Contents

- Introduction

- Request procedure

- Language use

- Open licences

- Facebook

- Twitter

- Tuenti

- Linkedin

- YouTube

- Flickr

- Slideshare

- Delicious

- Geolocation

- Blogs

- Content managers

- Basic vocabulary

- Annexe I: bibliography

- Annex II: registration procedure

- Annex III: Graphic image on social networks

- Legal warning

Introduction

About the Usage and Style Guide of Social Networks

This Usage and Style Guide of Social Networks is composed of an introduction, which gives an overview of the social network universe today and puts the presence of the Basque Government on the various social networks into context; it also lays a foundation for this presence, as well as the presence of Basque Government personnel on the social networks.

It also details the procedure for opening accounts in social networks, and the rules and use of language to which we must abide.

We will devote a chapter to each Social Network in which the Basque Government has decided to have a corporate presence, as well as those which, by their sectoral interest, may be attractive to any department.

Each of the chapters will have an introduction to the Social Network in question, the most important aspects relating to configuration and content and a brief outline of the basic guidelines for managing it with sufficient ease.

What are social networks?

Social Networks are activities, practices and behaviours that occur between user communities coming together through the Internet and sharing information, knowledge and opinions using these conversational mediums. These mediums are web applications that enable easy content creation and transmission of various kinds (text, photos, video or audio)#. This interaction has been given the name Web 2.0, as opposed to the static Internet of the 90's.

Social Networks constitute a new way of interacting with citizens, as equals, which is added to traditional communication mediums, which let you publish, without intermediaries, communications, presentations, guidance, competitions, etc and obtain immediate feedback. In this sense, they should form part of the communication strategy of the various departments.

The Basque Government on social networks

The use of Social Networks on the Internet is changing the way we communicate in our personal and professional sphere.

If we focus on the professional sphere, the current situation favours the move towards collective forms of intelligence which are changing organisations. On the one hand, due to the high level of personal interconnectivity and on the other, by managing the information generated.

In addition, we must take into account the change in the role of citizens: they continue to consume information passively, but are now also generating and sharing it over the Internet, becoming prosumers (Producers and consumers simultaneously). And, as the Government, we must facilitate the free movement of knowledge, promoting transparency, in order to move, along with citizens, to a more deliberative and participatory democracy.

Access to social networks via mobile devices ensures participation from anywhere and, the more people that use them, the more their usefulness multiplies. They constitute, therefore, an excellent platform for improvement and innovation.

In addition to facilitating the participation and involvement of citizens and other actors in governance, Social Networks complement, as we have already indicated, the existing two-way communication channels of the Administration (on the telephone, in person, for example). While various government portals are used to provide updated information about our services, Social Networks:

- Provide immediate responses to users and, additionally, the information provided may be helpful to other people in the same situation (time and resources are saved, as is customary on the internet). This occurs in a more familiar manner, since we find ourselves in the personal context of the user.

- Redirect users to the Web or corporate portal (or to another resource defined to provide information as reliable as that generated by official channels) to open government information.

- Facilitate the creation of thematic networks of users who, in turn, generate fundamental and complementary knowledge which enables the Organisation to know their interests, so that they can then be taken into account.

The style and usage guide for the Basque Government's Social Networks establishes common guidelines for the homogeneous presence of the Government in Social Networks. It is a dynamic tool and everyone can contribute their experience writing to irekia@ej-gv.es Posting a message on the Facebook wall of Irekia facebook.com/GobiernoVascoIrekia or by posting a tweet to @Irekia or with the tag #Irekia.

The Guide contains the procedure for opening accounts and profiles of any Direction, Service or brand (and by extension, also with its own legal authorities and public enterprises in which the Government has a majority stake) in these spaces for interaction and participation.

It also contains a set of usage guidelines for the two co-official languages of the Autonomous Region of the Basque Country in these channels.

It also lists the different social networking tools, their diverse uses and the objectives of a presence on each one, the recommendations for an appropriate and successful presence, as well as the communication style criteria most appropriate for each tool.

The Citizen's Advice Directorate of the Department of Justice and Public Administration coordinates the opening procedure. After ensuring compliance with all standards, the Directorate gives its approval and the Lehendakaritza Office of Open Government and Internet Communication is responsible for delivering to that Body which requests it the corresponding user accounts and profiles environments edition, along with the corporate image (avatars, wallpapers and other items).

Moreover, Irekia http://delicious.com/irekia/bundle:apps contains the updated list of all recommended applications to more effectively manage every social networking tool.

Principles Underlying the Presence of the Basque Government in Social Networks

When interacting with the public, have it always in a tone consistent with the values shared by the Government and the professionals that comprise:

- Public Service. It is our reason for being. Communication via social networks should be as, or more effective than in person, and at the same time it should be more efficient and give better results without requiring many more resources. At all times willingness should be shown to listen and to help citizens in everything possible, so as to offer solutions to all their questions.

- Transparency. It is the basic rule of social media. We must show the organization as it is, naturally.

- Quality. Quality services must be offered to all citizens, following established protocols or improving them.

- Co-responsibility. Knowing who is represented and in what way, how and where to communicate. We must take into account the codes of conduct and usage rules for the same social networks.

- Participation in initiatives by citizens, as if they were our own, and to promote the participation of other citizens.

- Open Knowledge, through a new approach to intellectual property to allow the creation of conditions necessary to generate wealth from the data and content produced by the Administration.

Our tone of conversation must be always warm and friendly. Communication in different social networks on which the Government is present is always oriented towards the public. Therefore, we have to listen to people and to respond adequately to their needs, so that users of these spaces feel that our presence is not intrusive, but also participate in the conversation on an equal basis.

