What is Google Knol?

If you’ve come across Google’s Knol, you might be asking yourself, “Just what is Google Knol?” The goal of Google Knol is to put you in control of sharing your expertise with the world. According to Google, a knol is a single unit of knowledge, and the Google Knol is a platform for sharing that knowledge. So what is Google Knol? Is it a wiki? Or is it something else?

Google Knol is actually more like web hubs such as Squidoo and Hubpages that allow you to publish a web page covering a single subject. But it does have some wiki elements. For example, you can open up your Google Knol to a team of people for collaboration or even open it up to the public at large. This means you don’t have to author your Knol by yourself. You can be part of a team.

How Do I Create a Google Knol?

Getting started with Google Knol is a simple process. The only thing you need to begin is a Google Account. Once you sign into your account, you can start writing your Knol by clicking on the big “Write a Knol” button in the upper right corner of the home page. To make it easy, this button exists on most pages in Google Knol, so you can start writing your own Knol from almost anywhere.

The process of writing a Knol is very simple. You are provided with a WYSIWYG editor, and except for a few tidbits like a title and a summary, you do most of your work writing your Knol just as you might write something in Microsoft Word.

For those who are familiar with HTML, you can also see and edit the code directly. You can even create your own styles. This gives Google Knol a flexibility that goes beyond wikis or other web hubs.
Why Would I Use Google Knol?

There are many different reasons to being using Google Knol. If you like sharing what you know, Google Knol is an excellent choice along with wikis and other web hubs. Google Knol is also great for those wanting to create a web hub with a small team of people but don’t want to open it up to the entire world.

Here are a few ideas for using Google Knol:

* Writing about something you are an expert on
* Sharing your love and knowledge of a hobby
* Creating your own personal web page all about you
* Promoting a product or an event
* Answering a frequently asked question or dispelling an urban myth
* Making a little extra money by putting advertisements on your Google Knol