Abstract:
This article explores the utilisation of social media to increase public
value. It focuses on the Department of Communication and Information
System (GCIS) and its utilisation of Twitter, particularly the South African
Government Twitter account – @GovernmentZA. Social media is discussed within the context of public administration, highlighting its use as
part of Government 2.0 and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Within
the statutory and regulatory frameworks, public servants are expected to
place the needs of the citizenry first. Furthermore, citizens are entitled
to access information, participate in democratic processes and express
their views. Social media provides a platform through which all of these
expectations can be realised.
The study relied on qualitative research methods, which included semistructured interviews with GCIS employees, the tweets collected from @
GovernmentZA and citizens’ responses. Secondary data was gathered from
books, journals, Twitter, policy documents, relevant legislation, published
articles, the internet and annual reports to acquire knowledge and insight to
respond to the study’s objectives. The study utilised a thematic analysis to
identify themes in the data related to public value. The data was analysed
through ATLAS.ti.