When we participate in social networks, we must remember that we in the citizens' own terrain and here each user has their opinion, that we don't always have to share, but that we do have to respect. Our presence is not intended to change these opinions, or impose our own; simply to share, listen and talk to citizens in their own space.

As a general principle, personal opinions should not be sent from corporate profiles and the editorial line should match that on the official website.

Therefore, there must be a distinction between personal and corporate profiles (of Directorates, services, brands, etc). Personal profiles are those which are held on an individual level and each person is free to have his or her own account and presence on social networks. By contrast, naturally, accounts belonging to the Public Administration must maintain an institutional profile.

Usage recommendations for Basque Government personnel

Social networks offer unlimited possibilities that people working in the Basque Government can enjoy in a responsible manner. Since they are members of the institution, these people should take into account a series of recommendations to ensure good use, even when interacting in social networks from their personal profiles.

Opinions shared on any social profile are personal and in no case can they be attributed to the organization. Staff have the right to freely express their opinions or views on issues which create opportunities.

To avoid possible conflicts with the service we offer, we recommend a series of actions:

- Any employee of the Basque Government with a presence in social networks, can freely express this condition.

- Non-corporate e-mail accounts must be used to register personal accounts in any page outside the Basque Government, as this information could be misinterpreted or used for unwanted purposes. This recommendation refers explicitly to Twitter and Facebook.

- Participation in actions or movements that may give rise to a degeneration of the reputation of the Basque Government and the services it offers must be avoided.

- Acting transparently and in compliance with the legislation is recommended.

- Derogatory or offensive comments should not be published on the Internet.

- If social networks are used during the workday, good use is recommended, always aimed towards achieving an improvement of the service offered.

- Remember that any network activity is recorded indefinitely, accessible to any user.

Types of social networks

- Vertical, are those that revolve around a theme or a particular type of content common to all users.

- Photos: Flickr, Picasa, etc.

- Videos: YouTube, Vimeo, Qik, Blip.tv, etc.

- Music: Blip.fm, Last.fm, Spotify, etc.

- Books: aNobii, Librofilia, etc.

- Presentations and documents: Slideshare, Scribd, etc.

- Social Bookmarks: Delicious, Digg, AupaTu, etc.

In general, on these types of networks, the presence of the Basque Government will be as a repository of multimedia material.

- Horizontal, are networks of contacts where all types of content is shared:

- Contact networks: Facebook, Tuenti, Myspace, etc.

- Professionals: Linkedin, Xing, etc..

- Microblogging: Twitter, Tumblr, Posterous, Plurk, Picotea, etc.

Additional considerations

Most existing social networking applications do not work properly in the corporate browser Internet Explorer 6.0. It is necessary, therefore, to install the Mozilla Firefox browser, this process being detailed in the next chapter, along with some of its extensions, which serve to manage content and which we will expand on in the corresponding chapters.

Request procedure

1. The applicant will contact the Web Service to communicate the request and details of their objectives and the social networks selected. They will also complete and submit a brief application form to the Web Service (Annex I)

2. Once the Web service analyses and accepts the request, it gets in touch with the Office of Open Government and Internet Communication (Lehendakaritza) to activate the selected tools.

3. *To use some management tools you need the Firefox browser. To do this, you must make a request to EJIE facilities for the installation of the approved version of the Firefox browser.

The Office of Open Government and Internet Communication will take charge of the configuration of the Social Networks in accordance with the Guide to Social Networks (backgrounds, avatars, classifications,...) and will provide the petitioner with the Social Network management tools recommended in the section “Content management systems” in this Guide*.

Language use

In Resolution 9/2008, of the 2nd of July, from the Director of the Secretariat of Government and Parliamentary Relations, which provides for the publication of the Resolution adopted by the Governing Council in which ‘the Normalisation Plan for the use of the Basque language in the Basque Government for Planning Period IV (2008-2012) is passed” the Usage Criteria of the Official Languages of the Basque Government are included.

General rules for the use of official languages

These rules are obligatory for the General Administration of the Basque Autonomous Region and its autonomous bodies.

The rules are to be applied in official relations and Administration protocols and not in private or informal relationships.

Measures to make euskera stand out in bilingual communications

Taking into account the sociolinguistic situation of the Basque language in communications produced by the Basque Government necessary measures will be taken to highlight Basque. To do this, at least two strategies can be employed:

- Location: In the case of words, those which appear in Basque can go before or on top; in case of columns, the left would be reserved for Basque, and in the case of pages, the right would correspond to Basque.

- Typography: Don’t forget that you can use the size and font to highlight text in Basque.

Written Communications. In cases in which the Basque Government issues the documentation communication shall be made in the two official languages or in Basque.

Use of official languages and translation criteria

Law 10/1982 of November 24, Basic Standards for the Use of Basque states that communications from the administration should be in both official languages, but does not indicate that translation should be an indispensable tool for this. In any case, due to the sociolinguistic situation of the Basque language, the majority of the texts have been written in Castilian to be later translated into Basque. It is clear that this approach leads to it being the text in Castilian that conditions the structure, style and design of the translation into Basque.

Bilingual editing

To overcome this dependency, the Basque Government will ensure, as far as possible, bilingual writing, without making systematic use of translation services. The Basque Government’s work consists, ultimately, of transmitting information to two linguistic communities, and it is not necessary to systematically resort to translations: it is sufficient to write independently and disseminate in both languages the message which needs to be conveyed, always respecting the contents of the message, but adapting the style to the characteristics of each language.

Social networks, Internet and Intranet

Contents owned by the Basque Government on Social Networks, The Internet and intranet should be consulted, as a rule, in Basque and Castilian. Contents in Basque, in addition to names or owners, will increase gradually in the manner stipulated in departmental usage plans.

