Twitter as a communication tool for local administrations: The cases of São Paulo and Madrid municipalities

Abstract

The development of interactive digital tools has prompted a raft of changes in the traditional model of communication, replacing vertical and unidirectional discourse for a shared content construction on the Internet. Nowadays, networks and social media related to the web 2.0 promote closeness between all parties involved in the communication process. Local administrations are also affected by the new interactive channels, having to adapt themselves to the demands of citizen-users. The present research mainly aims to compare, using an approximate analysis, the use of Twitter by the City Halls of two emblematic cities: São Paulo (Brazil) and Madrid (Spain). A web content analysis on a sample of tweets posted on the official Twitter account of the two City Halls has been conducted. The study reveals an under-use of communication and interactive resources at this microblogging platform, with accounts transformed in mere shop windows especially destined to generate traffic to the websites in each municipality.