At a time of severe economic crisis, in which citizens' trust in institutions tends to fall sharply, consideration could be given to the role played by digital public communication in the new paths of transparency and accountability by public administrations, recently launched in Italy and Europe. An analysis of some best practices shows that processes such as open data, e-participation, responsible use of the social and participatory media, may give rise to a greater connection between citizens and institutions (micro-macro link) and may be used to create a "shared" administration. At the same time, considerable critical issues are evident, including those of "attribution of sense" and of the usability of data in the network, as well as the question of second-level digital divide.