When contents which are not created by the department itself are incorporated into the departmental websites (material from other departments, institutions, companies, etc.), they will reflect the two languages in a balanced way; that is to say, the balance between the languages in which the original texts will be respected, guaranteeing, especially, their quality.

Language criteria for Basque Government blogs and forums

Basque Government blogs will conform to the Criteria for Use of Official Languages of the Basque Government set out in the previous section. The contents will be published in full in the two official languages of the CAV (Basque and Castilian) in two different versions. Care will be taken of the quality of the two languages. Comments may be made in the language that the author desires and will be published in the version corresponding to the language of the comment.

The blog will rely on a bilingual administrator or facilitator who will be responsible for coordinating the publication rate (proposing collaborations) and will ensure that there is a balance in the publication of original material in both official languages. Likewise, when an issue arises in comments or discussion of general interest in one of the languages, new content will be created from this in the other language.

Social networks in general

Social Networks of the Basque Government will conform to the Criteria for Use of Official Languages of the Basque Government set out in the previous section. Contents will be published in the two official languages of the CAV (Basque and Castilian). The networks will have a bilingual administrator who will look after the quality of the two languages.

Facebook, Tuenti

A single account will be created and contents will be published both in Basque and Castilian. When entering content, priority will be given to content in Basque. Content will firstly be displayed in Basque and then in Castilian. Users will be responded to in the language in which the participation is made. Photo comments, tags, and others, will be bilingual, first in Basque and then in Castilian.

Microblogging: Twitter

A single account will be created and contents will be published both in Basque and Castilian. When entering content, priority will be given to content in Basque. Content will firstly be displayed in Basque and then in Castilian. Equally, whenever possible, comments will be made in a single tweet in the two languages, first in Basque and then in Castilian.

Hashtags, nomenclatures and avatars will be preferably in Basque, being short, helping to give visibility to the language and not hindering the understanding of the message.

Videos, photos, geolocation, social bookmarking

They will conform to the Criteria for Use of Official Languages of the Basque Government set out in the previous section. Contents will be published in the two official languages of the CAV (Basque and Castilian). When entering content, priority will be given to content in Basque. Content will firstly be displayed in Basque and then in Castilian.

Open licences

One of the basic pillars of social networks are the contents, photographs, reports, texts and other information available to users, whether for reading, for simple access, or even for downloading; also for the users themselves to share.

This transfer of content must be done in a way that is respectful of intellectual property rights of both the Basque Government and the users that have shared it, or others that have been included through them. At no point can we talk about social networks without the possibility of sharing content and information, and without the possibility of further use of content by those involved in social networks. Therefore, with the dual purpose of being respectful of intellectual property law and enabling the transfer of this content we will choose to license the content using the so-called open or free licences. That is, licences which require the preservation of the moral rights in the work (authorship, recognition, etc.) but permit it to be copied, modified, distributed and publicly communicated.

Furthermore, the use of open licenses has also been a legal requirement for authorities since that established in Law 37/2007 of the 16th of November, on the Reuse of Public Sector Information, which states that “The exercise of intellectual property rights of public sector administrations and bodies should be made so as to facilitate their reuse.”

There are different types of open or free licences such as those developed by organizations like Creative Commons or by the private sector as in the case of ColorIuris. Even within the same licences there is a wide range, from the most open to the most restrictive or even closed. It is recommended, in this case, to opt for the most open and permissive licenses, as are those of Creative Commons. Licencing a work under Creative Commons shows the world that prior authorisation is given for rights which the author considers opportune. Thus, compared to the traditional “all rights reserved”, this type of license is “some rights reserved” Creative Commons licences are harmonised under the Spanish intellectual property law and translated into different official languages.

There are 6 types of Creative Commons licences to choose from:

1. Licence “By”: Attribution and Recognition). The author allows any use of his or her work, with the only limitation that the authorship be acknowledged. The work may be reproduced, distributed or disseminated, allowing derivative works.

2. Licence By-SA: By – Share Alike. (Attribution - requiring that the derivative work has the same licence.) Reproduction, dissemination or distribution and transformation is allowed, provided that the derivative work comes under the same licence.

3. Licence By-NC: By - Noncommercial. (Attribution - non-commercial use). The author allows the reproduction, distribution or dissemination and derivative works provided that it is not for commercial purposes.

4. Licence By-ND: Attribution No Derivatives. (Attribution - no transformation). The author allows any use of his or her work including commercial use but does not permit building on the same, that is, it does not allow derivative works.

5. Licence By-NC-SA: (By - Share Alike - Noncommercial). Reproduction, dissemination or distribution and transformation is permitted, provided that the work is licenced in the same way and is not for commercial purposes.

6. Licence By-NC-ND: (By - No Derivatives - Noncommercial). Reproduction, dissemination or distribution of the work is permitted but not transformation and provided it is not for commercial purposes.

Amongst the options, those choices that allow any exploitation of the work including for commercial purposes, as long as that the authorship is recognised:

- Attribution (by): Any exploitation of the work is permitted, including for commercial purposes, as well as the creation of derivative works, distribution of which is also permitted without restriction.

For a CC license it is only necessary to choose the most suitable for our needs from the licences already mentioned.

On the website www.creativecommons.org we can obtain the corresponding graphic to show on our site.

Moreover, on social networks you can select the type of licence, usually located within the privacy options.

Facebook

www.facebook.com/gobiernovascoirekia

What is Facebook?

It is the current leader amongst social networks, with over 550 million active profiles worldwide.

It is a platform to communicate and share information, photos, videos and links with other people. In addition, users can participate in the communities that interest them. Facebook also offers the possibility of sending private messages to our contacts (called friends or fans) as well as other people we don’t know, but who are also on this social network. It also lets you create events and invite other users to participate in them.

