What Will Google Think of Next?

A co-worker, even more interested in the education world than I am, sent me a link to the description of Google's new invention, a "knol" (unit of knowledge). It is intended to be 'the first thing a person would want to read' about a topic they know nothing about. It's a web page that provides basic knowledge about any topic. Other people can comment on it, use it like a wiki (with the author's permission), or even peer review or rate the knol. It's a really cool idea and opens the door to more than just wikis.

When I read the article, it almost instantly made me start thinking about the possibilities of knols and if I know enough about any topic to actually create a knol. Apparently you have to be invited to be able to use it at this point, but it should be open to the public soon.

I would love to be surrounded by the people who work for Google. They motivate me just by reading about their ideas, I can't imagine how cool it would be to take part in the history I think they'll one day make (and likely already have). I can't wait to try this tool!

Google's news release: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/encouraging-people-to-contribute.html

Wikipedia's definition of a knol: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knol

Example of a knol: http://www.google.com/help/knol_screenshot.html