From e-government to social government: Twitter use by Korea's central government

• Published in: Online information review Vol. 38; no. 1; pp. 95 - 113
• Main Authors: Feroz Khan, Gohar, Young Yoon, Ho, Kim, Jiyoung, Woo Park, Han
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Group Publishing Limited 01.01.2014; Emerald
• Subjects: Blogs; Classification; Collaboration; Delivery Systems; Electronic government; Exact sciences and technology; Feasibility Studies; Government (Administrative Body); Government agencies; Information and communication sciences; Information behaviour & retrieval; Information science. Documentation; Library & information science; Library and information science. General aspects; Literature Reviews; Participation; Planning; Public Agencies; Public sector; Sciences and techniques of general use; Social Media; Social networks; Social research; South Korea; Studies; Web 2.0 Technologies; Websites; Korea; Twitter; South Korea; Networking; Government; Social media; Social government; Use; Mass media; Electronic government
• ISSN: 1468-4527; 1468-4535
• DOI: 10.1108/OIR-09-2012-0162

Purpose – This study aims to explore Twitter use by Korea's central government by classifying the government's Twitter-based networking strategies into government-to-citizen (G2C) and government-to-government (G2G) strategies. Design/methodology/approach – The study investigates the nature of social media interactions and networking strategies in the Korean government by extracting tweets, follower/following relationships, and hyperlinks for 32 ministries. Network patterns and networking strategies are reviewed through descriptive statistical analysis and social network analysis to map the government's Twitter activity. Findings – The results indicate that the government's direct networking strategy targeting citizens does not necessarily motivate their participation in the government's social media activities but that it plays an instrumental role in reinforcing G2G relationships. Originality/value – This study investigates the social media use patterns (e.g. network properties and co-link analyses) and strategies (e.g. the reciprocity of relationships and content-push strategies) in the context of G2C and G2G relationships in Korea's public sector.