Features such as the “Like” or “share on Facebook” buttons make it a highly viral network.

Additionally, there is a set of applications that complement the basic functions of Facebook and provide a new range of functions, both recreational and professional.

Configuration and requests

Requests from the various departments, services or brands who need to open a page on this social network will follow the model indicated in Chapter 2 of this Guide.

The Office of Open Government and Internet Communication will be in charge of opening accounts and correct profile configuration, meeting the standards of use of the social network itself since Facebook will have the power to order ( in some cases close) these accounts if established criteria is not adhered to.

Profiles, pages and groups

Facebook offers different options depending on whether the user is representing himself, an institution, a company or brand, or a group of people. So, you can create a profile, a website (official or community) or a group according to the objectives within this network.

Profiles

People who, individually, register on Facebook are those who have a profile. To be able to manage a group or page it is mandatory to have a valid and active personal profile on Facebook.

Pages

Pages are designed for institutions, companies or brands, celebrities, etc... Behind them, necessarily, one or more personal profiles must exist as administrators.

There can be several types of pages:

1. Official page.

Official pages allow institutions, businesses and other entities to create their official space within Facebook, so that they can communicate with followers.

2. Community page.

These pages are intended to support a cause or movement.

Groups

It is generated by a user (creator) and those people which they add may have different roles: administrator or member. Groups can be public, private or secret, and they serve to form a network around a specific theme or interest.

Pages as a corporate solution

Pages are the ideal corporate solution for different Government departments, services or brands. In fact, they are the right choice for institutions and their constituent bodies, as Facebook attributes a differential character to organisations of all types to distinguish them from personal profiles.

A personal profile cannot be created for a department, service or brand, as it breaks Facebook’s rules of use.

Additionally, pages have a number of characteristics so that the network around them can be monitored. Complete statistics are available on associated users, with information about age, sex, language, country, etc. .

Account management

The Facebook pages of the different departments of the government are corporate. They are authorised by the Web Service configured by the Office of Open Government and Internet Communication, according to the request process outlined in Chapter 2 of this Guide.

The Office of Open Government and Internet Communication creates the pages and configures them according to the corporate model.

The pages are managed from the Facebook web interface. Co-administration permits for the page will be given to the users who have to manage their information and content.

Presentation aspects

To improve the presentation of web pages on Facebook, you can install the Static FBML (Facebook markup language, the programming language of Facebook) that lets you add content both in the sidebar of the page and in additional tabs generated by the desired HTML code.

Impact images should follow corporate identity guidelines. For departmental banners, a width of 182 pixels and a height of 90 pixels is recommended.

This same application allows us to have a tab with HTML content that we want, so we can add external content and integrate it into Facebook (e.g.: www.facebook.com/picodulce.fanpage).

How to insert a banner on a page

Prerequisites: it is necessary to have administrative privileges and basic HTML knowledge, and images we want to link to should be found on public servers.

1. First, the application Static FBML has to be installed on the page www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=4949752878.

2. Next, we edit the page: the FBML application should already be installed.

3. If you select the Edit option, a box opens where we add the HTML code. An example would be:

<a href="http://www.irekia.euskadi.net" title="Irekia, Gobierno Abierto">    <img alt="Irekia, Gobierno Abierto" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2635/4276252600_1e801f3919.jpg">  </a>

4. Once edited, we save the changes and return to the page. In the top menu of the page, a tab should appear with the title Box which is where our content will go.

5. In the top right of this box, a pencil appears that you have to click and select Move to Wall tab.

Content

It is recommended not to publish lots of daily posts on Facebook. 2 or 3 at the most, but it will depend on the type of account activity.

We will publish information on Facebook prior to our own sources:

- Posting new entries on the corporate blog.

- Live broadcasting of events: links to pages from which to follow the streaming of specific events.

- Publication of new videos, photos, presentations, etc.., of Internet repositories.

- New items on the website or portal, new sections, publications, etc.

Automatic publication of tweets on Facebook should be avoided, as the wording is different in the two tools. In Twitter hashtags are used and other users are often cited, meaning that if content is syndicated it could be decontextualised.

On the other hand, Facebook pages allow the adding of tabs to be able to access the rest of the department or service repositories (YouTube, Flickr, Slideshare, Twitter, etc..), as well as side widgets. They can also be customised programming FBML, which will be undertaken by the corresponding department, brand or service.

Language use

The contents will be published both in Basque and Castilian. When entering the content, priority will be given to content in Basque. Content will firstly be displayed in Basque and then in Castilian. Users will be responded to in the language in which the participation is made. Photo comments, tags, and others, will be bilingual, first in Basque and then in Castilian.

Comment management

The people who administer the page are those who decide who can write on the wall of the page: only the page itself, only fans or everybody.

It is recommended that all users can write on the wall, but that the default display shows our own publications. To do this, in the

Settings section which is just below text entry box on the wall the default view of the wall “Only written by pagename” must be selected.

This will not prevent fans commenting on posted entries, since they are open content. Therefore, attention must be paid to possible comments when new information is published, because Facebook does not send e-mail alerts to what is commented on the page (although it is possible to subscribe to status updates via RSS.) If, under certain circumstances, you wish to restrict the option to comment on wall posts, you will need to go to Settings and disable the “Comment on posts will be expanded by default” option. However, we advise not to do this.

Comments should be responded to as soon as possible, within the same space where the question or query has appeared. It is advisable to show that there is someone on the other side of the page. On occasions, we will be able to thank users collectively for their participation, or personally if a comment has provided content of sufficient value.

If the comment is inappropriate or irrelevant, we must find appropriate ways to respond to the user politely, linking information or redirecting to other websites which may offer an adequate response,.

