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Another Not-So New Idea!

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™

[Publisher-in-Chief]

By Hope Rachel Hetico; RN, MHA, CMP™

[Managing Editor]

Just launched in December 2007, Knol is a new online competitor of Wikipedia. And, interestingly, it is becoming a haven for physicians.

According to its Website

A “knoll” is an authoritative article about a specific topic; or “unit of knowledge.”  Knol is limited by invitation to contributors and readers, to-date.

The Wikipedia Difference

In a key departure from Wikipedia’s all-comers sensibility, however, the new service will be edited as a “moderated collaboration”, where any reader can make suggested edits to a knoll, which the author may then choose to accept, reject or modify before becoming visible to the public.

Behemoth Backing

The site is backed by Google®, but the company may not even own its URL.

Our Opinion

As former and current traditional-media publishers, editors, and writers, we love the idea that authors and contributors remain in control of their content. It creates somewhat of a crowd-sourcing buzz to Knol.

And, much like a wiki, there are community tools which allow multiple nodes of interactions between readers and authors; i.e., read, rant, rave or write, etc.

But, the concept and execution is not new, radical or as innovative as its originator’s seem to suggest. And obviously, not so for the healthcare space where doctors, nurses, scientists and researchers, and all sorts of medical providers are used to more stringent peer-review standards.

An Earlier Healthcare Success Story

For example, the Comprehensive Health Dictionary Series™ was started by email collaboration in 2005.  Its genesis sprang from those who suggested that changes in health and managed care appeared malignant, as many industry segments, professionals and patients suffered because of it. This tumult was so great, that many Americans and the HDS founders realized that they could no longer assume definitional stability of non-clinical health administrative terms. The resulting managerial and business chaos was legion.

And so, since knowledge is power in times of great flux, codified information protects us all from physical, economic, financial and emotional harm!

Coupled with a Collaborative Lexicon Query Service™and a modified and moderated interactive social network, we maintained continuous subject-matter expertise, professional and user input, with peer-reviewed editors and experts; just like the Knol of today.

In fact, after our internet and email collaboration, three successful printed dictionaries were ultimately released in 2006 and 2007 as a result of the initial successful initiative; and more are to come in 2008 and 2009.

Detailed information, including Tables of Contents, Celebrity Forewords, unique features, reviews and ordering access may be obtained from: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Assessment

Moderation is also important to keep posting vandals out of any serious knowledge aggregation effort. This moderated and collaborative Executive-Post blog, for example, is attacked at least a dozen times daily; most are usually repelled automatically, but human intervention is constantly required for its posts and comments.

You just can’t lie and get away with impunity; here.

Conclusion

We certainly congratulate the righteous “new” old-school founders of Knol on its recent launch. It may not replace wikipedia as your search engine of choice, but it is nice to have an alternative.

And, doctor-colleagues sure do seem to like it, although a better medical alternative might be MEDSCAPE, MEDDialog, WebMD, or the new Medpedia service [www.medpedia.com], as previously described on the Executive-Post:

Yet, a singular query remains, considering the educational networking phenomena that are electronic blogs, journals, wikis, online diaries, etc. “What took you so long – seriously?

Moreover, we believe the marketing driven advertising nature of the Knoll beast will make its integrity, highly suspect [vis-a-vie Google’s AdSense program].

In other words, if eyeballs can be reached and /or monetized … they can be slanted.

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2008/08/12/

Please opine on this method of edited knowledge aggregation; pro or con. Your comments are appreciated.

Related Information Sources:

Practice Management: http://www.springerpub.com/prod.aspx?prod_id=23759

Physician Financial Planning: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763745790

Medical Risk Management: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763733421

Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

Speaker:If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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Filed under: iMBA, Inc., Information Technology, Op-Editorials, Research & Development | Tagged: knol |