Research On The Function Of Social Network In Public Policy Process

With the establishment and development of the market economic system, social structure began to differentiate, the diverse pattern of interests has been formed, the democratic political consciousness of the public began to awaken. In order to safeguard their own interests, the public are eager to participate in the public policy process. The rise of Social Networking Services(SNS) meets the needs of the public, reducing the barriers to the public participating in politics. SNS provides a platform to the public to express their interest demands, and to participate in public affairs, making a huge impact on the public policy process.As an emerging social media, SNS has a strong information dissemination capabilities. It’s a new generation of network opinion amplifier, which can quickly focus the topics, guide the public opinions, and eventually influence government policy.At first, this paper introduces the characteristics, the theoretical basis and the development process of SNS, reveals the difference between SNS and traditional Internet applications for their remarkable success. This paper analyzes the reasons of SNS to influence public policy process. On the one hand, with the development of democratic politics, the public need SNS to enhance the ability to participate in politics. On the other hand, in order to achieve the goal, public policy requires that the participation of the public. This paper analyzes three cases to explore the impact of SNS on the three aspects of the public policy process, such as policy-making and policy implementation. SNS can effectively promote the public policy process, and improve the ability of the public’s participation and enthusiasm.Although there are some shortcomings about SNS, the positive role played by SNS in the public policy process is more important than the negative impact. Government should be adjusted to take advantage of SNS to concern the public opinion on internet, guide the public opinion, and eventually enhance the governance capability of the government.