It is important to respond in a corporate manner, that is to say, representing the page. Care has to be taken because it is easy to become confused on Facebook whenever an administrator inputs content or comments on a page, it is done in the name of the page and not his or her personal profile.

We can classify the comments in the following way:

1. Forming of questions, concerns and requests. .

2. Contributions.

3. Criticism: in cases of constructive criticism on Facebook, we will respond publicly in the comments section, which is the only place where users can write their messages if we have followed the instructions explained at the beginning of the section. If the criticism is negative, the complaint must be analysed and responded to in a constructive manner.

In all cases the response should be coordinated with the unit responsible for the information in question and, where appropriate, communication can be made privately through email in case the user needs more information. It is recommended that all queries and complaints be saved on file because they could become useful on other occasions.

Network creation

One of the main features of Facebook pages is that they don’t have a list of friends, like profiles, but fans, so instead of asking users to become friends, the administrator must devise other strategies to get the number of users attached to the page to increase.

Pages can have their own URL (example: www.facebook.com/gobiernovascoirekia) when the number of members exceeds 25. To reach this figure in a short time, it is recommended that some actions are carried out, such as:

- Sending an email to contact lists from the department in question.

- Communicating the creation of a page through a press release.

- Contracting, with the cost that this implies, a space in the sidebar of Facebook to advertise it.

Integration

Facebook integration in external spaces can be managed in several ways:

- n spaces where the administration is carried out by the department, brand or services (blogs, Irekia website, Euskadi.net portal, departmental websites, special sites, etc..): Using small applications called widgets that integrate external information into a website, in order to promote it. More information at: www.facebook.com/facebook-widgets.

- In areas where the administration is not in the hands of the department, brand or service: through an application that allows users to post information created by the departments on their Facebook profiles (the Share This module on the website of a department/service sharethis.com).

Twitter

www.twitter.com/irekia
www.twitter.com/irekia_agenda
www.twitter.com/irekia_news

What is Twitter?

Twitter is a micromessaging or microblogging platform that allows the sending of short text messages (up to 140 characters) and chat with other users through web browsers or through desktop clients and mobile phones. Conversations are published on the Internet (although they can be protected, so that they can only be seen by the followers of the user) and networks are built from tracking users that interest us.

This is an important tool to inform about new services, for references, different information (diaries, emergencies, new publications ...) and to resend events. It is also a tool for dialogue, collaboration and interaction with the public.

According to The Guardian# (www.guardian.co.uk/ ... /alan-rusbridger-twitter), Twitter is:

- An incredible medium for distributing information.

- Where the news first appears and where it is updated first.

- As a search engine it could compete with Google.

- A great way of marketing.

- An exceptional form of communication.

- It changes the tone of writing. It’s more personal.

- It establishes diverse levels of audience.

- Great attention cycles can be established on an issue.

- It promotes the creation of communities.

In this sense, Twitter profiles of the Basque Government should foster communication and interaction with users

Account management

The profiles of different Government departments are corporate. They are requested from the Web Service and, when authorised, the Office of Open Government and Internet Communication configures them.

This configuration consists of the creation of the account and the customization of wallpaper, avatar, etc.. It also provides informs about the guidelines for managing it.

The naming of department or service accounts is formed from the unique name of the area, service or brand, adding the suffix ejgv.

For example:

- Etxebide: @etxebidejgv

- Health: @osasunejgv

- Transport: @garraioejgv

- Traffic: @trafikoaejgv

Basque Government Twitter accounts are created from Government emails (ej-gv.es) and each account must be associated with a different email, because the system that uses Twitter does not allow the same email address to be associated with multiple accounts.

With the aim of ensuring optimal administration of these accounts, adequate data protection and transfer of responsibility and control, the model of Government presence on social networks avoids working directly with IDs and passwords for the different social network applications.

Basque Government Twitter accounts are administered from content management systems. There are plenty of applications from which you can manage Twitter, but we recommend CoTweet.

The Office of Open Government and Internet Communication creates the accounts, both in Twitter and CoTweet, and designates an advanced user (advanced), who is the administrator. This person may also appoint, as appropriate, more users with corporate editor functions, both among Government personnel and external people (content management companies, etc.).. The advanced user and editors have to create, in turn, an account in the chosen content management system with its own address from which they will manage the various social network accounts.

Bear in mind that a Twitter account which has not been updated in six months is considered inactive and could be removed automatically.

Presentation aspects

Account Customisation

In order to follow the guidelines of corporate identity in the Twitter accounts of the Basque Government, The Office of Open Government and Internet Communication defines the following fields:

1. The name of the account, with the structure Name of the Basque Government department, service or brand and the suffix ejgv.

2. The profile avatar image, provided by the Press Office, responsible for corporate and brand image.

3. The blog or website of reference, which must be the URL of the department, service or brand.

4. The location, which is the Basque Countryi.

5. A brief description for the Bio section, which should consist of “Projects and activities of the department, service or brand of the Basque Government and should not exceed 160 characters in Basque and Castilian. Start Menu

6. Background. Image comprised of the general branding of the department in question, adapted according to the corporate image for Social Networks and the Basque Government crest watermark.

Language use

A single account will be opened and the contents will be published both in Basque and Castilian. English or any other language can be used, depending on the type of content in question.

When entering content, priority will be given to content in Basque. Content will firstly be displayed in Basque and then in Castilian. Also, whenever possible, the comment will be made in a single tweet in both languages, first in Basque and then in Castilian.

Hashtags, nomenclatures and avatars will preferably be in Basque, as they are short, help give visibility to the language and do not hinder the understanding of the message.

Responses to other tweets will be in the language of the original tweet. Regarding retweets, the original language, logically, will be respected.

