Google Knol is a free online collaborative knowledge database or an experts’ wiki but not an encyclopedia. Knol is not a direct competitor of Wikipedia, at least not in its current version. Wikipedia is anonymous — there is no single editor in charge. In contrast, Knol includes the author name in the URL of the article. Google expects multiple knols on one subject rather than the current Wikipedia model of one article on a subject. The term “knol” (”unit of knowledge”) refers to both the project and an article in the project.

There is a definite focus on medical topics — most of the 300 or so starting “knols” are disease-based and authored by doctors. Will Google Knol be the mythical universal textbook of medicine that Wikipedia never became (and was not meant to be)? UpToDate and eMedicine are close to that concept but UpToDate is prohibitively expensive and management-focused while eMedicine is limited in coverage.

Before you get too excited about Knol, the “universal textbook,” have a look at its front page which lists a wide spectrum of topics: Type 1 Diabetes, Lung Cancer, Tooth Pain, and then suddenly, “Toilet clogs: Solutions for the most common problems.”


Screenshot of Google Knol text editor — much easier to edit than Wikipedia. Image source:
Google Operating System, Creative Commons license.

Search Engine Land says that Knol is a service created by Google’s search quality team. “I do believe Knol does solve a search problem. The problem we have, unlocking what people know and bringing it online. This is another tool to help release some of this knowledge,” explains Cedric Dupont, the product manager for Knol.

Your name is behind your knol, and it should reflect your unique point of view. Be succinct, but comprehensive on your topic of choice. Provide references, and display your credentials. Readers will want to know who you are and gain context on the knols you are writing.”


An expert-written medical knol. Image source:
Google Operating System, Creative Commons license.

Selected medical knols: