Re: Google as Publisher?

["Joseph J. Esposito" <espositoj@gmail.com>]

I believe it means that authors will have an economic incentive 
to "source" (that is, take from previously existing works) 
material that is under copyright without clearing permission. 
Outsell apparently believes they will do this because the 
copyrighted material may be superior and will yield greater 
readership and thus more advertising revenue.  There is nothing 
in the news that I have seen that indicates how Google will 
police this, though there are precedents emerging in Google's 
YouTube division.  Plenty here to keep the lawyers busy.

Joe Esposito

----- Original Message -----
From: "SANFORD G THATCHER" <sgt3@psu.edu>
To: "Ann Okerson" <ann.okerson@yale.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, December 26, 2007 8:23 AM
Subject: Re: Google as Publisher?

> Does anybody have a clue what the reference to copyright
> enforcement means here?
>
> Sandy Thatcher
> Penn State University Press
>
> > 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.
> >
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