Tweet structure

Tweets are composed of a text (as an owner) and preferably a shortened link, which allows profile metrics to be counted quickly and easily. Also, whenever possible, tweets will also have a label or hashtag introduced by the # symbol.

Text + shortened link + #hashtag

The text of the information should be constructed, rigorous and concise. Therefore, it is important to attach a link whenever possible, since, in this way, it offers users the possibility to expand the content.

In the case of broadcasting live events (live blogging) on Twitter, it is not necessary to associate any link, but it is important to include the hashtag referring to the event in the tweet. Tweet structure must follow this order:

Author + Quote + #hashtag

Boris Mir: Transferable skills are important in the new educational system #sessioweb

If the author of the event has a twitter account, he or she will seek to put:

@BorisM: Transferable skills are important in the new educational system #sessioweb

Links

Links give added value to tweets. Linked texts must be read carefully and you must ensure that the source is reliable. If they are websites, you should search for the authors and determine if you can credit them. In general, linking to personal blogs is not recommended, except in cases where the information is relevant for the content (selected with the objective of the Government’s Twitter profile) and not for the opinion of the author or blogger.

You will seek to use a URL shortener such as bit.ly (Which is the default on CoTweet) and it will be customized for each account.

Hashtags

Hashtags or tags define the theme of the tweet. It is recommended that you use those which already exist on Twitter. To determine whether a tag is in use, you simply need to enter it in Twitter search search.twitter.com (e.g.: administration). The tag must be short.

The use of tags allows quick retrieval of information. Thus, users can search and filter content though tags. Also, they are an indicator of the most current issues on Twitter.

Retweets (RT)

Retweets are the tweets of others which we republish to contribute to the conversation. In order that other users can retweet them, tweets should be a maximum of 125-130 characters (depending on the length of the profile name).

As a general rule, they should be written in the following format:

RT + @nameofretweetedprofile + text + shortened link + #hashtag

RT@tecnimap2010. Complete coverage of the event on Facebook ow.ly/1gCCQ #tecnimap

It is important that the link on the first tweet is opened and reshortened with the corporate tweet management application, so that it can be accounted for in the profile metrics.

Twitter has a button to automatically carry out retweets.

Relevant content that can be retweeted:

- Content which comes from trusted sources (can be institutions or individual experts on the topic from the Twitter account.)

- Content posted by users of renowned prestige.

- Official information from other Basque Government departments or brands.

It is not recommended to automatically retweet from a keyword. The amount of retweets should not exceed that of your own production, although in the beginning it can be considered acceptable to maintain a balance between the two modes of publication, with the initial objective of building the network. If the text exceeds 140 characters, it must be shortened so as to make it intelligible. If there is more than one hashtag, you can delete one. In the case of text being incomprehensible, containing linguistic errors or if we want to add content, it can be modified as long as the following formula is added a the end:

Text + link + #hashtag + / via@nameofretweetedprofile

Complete coverage of the event on Facebook ow.ly/1gCCQ #tecnimap/ via@ tecnimap2010

The option at the moment of giving answers to questions we receive via Twitter and where there is no possibility of shortening is resorting to tweet shorteners, such as www.twitterlonger.com, which allow us to develop longer texts. It is not recommended. Twitter is designed for short communications of less than 140 characters.

Content

It is important to establish some internal channels of content provision and to inform the directive units of the existence of a tool to instantly communicate events, news, consultations, emergencies, etc.. However, those people in charge of managing the Twitter profile should be responsible for the content posted on the profile and the resulting conversations, and for retweeting contents that are considered relevant.

To maintain the Twitter social network, contents should be published in a continuous, but not abusive form. As a general rule, it is recommended to publish between 1 and 10 tweets a day, except when an event is broadcast live, in which case it may be interesting to publish more tweets that allow users to track key points of the event, or when reporting on emergencies, etc.

It is convenient to manage the content, comments and responses manually, which also allows the removal of possible users or spam.

CoTweet allows the scheduling of tweets, which can be useful when we need to post a deferred tweet. However, it is recommended not to abuse this feature.

Types of content

Information from other sources:

- Posting new entries on the corporate blog.

- Broadcasting of live events.

- Posting of new videos, photos, presentations, etc.., in internet repositories.

- Public announcement of selection processes.

- News from the web, new sections, publications.

- Press releases published on the web. When a press release is tweeted, the headline should be reworded for this medium and the web link added.

Content generated on Twitter

- Announcement of and invitations to events.

- Reporting of incidents, emergencies and critical situations.

- Content developed exclusively for Twitter from corroborated authoritative information from the Net which adds value to the profile of government. In this way the profile has the position of a trusted filter of high quality content.

Once that activity is consolidated on Twitter, the publication of Tweets can be automated through an RSS feed of certain content (public tenders, grants, official journals, etc.), provided that they do not generate an excessive volume.

Queries and other user contributions

Any information or references that require an answer as soon as possible. There are two main types:

1. Formulation of questions, concerns and requests: those that belong to a more particular area can be responded to with a direct message.

2. Criticism: in cases of constructive criticism, the best option is to respond publicly to show that user feedback is answered. If the criticism is negative, the complaint must be examined and responded to in a constructive manner.

In cases where it is necessary to provide more information, the interlocutor can be directed to an email address.

Queries and frequent complaints relating to the various departments, services and brands may be stored, as a repository, in an Irekia corporate wiki so that the community which manages the Government’s presence on social networks can refer to them in the future.

Creating a network: Followers and Following

When a department profile is created, other relevant departments and organisations will be actively followed. People and organisations associated with our service strategy should be followed.

