Google is taking direct aim at the Wikipedia model with their new product offering dubbed ‘Knol’. One of the big differences in the sites is anonymity. The author of the content will be a central focus of the content posted for Google’s new product. After submission, the community will have the opportunity to provide feedback, ratings and feedback which the author can decide to accept or reject. I anticipate this to be another distribution channel for Google’s ads, although Google seems to be downplaying that aspect of the product.

From an SEO perspective, Udi Manber, the Google lead on the project, has stated that the pages will not be given any extra weight within the organic listings. “Google will give no special weight to these pages; if they rank, they rank because they compete with other pages and win the algorithm race.”

Kol is another free Google offering providing content authors a tool to use for sharing content. Other free publishing tools in the Google marketplace include Blogger and Google Page Creator.

Ironic as it is – here is a link to the Wikipedia page for the new Google offering along with a few other articles discussing the topic.

Google’s Wiki-Killer – IMedia Connection

Google Knol – Search Engine Land