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Introduction
Internet corporate reporting is a prolific area of research in which many substantial results have been obtained. Today the social media and Web 2.0 technologies are considered the "next milestone" in the evolution of corporate information and its analysis by the global financial community. [7] Chu and Xu (2009) have undertaken a bibliometric survey, performed on a set of 1,718 documents relating to Web 2.0, to explore the dimensions and characteristics of this emerging field. The main features of this new paradigm are that, according to their findings, Web 2.0 technology is of the user, by the user, and more importantly, for the user. Terms such as dynamism, interaction, collaboration, participation and trust are essential concepts in this context.
The evolving paradigm of Web 2.0, along with the rise of social networks and virtual communities, provides an opportunity to create places where people learn together and share their experiences ([10] Elia et al. , 2009). From the beginning it is necessary to state a clear distinction between multimedia and Web 2.0. In fact many corporate web sites offer web television and videos. But in many cases it is not possible to interact, offer an opinion, or download these materials to be re-used in other devices. Additionally a clear differentiation must be made between Web 2.0 supporting technologies and the social media as a result of the application of that technology in the current online social environment.
It is worth stressing that the user does not need to have any specific knowledge in order to participate. What we are witnessing is an unprecedented process of technological democratisation. In the context of corporate reporting the main application of the Web 2.0 technologies and the social media is that of corporate dialogue. This concept means that companies can take advantage of the evolution of the capacities of the web so that they can both provide information in much greater detail and of more use to users, and allow users to participate effectively through the use of new platforms. Adopting a corporate dialogue would mean putting aside the current model of unidirectional communication from the corporation to the user, and facilitating multidirectional flows between the stakeholders of any public or private entity (shareholders-owners, managers, employees, customers-users, suppliers, authorities,...