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

Purpose – This study explores 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 – 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.