E-branding and institutional web sites: The "visiting card" of the municipalities of Rome and Paris

The research presented in this chapter is at the intersection of two large research programs designed and directed by de Rosa, both inspired by the Social Representations Theory: the first is aimed at mapping and comparing both representational and experiential imagery dimensions of tourists and citizens interacting with European historical capitals; the second explores the contribution of new internet based communicational systems to psychosocial research under different forms and through different channels, with a focus on communication applied to the field of tourism. In particular, this chapter presents the analysis of the municipal web sites of two historical capitals, Rome and Paris, considered as the Visiting Cards these two cities offer citizens and tourists. In order to study the contents of both institutional web sites (www.comune.roma.it and www.paris.fr), a multi-method approach has been applied and in particular: the use of a grid designed by de Rosa & Picone, Nielsen's usability test, and the Atlas/ti program for a qualitative analysis of both web sites in two versions downloaded simultaneously. The use of the three tools has enabled the identification and comparison of the elements that characterize the web sites of the Municipalities of Rome (analyzed lengthwise in time, comparing the versions downloaded in June 2003 and April 2004, with a replication of the usability test in November 2004) and of Paris (downloaded the first of April 2004 the same day of the Roman web site, with which it was compared). The analyses have allowed to highlight aspects related to contents, structure, and several technical elements important from a user's point of view (graphics, interactivity and usability in particular), emphasizing strengths and weaknesses. Other than the descriptive value and the possible function of guiding web professionals and institutional communication managers of the city, the results presented in this chapter have a historical value (given the volatility and dynamicity of web sites, like many other Internet environments) with respect to the evolution towards web 2.0 scenarios, assuming a particular interest for further comparative analysis with 2010 web sites, currently under investigation. © 2012, IGI Global.