Introduction

In the previous chapter we discussed the Internet and the various things you can do on the Internet. In this chapter we will discuss other electronic sources and resources. There is some overlap between this chapter and Chapter 4 as some of the sources, such as journals, can be in either paper or electronic format. However, in this chapter we focus on those sources that are primarily available in electronic format.

Portals and gateways

Some sources differentiate between the two terms ‘portal’ and ‘gateway’ but in practice the two terms are often used interchangeably. In this book we will use the term ‘portal’. A web portal or gateway refers to a site that provides a single point of access to collections of information and resources on the web. Portals present information from diverse sources in a unified way. There are various kinds of portals such as government portals, regional portals and enterprise portals. Some of these will be discussed below.

A portal can also offer employees or users facilities to share information with each other, for example, through e-mail, blogs and chat rooms. Portals are created for a specific purpose and are usually either directed at a specific audience, deal with a specific topic or bring together information on a specific region or discipline.

Regional portals and gateways

A regional portal is set up to serve specific needs in a geographic region. Regional portals may contain local information such as weather forecasts, street maps and local business information. Examples of regional gateways are:

These sites offer tourist and business information, currency, sights and activities and other information. They offer a single entry point to information one may need either as a citizen or a tourist. Figure 6.2 shows the Johannesburg official site.

Government portals and gateways

Government portals offer information on a particular country for its citizens and other interested parties. The South African Government website is found at http://www.gov.za/. You can search this website. For example, if you go to the option Speeches and Statements you can search according to the date, name of the speaker, words included in the speech, date the speech was given and so on. In the United States the main portal is http://www.usa.gov in English and http://www.gobiemousa.gov in Spanish.