Who Cares for Identity Information in Government 2.0?: An Empirical Study

Abstract

This chapter presents the results of an empirical study on the effects of identity information on government-citizen interaction in government 2.0 applications. It triangulates findings from a survey among government 2.0 users and quantitative and qualitative analyses of Dutch government 2.0 Websites. This reveals the identity information Web 2.0 users want to have of other participants and are willing to provide about themselves, the importance of role information of civil servants, and the relationship of identity information with the interaction level on government 2.0 applications. The results show that, contrary to what the literature suggests, there is no significant correlation between identity information and interaction levels on government 2.0 discussion forums. The findings suggest that government 2.0 initiatives should be designed with a flexible and liberal approach to identity information.