Web 2.0 as a megatrend in eGovernment: An empirical analysis of its preconditions and outcomes

Abstract

In recent years, Web 2.0 and social media were such an enormous hype, that today the popularity of these terms seems to be declining already. However, scientists and practitioners in (e)Goverment are still bothered by important questions, like: what is Web 2.0 and should we do something with it? In this paper, we give an extensive description of what Web 2.0 entails and to what degree it is really something ‘new’. Consequently, we analyse the critical preconditions and main outcomes of working with Web 2.0 in governmental organisations. We base our analysis on a worldwide study of real-life cases, which resulted in the discovery of four relevant cases. In these cases we found four critical preconditions for working with Web 2.0, namely: technology, cultural change, training of staff and room for experimentation. Similarly, we found three main outcomes of working with Web 2.0: the 'New World of Work', the relationship with the outside world and the added value of social media. We conclude that Web 2.0 has arrived at a critical point in its development cycle and that, now the time of the hype is over, its true added value needs to surface or the concept and its advocates will slowly fade away.