Can social media be a tool for participatory governance in slovak municipalities ?

Abstract

Th is paper presents the fi rst fi ndings of research that focused on the use of social media by Slovak regional towns. Social media, namely Facebook, are considered a powerful tool for various public administration activities that do not relate only to informing citizens, but also having them participate in decision-making and municipality governance. Th e paper points out the ways of social media usage by selected municipalities. Th e research was carried out in the months of February and March 2018 using a special tool for analyzing Facebook pages called Quintly and a questionnaire survey among the employees of the municipalities. Th e results indicate that municipalities use Facebook mainly for ex-ante informing and for asking citizens to vote in various competitions that can help the local government to gain funding for some public services. Calling for participation in decision-making is very limited. Th e paper also shows a comparative perspective that can be used by municipalities but also by other local or even national governments to work further with Facebook and adopt a social media use strategy.