Google has a new thing called “Knol.” Google explains, “… at the heart, a knol is just a web page … will include strong community tools. People will be able to submit comments, questions, edits, additional content, and so on.”

Knol is a tool to build expert network, which “encourages people who know a particular subject to write an authoritative article about it.” It is inevitably seen as a threat to Wikipedia. But since Wiki isn’t my favorite web invention and I don’t like Wiki user interface and the collaboration model, I give Google’s Knol my vote.

Having said that, although Google is in the challenger position, the competition isn’t about Google and Wiki. We also have Squidoo. Squidoo does everything that Knol can do with better presentation than Wiki and more easy to use. Squidoo is described as, “something you should have if you care about getting the word out about something, selling something, changing minds, sharing info, or if you just love to create, express yourself, and play.”

What makes me interested in Squidoo? The marketing guru, Seth Godin, is the man behind it. So I believe Squidoo is created with the marketer DNA. Godin just published an ebook called “Everyone is an expert,” which has something to do with Squidoo. Download your copy on click.

Talking about expert content, it is interesting to look back 10 years ago, we have the first expert content portal called “How Stuff Works (HSW).” It was founded by a former university professor, Marshall Brain. Today HWS still operates with a strong position and is on Times’ “25 sites we can’t live without.” HSW is now a member of the Discovery Communications and remains an expert portal for unbiased creditable content. The Chinese version of HSW is scheduled to debut in 2008.

From HSW to Wiki, to Squidoo and Knol in the future, what we’ve seen here is an interesting shift of the center of influence, moving from first opinion to second opinion. The user experience has also extended from inquiry basis to participatory and contributory basis.

Today I find myself acquiring more information from blog sites than web sites. David Sifry’s State of Blogosphere tracks approximately 70 million weblogs in April 2007, grows at the speed of 120,000 new weblogs being published every day and 17 posts in every second.

All of these have significant meaning to us as a marketer. Because when we know the advocates who are willing to endorse our product with their second opinion, that’s something we are dying for a perfect model of opinion leader.

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