As a guiding principle, any person who has been a follower of our profile should be followed, as it is considered a standard rule of netiquette. However, it is advisable to avoid followers with an offensive avatar (e.g. pornography) or who create spam, who we will block so that they don’t feature among our profile followers.

Our reputation on Twitter also depends on the number of users we follow. There must be a balance between the number of our followers and the users that we follow. If not, it is considered that the tool is being misused, since the objective is to share knowledge in a two-way form and create a social network

However, in order to manage this communication optimally, it is necessary to create lists of specific people or organizations which should be monitored more closely because their activity fits our profile.

Integration

Las cuentas de Twitter, por su carácter público, se pueden asociar a otros espacios mediante pequeñas aplicaciones (widgets) que Twitter accounts, because of their public nature, can be linked to other spaces through small applications (widgets) that integrate external information into a website to promote it. These widgets can be used on:

- Own spaces: Corporate blogs, corporate portals, departmental or special sites.

- External own spaces: Facebook page, etc., through a tab, a side widget or via automatic publication.

- Outside spaces: Possibility of integrating the widget so that anyone can add to your page, blog, etc.

Publication issues

During Twitter account management this application could stop working correctly. We cannot do anything o avoid it, just wait for it to work again.

But the management tool we use to manage these accounts, CoTweet, can also suffer some type of incidents. These incidents in the service do not usually last long, but may be critical in coverage or broadcast of an event, for example. To prevent an occurrence of this type interfering with normal account activity, alternative resources are proposed specifically address the part corresponding to Twitter.

Text (Bit.ly): Each Basque Government Twitter account is associated with an account on the shortener bit.ly, which permits us to tweet when the CoTweet service does not work. It will be useful to us for publishing text and links, at the same time we can continue to maintain statistic traceability of links that we have used.

Tuenti

tuenti.com/irekia

Tuenti is the largest network in the Basque Country and its environment, that which has the most active users; it is popular above all among younger people. The average age of a Tuenti user is 23 and a half. In this sense, it is a good platform for transmitting information to a wide, although segmented, audience. Therefore, the Government has decided to have a presence on Tuenti.

This network provides a platform for us to communicate and share information, photos, videos and blogs with these younger people. In addition, users can participate in the communities that interest them. Tuenti also offers the ability to send private messages to our contacts (called friends) and allows the creation of events and invitation to others to participate.

Profiles, pages and events

Tuenti offers different options depending on whether the user is representing him or herself, an institution or company, or a group of people. So, you can create a profile or a page (official or community) depending on its objectives within this network. Tuenti reserves the right to close these solutions if they do not adhere to established criteria.

Profiles

The people who have a profile are those that, individually, are signed up to Tuenti.

As underlined by the creators of this network: profiles have eyes and they always belong to people.

To be able to administer an official page it is obligatory to have a personal profile on this network. We also recommend that it is as complete as possible, and includes a photograph.

Pages

The pages are designed for institutions, companies or groups, etc. and always have to have a personal profile in order to administrate them.

Official pages allow Institutions, companies and other entities to create their official space within Tuenti, so that they can communicate with their followers.

Events

Events are significant events which take place in a specific time. They can be from something occurring on one day at a specific time to a conference that lasts several days or a campaign that lasts several weeks.

Creating events for these significant affairs can mean that they reach more users, thanks to the amplifying effect of this network.

Pages as a corporate solution

The page is the corporate solution that different government departments have chosen. In fact, it is the most suitable option for institutions and their constituent bodies, seeing as Tuenti attributes a differential character to organisations of all types to distinguish them from personal profiles.

Account management

Tuenti pages of the different government departments are corporate. The Web Service authorises them and they are configured by the Office of Open Government and Internet Communication. The heads of department should contact the Web Service to obtain a Tuenti page with the corresponding avatar and indications as to the page and corporate image, according to the application form in annex I.

Tuenti pages Basque Government created from a personal profile with a corporate email. The Office of Open Government and Internet Communication creates the accounts, both the profile of the administrator, if they don’t already have one, and the official page, and designates an administrator. This person may also name, as appropriate, more users with corporate editor functions.

Content

It is recommended not to post many entries on Tuenti daily. It would be typical to post 2 or 3, but it will depend on the type of account activity and always bearing in mind that the language has to be very relaxed and familiar to the younger users.

We will publish information which comes from original sources on Tuenti:

- Posting new entries on the corporate blog.

- Live broadcasting of events: links to pages from which to follow streaming of specific events.

- Publication of new videos, photos, presentations, etc.., from Internet repositories.

- News from the web, new sections, publications.

Language use

Contents will be published both in Basque and Castilian. When entering content, priority will be given to content in Basque. Content will firstly be displayed in Basque and then in Castilian. Users will be responded to in the language in which they make the participation. Comments on photos, tags and everything else will be bilingual, first in Basque and then in Castilian.

Comment management

The administrator manages who can write on the wall of the page: he alone, only users or everyone.

Users can comment on entries posted, since it is open content. Therefore, attention must be paid to possible comments when new information is posted because Tuenti doesn’t send e-mail alerts of comments on the page (there does exist the possibility to subscribe to status updates via RSS). If, under certain circumstances, you want to restrict the option to comment on wall postings, it is necessary to go to Settings and disable the option “comments on news will be expanded by default.” However, it is advised not to do it.

Comments should be responded to as soon as possible, within the same space where the question or query has appeared. It is advisable to thank the user for their participation and add additional compliments necessary. If the comment is inappropriate or irrelevant, we must find appropriate ways to respond to the user politely, linking information or redirecting to other websites which may offer an adequate response, if any. It is important to respond in a corporate manner and not in that of the profile of the administrator.

