Current Trends in Information Technology

Medij. istraž. (god. 16, br. 2) 2010. (5-42)

IZVORNI ZNANSTVENI RAD

UDK: 316.7:007

Primljeno: travanj 2010.

The Role of Cultural Portals in the Context of Converging Digital Culture

Aleksandra Uzelac*

SUMMARY

THIS ARTICLE INVESTIGATES THE ROLE OF CULTURAL PORTALS IN THE CONTEXT OF CONVERGING DIGITAL CULTURE AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF CONVERGENCE THEORY AND NETWORK REALITY. TODAY DIGITAL TRENDS ARE INCREASINGLY INTERLOPING WITH THE WORLD OF CULTURE AND ARTS, INVOLVING DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF CONVERGENCE OF CULTURES, MEDIA AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES, AND INFLUENCING NEW FORMS OF COMMUNICATION. THIS PROVIDES A CONTEXT FOR DEVELOPING OF NEW WORKING PRACTICES IN CULTURAL SECTOR THAT, IN THE PAST DECADE, HAS BEEN MANIFESTED IN CONSTRUCTION OF CULTURAL PORTALS. THE ARTICLE ANALYSES THE FINDINGS OF AN INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CULTURAL PORTALS THAT THE AUTHOR HAS CONDUCTED ON BEHALF OF THE CULTUREMONDO NETWORK AND THE CULTURELINK NETWORK, IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2009. THE AIM OF THE SURVEY WAS TO LOOK AT CULTURAL PORTALS IN AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT. IT HAS INCORPORATED ANSWERS FROM OVER 100 CULTURAL PORTALS FROM EUROPE, AMERICAS, ASIA, AUSTRALIA AND AFRICA THAT PROVIDED DATA ON THEIR WORKING CONTEXT. BASED ON THE INFORMATION GATHERED IN THE SURVEY, THE ARTICLE EXAMINES TRENDS RELATED TO CULTURAL PORTALS AND THE WAYS CULTURAL SECTOR ADAPT ITSELF TO NEW POSSIBILITIES OFFERED BY DIGITAL NETWORKS. THE FOCUS WAS PUT ON NEW PARTICIPATORY TRENDS, AIMING TO FIND OUT WHETHER THE CULTURAL SECTOR ENGAGES USERS IN THE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT AND WHETHER NEW WORKING PRACTICES HAVE EMERGED.

The findings provided information on standard ways of operation in the domain of cultural portals, and even though they cannot be considered comprehensive, they have provided insights into current trends and challenges related to the development of cultural portals and have placed cultural portals in the context of the overall trends of the developments in digital culture. The research results...