[Search-l] Knol Proves the Importance of Transparency

[Dan Lewis]

That's the topic of today's blog post :)  I'm pasting it below -- but it's
originally at
http://search.wikia.com/blog/2008/07/29/knol-proves-the-importance-of-transparency/

D

***

>From day one of the Wikia Search <http://search.wikia.com/> project, the
Wikia Search community collectively brainstormed the core principles of the
project and, indeed, that search currently lacks and needs.  One of them —
transparency <http://re.search.wikia.com/about/about.html> — is needed now
more than ever.

Last week, Google released it's new content endeavor, Knol — a platform by
which anyone can write up a page about a topic, invite others to help, and
make some pocket change using Google's AdWords platfrom.  Google, of course,
also makes some coin off those AdWords ads, and with the long tail working
to their benefit, can cash in big time.   The only trick?  How to get
traffic to all these new Knol pages.

Well, they happen to have a pretty big search engine — and already, some
people are noticing that Knol entries tend to do well in Google Search
results <http://searchengineland.com/080724-140223.php>.   Jason Calacanis
is probably the perfect person to point out the flaw — he's no fan of ours
here at Wikia Search (snif!) and admits that he's a "Google man" who
"love[s] the Google<http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/7/is-google-a-content-company-of-course-it-is-so-what-should-publishers-do->",
but even he is concerned: Yesterday, his screen shot of "how to
backpack"<http://flickr.com/photos/jasoncalacanis/2699499011/>made its
wa around the web, replete with an ominous tag line, showing that
in just five days, a Knol made it to the top of the relevant search result.

But let's face it, Google is not going to re-write their algorithms to favor
Knol.   It'd be mindbogglingly idiotic to do, and more importantly,
unnecessary.   Why?  Because Knol already has an advantage that you, I, and
the rest of the non-Google world don't have — access to Google's search
team, and to that algorithm itself.

For most people — us average beings — Google recommends that you work with a
Search Engine Optimization specialist
("SEO")<http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35291&topic=8524s>.
No, not explicility, but read that page and you'll see that (a) they don't
directly answer the question as to whether one should hire an SEO and (b)
very little is on point on that page in general.  The small part that is
says this:

A great time to hire [an SEO] is when you're considering a site redesign, or
planning to launch a new site. That way, you and your SEO can ensure that
your site is designed to be search engine-friendly from the bottom up.
However, a good SEO can also help improve an existing site.

But the fact is that SEOs do not know, exactly, how Google's algorithm
works.   Only one company does: Google itself.  And at some point — if it
has not happened already — someone from the Google Search team and someone
from the Google Knol team will get together and give Knol an big lesson in
SEO.   Maybe it will be an explicit, high-level decision.  Maybe it will
just be two people, one from each team, sitting down for lunch with the
Search guy saying "hey, if you want to give your stuff a boost, do <muffled
sounds>."   Maybe it happened six months ago.  Maybe it will happen in three
years.  Who knows?  All we know is two things:

   1. It's only possible because Google hides their algorithm from the
   non-Google world.  If everyone could do it, Knol would have no appreciable
   advantage.
   2. It's inevitable.   Even if Google's corporate powers-that-be mandate
   that the two groups not mix nor mingle, the knowledge that flows through
   those halls will be impossible to shutter.

The solution?

Open source that algorithm, and everyone — include Knol — is on a level
playing field.  All accusations of impropriety go away, and the inevitable
occurrence of Team Knol benefiting from private lessons with Team Search are
instantly moot.

Transparency.  Search demands it.
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