Social media in public sector

Public administration has changed in the last 20 years. The Internet has played an important role in this transformation, leading to an increasing use of online media, such as websites, social networking sites, and the blogs by the government for various public communications aims.

Also the citizens’ demands toward public administrations has radically changed in the last few years. Indeed, ministries, regions, municipalities, and public entities in general have to interact with increasingly demanding and aware citizens that are not satisfied with acceptable services in average times but demand clear, specific, rapid, and tailor-made responses.

Public entities, in any case, should be able to provide “traceable” responses that are clear and related to specific standards of quality.

To pay a tax, enrol the children to day care, run a business, and search for travel information are all activities that can be done on a website or questioning a social media platform like Facebook and Twitter. Citizens who log in to a web portal can access the website’s services and get, through the portal itself, specific and immediate responses.