Abstract
This chapter on adoption and use of Web 2.0 technologies by local governments in Pennsylvania represents a part of an ongoing research project to investigate the nature and extent of collaborative initiatives between public and academic institutions in small college towns in support of e-government innovation. In this research, e-government is approached as a sociotechnical, dynamic system situated within a complex context (people, technology, and location). The case study was guided by a combination of socio-technical theory and grounded theory. A study of one municipality in Central Pennsylvania (USA) revealed the transformative potential of e-government through the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies. The municipal social media toolbox offered citizens a variety of complementary yet unique ways (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) to stay connected with their municipal government and its various departments. The study identified four major purposes of social media integration, including emergency notification, citizen participation, public safety, and promotion of the official municipal website. This case represents a continuum of e-government adoption and municipal transformation from addressing problems and challenges along the way to finding successful solutions.
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Notes
- 1.
According to World Internet Stats (http://www.internetworldstats.com/america.htm#us), on 30 September 2012, there were 166,029,240 Facebook subscribers, with penetration rate of 52.9 %.
- 2.
Based on modified Gumprecht’s (2008) classification of American college towns.
- 3.
Codes of Ordinances of the Borough of State College, https://pastatecollege2.civicplus.com/index.aspx?NID=1276.
- 4.
The municipality operates under the terms and provisions of the Home Rule Charter since 1976.
- 5.
- 6.
Pennsylvania State University—University Park, http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/pennsylvania-state-university-university-park-6965.
- 7.
Alliance for Innovation (http://transformgov.org/en/home is an international network of progressive governments and partners committed to transforming local government by accelerating the development and dissemination of innovations).
- 8.
Civic Plus (http://www.civicplus.com), the leading developer of government websites and online community engagement systems.
- 9.
Peak Democracy (http://www.peakdemocracy.com) develops Internet software that augments and diversifies online civic engagement in ways that can increase public trust in government.
- 10.
State College YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/StateCollegeBorough.
- 11.
State College Crime Map, http://youtu.be/hEyQ9FnIylI.
- 12.
State College Police Crime Reports, http://www.statecollegepa.us/index.aspx?nid=27.
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Levy, A., Trauth, E., Bagby, J. (2015). Moving Toward Web 2.0-Enhanced E-Government in Small-Town Pennsylvania. In: Boughzala, I., Janssen, M., Assar, S. (eds) Case Studies in e-Government 2.0. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08081-9_3
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