Not so fast! First off, the new Google Knol (short for unit of knowledge) is not up and running, so switching is not an option yet. And second, you’re actually thinking of giving up on the beloved Wikipedia – say it ain’t so!

Not so fast! First off, the new Google Knol (short for unit of knowledge) is not up and running, so switching is not an option yet. And second, you’re actually thinking of giving up on the beloved Wikipedia – say it ain’t so!

Let’s begin with a short history lesson. Wikipedia was introduced on January 15, 2001, to provide a free online encyclopedia. The idea behind the wiki format – that is, the ability of users to add and edit content collectively – grew from the initial concept where highly-qualified contributors would add content which would be scrutinized though peer review.

That change of focus allowed Wikipedia to blossom and grow at an amazing rate. Wikipedia now boasts over 2 million articles written in English, and scores of others in over 250 languages. With that volume comes inherent reliability issues. Most schools, newspapers, etc. do not consider Wikipedia a legitimate reference resource. Of course, many students do not consider their school or newspaper any more reliable … just kidding, kind of.

Wikipedia has thousands of regular editors. Many are experts in a particular field, and others are just like you and us PropellerHeads, who have some knowledge we wish to share. There are over 1000 volunteer administrators who strive to keep the content in the correct format and to ensure as much as possible that the information is correct.

But with constantly evolving content, the Wikipedia Foundation cannot hope to ever truly ensure the veracity of each submission. Now comes Google Knol, Google’s version of its free encyclopedia.

There are a couple of distinct differences between Wikipedia and Knol. With Knol, a single author writes an article and is solely responsible for its content. Unlike Wikipedia, Knol will not allow readers to edit the articles unless specifically allowed by the author. Knol has sent invitations to authors to grow the content for the site. This is a slow process which may delay Knol’s launch.

But the biggest difference between the rivals is that the Wikipedia Foundation is a non-profit organization, whereas Google and big bucks are as closely linked as peanut butter and jelly.

What does that mean for the average Knol reader? Not much, other than scrolling advertisements and banners on most Knol pages. But we’re all sadly used to that.

What it could mean for Knol contributors is some potential earnings from Google. The catch? You have to agree to let those advertisements show up on your Knol page.

There are purists who will never leave Wikipedia, simply because they don’t want to support the big money machine Google has become. But most of us really don’t care where the information comes from – we just want an answer, and the more resources, the better.

About half of Wikipedia’s visitors get there via Google topic searches. Once Knol is launched (Google has not specified a date), will Wikipedia still figure so prominently in the search results? Your guess is as good as mine.

For now, keep Wikipedia in your favorites list. Heck, you can even enter a search for Google Knol on the Wikipedia site to learn more.