Public information in local context
Jinfo Blog

28th December 2007

Item

Speaking of the power of public sector information, it is important to remember that a very large percentage of such information is not only country-specific, but also mostly produced in the local language(s). While governments are making significant efforts to bring public sector information online, the differences in political systems in different countries mean that places to find specific type of information may vary from country to country. Although that is true in general for non-government information as well, it is especially an important aspect for public sector information. Take China as an example. China is by no means an information void. The question is more of where and how to find the information. Although personal relationships continue to serve as the most important information channels, the Internet is increasingly becoming an appropriate first step for finding various information. It may be best to start with local search engines and directories, or those well localized versions of the big search engines like yahoo.com.cn or google.com.cn. Baidu.com is currently the most dominant search engine in Chinese. When I look for government organizations in Baidu, I quickly get sites like 265.com http://www.265.com/Zhengfu_Zuzhi/ or hao123.com http://www.hao123.com/zjzz.htm with comprehensive lists of government Web sites. Along with the major ministries of the central government hao123.com gives me a map to go to any provincial government sites of interest. The chance is not too bad to trace this path down to news and views of smaller cities and towns. 265.com lists not only the Web sites of the ministries, but also many well known research institutions and specialty agencies of the government as well as subject portals supported by the government directly or indirectly, which can be very helpful to find clues for what to do next. Since the sites listed in these directories are often Chinese-only, it is a serious challenge for those who do not read Chinese. A researcher friend once told me: "I know what I need is on my screen, but what's on my screen means nothing to me". That's exactly the same for me when I face a full screen of Arabic or Korean! Time for creative problem solving, and perhaps chance to rethink the power of information in a global context.

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