What’s the Golf Coast?

The area roughly between Longniddry and Whitekirk that enjoys a lot of things in common. This gives the Portal a big enough catchment area to make it worthwhile. And it will help the communities in the area to benefit from a widely recognised branding.

Why do I have to register?

There are security issues with the items where the public has direct access – Forum, Notice Board, Events Calendar and Guest Book – which require us to know who is posting items on them, even though we do not reveal this information on the Portal. Also, this is the only way that we can build a database of people who are interested in the Portal, for our own records and for Portal items such as our email Newsletter, as well as to inform subscribers of special offers from our local businesses.

Will I be inundated with emails from the Portal?

The data you give us in the Registration process will be securely held by us and not revealed to anyone. We may email you about the Portal, and in particular we will send you our Newsletters giving you information about the Portal and its activities that will be of interest to you. We may also provide an e-marketing service to help our local business-people to promote their businesses. However, your individual email address will not be revealed to them.

Can I have my name removed from your database?

Every marketing email from us to you will provide you with the facility to instruct us to desist from sending you future such emails. We will immediately withdraw your email address from the marketing database and you will receive no further marketing communications from us. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for details of our commitment to you in this regard.

Is the Portal mainly for tourists?

The Portal has two markets – internal and external. The internal market is all you good folks in the Golf Coast who are part of the very fabric of the Portal. The external market is all those folks in the rest of Scotland, the UK, and the rest of the world who will be forming their opinions of us by visiting the Portal. As you can see, items such as the Forum, the Notice Board, Events Calendar, Survey, OhMyWord!, local organisations listings etc etc are focused on the people of the Golf Coast. But of course, visitors to the Golf Coast are important to us and we provide visitor info accordingly.

Who actually owns the Portal?

The Portal is a venture of North Berwick and District Business Association. Akin to a company subsidiary, the Portal has its own management team who have the responsibility and the authority to develop the Portal. It is a self-funding venture – we have no call on the public purse. It is a business venture, generating its own income stream from the services it offers to businesses. It is a not-for-profit venture – any surplus funds are re-invested in the further development of the Portal.

Who actually runs the Portal?
The Business Association have appointed the Portal Director to be responsible for the Portal. He has a clear remit and can get on with the job, reporting back to the association from time to time. The Director appoints his management team to help him – Content Editor, Technical Support, Administration, Marketing etc. All these people, including the Director, are volunteers – giving up their valuable time to do something really meaningful for you and everyone in the Golf Coast.

Why should I be interested?

The Internet and its commercial application the World Wide Web are new technologies that are changing our lives – everyone is affected in one way or another. If you are in the Golf Coast, this is your opportunity to become familiar with the use of the Web at a local level, and also to get ahead of many others who are still holding back because of uncertainty in their own minds, or unwillingness to accept the inevitable. The Portal enables you to support your local businesses who will increasingly struggle to compete with online businesses.

Is it only for the North Berwick area?

The Portal has been created by, and is run in the interests of, the Golf Coast between Longniddry and Whitekirk, including Drem, Gullane, Fenton Barns, Aberlady, East Fortune and Kingston as well as all the other hamlets and individual farms, houses and businesses spread throughout the area. We are rolling the Portal’s facilities out for North Berwick first, then when we are ready we will target all the other parts of the area, giving everyone and every organisation in the area the opportunity to benefit from the Portal.

What about other parts of the County?

We welcome interest from other parts of East Lothian, especially businesses who want to take advantage of the benefits. In due course, we will be glad to roll out the Portal to other parts of the County – so that everyone in East Lothian will be able to benefit from our business model.

I’m not sure – I would need some help

You and thousands of others need a little guidance and advice to maximise the absorbing interest that is the Internet, and the local benefits offered by the Portal. Just click on our Service Providers button at the foot of the Home Page for good free advice to point you in the right direction. [More coming]

Is the Portal a Council thing?

No – it is a private venture owned by the North Berwick Business Association and managed by a professional team of volunteers on a self-sustaining basis. We are not-for-profit, but equally we have no claim on the public purse.

We already have a local website for our town/village

Clearly, village life at the micro level is best handled by village people. Our macro focus is designed to achieve a broad level of joined up attitudes amongst all the people and organisations of the Golf Coast. This gives us the critical mass needed to underwrite our size and vision, the range of services we offer, and the ever-changing items of interest that keep people coming back. Also our macro vision addresses the opportunity to benefit from our world-class status which is based on perceptions of the Golf Coast as a whole rather than individual places within the Golf Coast.