Helium.com - Democratization of knowledge at its finest

In its initial stages, the internet was praised as the key to democratizing knowledge and making information available to anyone with a computer. Now, user-generated information sites are providing this function by filling the voids between personal blogs, which provide one-sided opinionated articles, and news sites, which are regulated and written by experts with their own personal agendas. Helium operates in a manner similar to Wikipedia, but it differs in its organization, content, and style of writing. The premise is that any given topic should have at least a couple of different articles written about it. Then, users read them and rate them, and according to this system the highest-rated articles make it to the top. Presumably, these articles are ranked so high due to their quality of writing and content.

“Helium is different. We"re on a quest to build the best user-created reference resource there is.

They´ve got a pretty good incentive system on Helium. The better you write, the more likely your article will make it to the top, and the better your chances are that you´ll get some money out of your work. This is sure to encourage serious writers and academics to contribute, giving Helium potential to go to the head of its class in the realm of sites that provide authoritative articles.

Helium is very similar to Wikipedia, which has staked a pretty solid claim among those searching for informative articles. How will Helium compete within the same market?