Tech2know

Google has launched a new toolbar called Sidewiki. The idea behid Sidewiki is to enable people share their thoughts about various pages on web. People visiting the page can add some useful information, their thoughts in Sidewiki and the same can be viewed by others visiting the same page. For example, many people have gone through a number of pages in search of a good antivirus product and gained knowledge about the same. How good would it be if they can share their learning with others who are also searching for antivirus product and visiting the same page. Here comes Sidewiki for help. People can add their knowledge, thoughts in the Sidewiki of the webpages providing useful and concise information to other visitors about the page.

Sidewiki has been released as a part of Google toolbar for Firefox and Internet explorer. Work is going on to make it available for Google Chrome.

Below video gives nice information about Sidewiki.

Now, with the passage of time more and more  visitors will add their thoughts, more information about the topic etc to the page. Quite obviously entries in Sidewiki for the particular page will grow in number. Now the question arises :

In which order the entries in Sidewiki will be displayed to the visitors. Will it be as simple as displaying most recent entries on the top?

The answer is No. Instead of displaying the most recent entries first, Google rank Sidewiki entries using an algorithm that promotes the most useful, high-quality entries. It takes into account feedback from you and other users, previous entries made by the same author and many other signals we developed.

Taking the technology further, your entry about the current page will be taken and shown automatically next to webpages that contain the same snippet of text. For example, an entry on a speech by President Obama will appear on all webpages that include the same quote.

Below is an extract about Sidewiki from Google official blog :

As you browse the web, it’s easy to forget how many people visit the same pages and look for the same information. Whether you’re researching advice on heart disease prevention or looking for museums to visit in New York City, many others have done the same and could have added their knowledge along the way.

What if everyone, from a local expert to a renowned doctor, had an easy way of sharing their insights with you about any page on the web? What if you could add your own insights for others who are passing through?

Now you can. Today, we’re launching Google Sidewiki, which allows you to contribute helpful information next to any webpage. Google Sidewiki appears as a browser sidebar, where you can read and write entries along the side of the page.

That’s it friends.

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