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Portals as a Multidisciplinary field
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Author(s): Natalie Pang (Monash University, Australia), Don Schauder (Monash University, Australia), Tom Denison (Monash University, Australia), Graeme Johanson (Monash University, Australia)and Sanxing Cao (Communication University of China & Nanjing University, China)
Copyright: 2007
Pages: 4
Source title:
Managing Worldwide Operations and Communications with Information Technology
Source Editor(s): Mehdi Khosrow-Pour, D.B.A. (Information Resources Management Association, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-929-8.ch083
ISBN13: 9781599049298
EISBN13: 9781466665378
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Abstract
Portals often fall into two major categories: as a gateway that are purposed for the consolidating services or applications, or they are purposed for community building. In the latter case, extensive communication tools (such as instant messengers, event calendars, message boxes, and forums) are present to facilitate and build networks within the community. It must be noted that these suggested categories do not assume exclusivity – and increasingly there are instances of portals that are built for multiple purposes. Within the various cases of portals, they have been studied, with increasing intensity, with its technological applications, software, and business applications for communities and organisations. The portals that have emerged on the web reflect communal identities of communities; such as www.smartmobs.com, and www.youtube.com. In these cases and others, there is often a core group of people identify themselves as part of that community, and a mechanism for contributions. These contributions and communication tools often cement the communal identities that people in the community share with one another. This paper argues that it is not only technologies that drive the emergence and popularity of portals; but this very sense of commonality that communities share fuels and propels the development and growth of portals. The relevance of the ‘knowledge commons’ within the community is discussed in this regard; a virtual space dedicated to the sharing of understanding, memory, and practical know-how. The paper presents a a case study; a portal that has been commissioned and developing in progress for the purpose of producing ‘advertainment’ content in the upcoming Beijing Humanistic Olympics. While there are immediate outcomes and objectives, the role of the portal in contributing to the establishment of the knowledge commons is discussed.
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