Re: Google as Publisher?

["SANFORD G THATCHER" <sgt3@psu.edu>]

Does anybody have a clue what the reference to copyright 
enforcement means here?

Sandy Thatcher
Penn State University Press

On Mon, Dec 24, 2007 01:37 PM, Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu> wrote:

> This excerpt from the most recent Outsell newsletter may be of interest.
>Ann Okerson
>
>____
>
>From: Outsell Insights December 21, 2007
>
>It's Official! Google Launches a Publishing Entity
>by Ned May, Director & Lead Analyst - Boston, Massachusetts
>
>* Google's new "knol" initiative signals the company's intent to
>become a publisher.
>
>Important Details: In typical fashion, Google quietly announced, 
>via a posting on its corporate blog, another new initiative. 
>This one involves "knols", which Google defines as 'a unit of 
>knowledge'. This new offering is intended to: "... encourage 
>people who know a particular subject to write an authoritative 
>article about it"; in return for these contributions, Google 
>will share 50% of any associated advertising revenue. Authors 
>can choose whether or not they want advertising associated with 
>the content which they have created.  Despite the blog post 
>being titled "Encouraging people to contribute knowledge", the 
>intent of the company should be clear. Google is going to 
>directly solicit, market, and deliver original content - i.e. 
>Google is becoming a publisher.
>
>[SNIP]
>
>Google will not be exerting any editorial control and so must 
>depend on the wisdom of the crowds to self police. Yet unlike 
>Wikipedia, multiple entries - and thus viewpoints, will be 
>allowed for any topic. That approach removes the benefit of 
>crowds policing the community and will likely result in an 
>information riot. There should also be serious concerns raised 
>regarding enforcement of copyright. If individuals are rewarded 
>directly for having the most informative page, there will be 
>tremendous incentive for them to source that information in the 
>quickest of ways.
>
>But focusing on why it might not work should again not detract 
>from what it is. Knol is Google's new publishing arm - with the 
>potential to dis-aggregate everyone from the information 
>marketplace except those who write and those who read.
>
>[SNIP]
>
>Copyright 2007 Outsell, Inc. All rights reserved.
>
>Outsell, Inc.
>330 Primrose Rd., Suite 510 | Burlingame | CA | 94010 | USA
>Tel: +1 650-342-6060 | Fax: +1 650-342-7135
>7-15 Rosebery Avenue | London | EC1R 4SP | UK
>Tel: +44 (0) 20 7837 3345 | Fax: +44 (0) 20 7837 8901
>http://www.outsellinc.com
>
>
>
>



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<DIV>Does anybody have a clue what the reference to copyright enforcement means
here?<BR><BR>On Mon, Dec 24, 2007 01:37 PM, <B>Ann Okerson
&lt;ann.okerson@yale.edu&gt;</B> wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE id=quoted_response style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px;
MARGIN-LEFT: 3px; BORDER-LEFT: #000 1px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<PRE>
This excerpt from the most recent Outsell newsletter may be of interest.
Ann Okerson

____

From: Outsell Insights December 21, 2007

It's Official! Google Launches a Publishing Entity
by Ned May, Director &amp; Lead Analyst - Boston, Massachusetts

* Google's new "knol" initiative signals the company's intent to
become a publisher.

Important Details: In typical fashion, Google quietly announced,
via a posting on its corporate blog, another new initiative. This
one involves "knols", which Google defines as 'a unit of
knowledge'. This new offering is intended to: "... encourage
people who know a particular subject to write an authoritative
article about it"; in return for these contributions, Google will
share 50% of any associated advertising revenue. Authors can
choose whether or not they want advertising associated with the
content which they have created.  Despite the blog post being
titled "Encouraging people to contribute knowledge", the intent
of the company should be clear. Google is going to directly
solicit, market, and deliver original content - i.e. Google is
becoming a publisher.

[SNIP]

Google will not be exerting any editorial control and so must
depend on the wisdom of the crowds to self police. Yet unlike
Wikipedia, multiple entries - and thus viewpoints, will be
allowed for any topic. That approach removes the benefit of
crowds policing the community and will likely result in an
information riot. There should also be serious concerns raised
regarding enforcement of copyright. If individuals are rewarded
directly for having the most informative page, there will be
tremendous incentive for them to source that information in the
quickest of ways.

But focusing on why it might not work should again not detract
from what it is. Knol is Google's new publishing arm - with the
potential to dis-aggregate everyone from the information
marketplace except those who write and those who read.

[SNIP]

Copyright 2007 Outsell, Inc. All rights reserved.

Outsell, Inc.
330 Primrose Rd., Suite 510 | Burlingame | CA | 94010 | USA
Tel: +1 650-342-6060 | Fax: +1 650-342-7135
7-15 Rosebery Avenue | London | EC1R 4SP | UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7837 3345 | Fax: +44 (0) 20 7837 8901
http://www.outsellinc.com