What A Slacker!

Give Google Your Knowledge

Add comment January 2nd, 2008

Google is trying to take over the wikipedia market with their new Google KNOL [unit of knowledge] site. The new site seems to be a cross between wikipedia and about.com’s formats. It will contain numerous articles on topics written by experts on that topic. Unlike wikipedia the public at large will not be able to edit the information in the article only comment on it. This good news for us as it makes the information on the site more reliable than wiki’s. The author is now held responsible for what they write as they should be. Share your knowledge with the world but beware everyone else is too.

Which brings me to the big problem. Google will of course be ranking all these pages in their search engine so everyone and their brother will be writing half-assed articles to eat up the keywords. So while this might take something away from wiki I don’t think it will hurt About.com as the test their writers and actually hire them to do the writing with only one writer on one topic they control the potential onslaught that Google will be facing. As Rachel Luxemburg has said this is going to get ugly.

Got a Green Thumb? Got a Group? Check Out Project Orange Thumb

Add comment January 2nd, 2008

I already knew Fiskars made great scissors, but I did not know they also made gardening tools too. According to their website they are offering a grant to gardening groups to help with community beautification and education. The program is called Project Orange Thumb. (Get it? It is a cross between the company’s colors – black and orange — and having a green thumb. Get it now?) Only groups are eligible for this grant. So if you know of or are part of a gardening group and you have a project that is geared toward community involvement, horticultural education, sustainable agriculture, or neighborhood improvement you are invited to apply for the grant. No individuals are allowed to apply, as this is a grant for groups and not a sweepstakes. This is a great opportunity for schools, garden clubs, camps, youth groups, or other clubs.

Applying for this grant sounds almost as much fun as winning it. You have to completely describe your idea and goals for the project and what you hope to accomplish with your project. If you win you have to keep a journal, write in gardening blogs and photograph your group and project. (Sounds like a great way to get a bunch of bloggers out of the house and into a garden.)

So what do you win for all your hard work? Your group will get $1500 worth of Fiskars gardening equipment and $800 in garden-related materials. (I assume that means plants, seeds, soil, mulch, fertilizers and the like.)

So show the world how green you can be and go out and make your neighborhood more attractive. Who knows this could be you next year.