Portuguese municipal institutions and their adoption of 2.0 technologies: proposal of a Social Web Indicator

The aim of the study is to measure the adoption, by Portuguese municipalities, of 2.0 technologies as part of their digital communication strategy. Therefore, and after making a content analysis of the 308 websites of the country, a Social Web Indicator (SWI) was created which, in addition to offering a vision of its whole, allowed us to identify those elements, whether demographical, economical, geographical, technological or political, affect to a greater extent this adoption. The results indicate that social networks, especially Facebook, are the most widespread element; and that the key factors to implement the 2.0 tools, significantly relate to the parameters of technological development of the locality, as well as its budget and population. These factors point to the coast and, more specifically, to the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon as the geographical sector more highlighted, with regard to the use of Collaborative Web in its e-Government. At an ideological level, however, there are no differences among municipalities ruled by left or right parties in considering the examined functionalities.