulate to create a vast new, | | | | amount is a percentage of the Pay Per Click fee the |
| expert-led encyclopedia, an alternative version of | | | | advertiser has paid. The more popular and lucrative |
| Wikipedia, the Web's most successful - if flawed - | | | | commercially the term, the higher the fee. Terms like |
| communal knowledge base. | | | | insurance, credit card and medical related words are |
| The project's potential is clearly limitless. As the man | | | | the most expensive.) |
| who dreamt it up, Google's VP of Engineering, Udi | | | | The amount of clicks varies enormously, but it's not |
| Manber put it in launching in December 2007: | | | | uncommon for 1 per cent of visitors to leave a |
| "There are millions of people who possess useful | | | | website via a Google advert. You only have to do |
| knowledge that they would love to share, and there | | | | the maths on this to see why Manber said knol |
| are billions of people who can benefit from it. We | | | | authors could make "substantial revenue". This might |
| believe that many do not share that knowledge | | | | be the understatement of the new century. |
| today simply because it is not easy enough to do | | | | |
| that." | | | | This is the internet. Aren't all sorts of people going to |
| After an "invite only" testing period, the site was | | | | try to pass themselves off as "experts" to take |
| opened up to the world in late July. Already new | | | | advantage of this? Isn't there going to be some kind |
| knols are being posted on a daily basis, on subjects | | | | of knol-rush? |
| from diabetes to debt consolidation, from plastic | | | | I think the answer to this is yes and no. Yes, there |
| surgery to pizza making. Experts from around the | | | | will be those who will knock out "cut and paste" knols |
| world are contributing well-sourced, readable and | | | | on lucrative AdSense subjects for a quick return. You |
| authoritative knols. | | | | can see them at the knol website already. Apparently |
| | | | there is also someone on the internet who was |
| This is all very worthy and interesting, but how will I | | | | offering some kind of automatic knol word generator |
| make money from writing a knol? | | | | within days of the knol site going live. |
| Well that's simple. Advertising. When he introduced | | | | But they won't prosper for long, if at all. Google have |
| knol in December, Manber said: | | | | their reputation as the world's biggest and most |
| "At the discretion of the author, a knol may include | | | | reliable search engine to protect and say they will |
| ads. If an author chooses to include ads, Google will | | | | rank the best and most authoritative knols according |
| provide the author with substantial revenue share | | | | to their quality. They can't allow dubious or ill-informed |
| from the proceeds of those ads." | | | | pieces to outrank, say, a Wikipedia entry on the |
| The advertising Manber was referring to here is | | | | same subject, unless those knols merit it. With this in |
| AdSense, Google's in-house advertising program | | | | mind there is also a public access rating system that |
| which all knol authors are free to enable when they | | | | will quickly weed out the well-written wheat from the |
| contribute. Knols enabled with the AdSense program | | | | opportunistic chaff. |
| carry a small number of "search for content" adverts | | | | Nothing in this writing life is certain. The knol project |
| - typically two - placed by companies or organisations | | | | may not develop as Google hope. (Although I doubt |
| in related areas. If you were to write a knol about, | | | | it.) What is certain for now, however, is that it |
| let's say, the principles of sailing, the ads would, in all | | | | represents a great opportunity for qualified, |
| likelihood, be for sailing courses, yachts, wetsuits, | | | | authoritative authors, especially in the non-fiction |
| sailing holidays and other sailing related products. | | | | area, to make some potentially significant money. |
| | | | As everyone on the Web keeps saying "content is |
| Fine, but isn't the money authors will earn from this | | | | king". If you are a king (or queen) of content I have |
| going to be little more than loose change? | | | | a feeling you will thrive in an environment where Knol |
| Well, no. The aim is to make knols the first organic | | | | Edge is power. |
| entries Web users see when they search a term on | | | | Who knows, you may even become a knolionaire? |