We can classify comments as follows:

1. Formulation of questions, concerns and requests.

2. Criticism: in cases of constructive criticism on Tuenti, we will respond publicly in the comments section, which is the only place where users can write their messages if the instructions mentioned at the beginning of the paragraph have been followed. If the criticism is negative, we must examine the complaint and respond in a constructive manner.

In all cases the response should be coordinated with the unit responsible for the information in question and, where appropriate, you can communicate privately with an email if the user requires more information. It is recommended that all queries and complaints be saved on file because they may be useful on other occasions.

Network creation

One of the main characteristics of Tuenti pages is that they do not have a list of friends, like profiles, but users, so that instead of asking users to make friends, the administrator will need to devise other strategies to achieve an increase in the number of users attached to the page.

The pages have their own URL (e.g.) www.tuenti.com/irekia) following a request to Tuenti to make them official, which is also the responsibility of the Office of Open Government and Internet Communication.

Privacy

Las opciones de privacidad de las páginas de Tuenti del Gobierno son las que vienen por defecto en el sistemaPrivacy options on Government Tuenti pages are those that are there by default on the system.

Linkedin

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is networking platform for professionals, where they can share experiences in order to improve their work practices. The portal allows the creation of interest groups around specific initiatives or projects, ask or answer questions, post or search jobs.

In the specific case of the Basque Government, it comprises of the institution or enterprise, to which any professional who has an email from the corporate network @ej-gv.es may belong.

Configuration

Linkedin accounts are personal. Each person who wishes to belong to this network will be able to register on it and does not need any prior authorization. It is advisable to indicate, at least, the current job and, if you want to belong to the corporate network, use the-mail ej-gv.es.

Groups

Linkedin groups may be open or closed, which are accessed by invitation. In any case, the privacy of the contents of the group is guaranteed, because the groups cannot be indexed. LinkedIn is a network of individuals and it is not advisable for organisations to open personal profiles with the idea of having a public URL such as: www.linkedin.com/in/username.

Managing groups on Linkedin

To create a group it must be requested according to the model described in Chapter 2 of this guide.

A group will be created by department/area/division and there will be an administrator-owner common to all the groups within the organization, who will give administrator rights to each departmental group.

In any case, as with all social networking tools, the objective is to promote decentralised management which guarantees system viability.

Sections of a group on Linkedin

1. Summary. We recommend posting content which provides great value from complete discussions initiated in own proprietary tools such as blogs.

2. Debates. Forums for discussing topics

3. News. Publishing for feeds.

4. Employment. Job postings.

5. Subgroups. Only in the event that that they are created.

6. Group management and other aspects.

We must promote the groups in outside environments (blogs, Facebook, Twitter...), since LinkedIn doesn’t greatly facilitate diffusion.

Content management strategies

1. Promote the group itself (blog, forums, etc..).

2. Automate content publishing with the News section through feeds (via RSS) of content published in other repositories and networks (principally Twitter, the blog, Facebook, etc). To avoid saturating the channel, it is recommended that you manually post only news or information related to the department or service. This way we will be able to offer users of this group more specialised content.

3. As the debates on a topic develop on the blog, it is recommended that you post manual summaries in the Summary section. Users who belong to the group will receive an automatic notification email whenever the administrators post a new discussion topic.

Language use

Contents which are edited manually will be published both in Basque and Castilian. When introducing the contents or summaries, priority will be given to content in Basque. Content will firstly be displayed in Basque and then in Castilian. Users will be responded to in the language in which they participate.

YouTube

www.youtube.com/irekia

YouTube is a platform that allows users to publish, view and share their own videos. It is ideal for disseminating informative or educational audiovisual material about departmental activity. It complements the IREKIA corporate multimedia platform (www.irekia.euskadi.net/es/web_tv).

Presentation sspects: account customisation

YouTube permits customisation of the page with its own avatar and basic channel colour changes (background, font colours, links, etc.).

Videos may not exceed 10 minutes in length. For those of longer duration, we recommend using our own platform: Irekia, which also allows you to embed the code for use on blogs or websites, share material, etc.

Account management

The Basque Government has a corporate account on YouTube and the content of the various departments are divided into Playlists, and there is a list by Department.

The creation of individual channels by Department is not recommended, although this convenience would be considered where appropriate.

If a department wants to upload content to YouTube, it must follow the application model set out in Chapter 2 of this Guide. If the Web Service considers that, due to the volume, the Department shouldn’t have an account on this network, the applicant will be able to contact the Office of Open Government and Internet Communication, who will assess the best option for the transfer of this content to the corporate account.

Basque Government YouTube accounts are created from ej-gv.es email accounts and configured by the Office of Open Government and Internet Communication.

Content

The YouTube website allows you to classify videos into playlists and select a playlist to play them on or choose a video to stand out in the Videos and playlists section.

When posting a video, a title and add a brief description are needed. Also, the Tags field should be filled with keywords that refer to the video in question, to facilitate searches.

Language use

It will conform to the Usage Criteria of the Official Languages of the Basque Government contained in Chapter 3 of this Guide. Videos, descriptions and tags will be published, whenever possible, in bilingual format or in the two official languages of the CAV (Basque and Castilian). The title, in the corresponding language.

Tags will be written firstly in Basque, and then in Castilian.

Network

Although YouTube has its own social network functions to interact with users, such as instant messaging and the comments system, it has been decided carry out these functions through the other tools presented and use YouTube exclusively as a means of distributing video. So that it fulfils this repository function, it is recommendable that you activate the tab which says that Nobody can post comments without approval in the Comments section of your channel.

With the same idea of avoiding user interaction through YouTube to focus on other social networks, in the Options section to share and stream videos we will select Don’t allow comments, Don’t allow votes on comments, Don’t allow video responses and Don’t allow videos to be rated.

Integration

The most common way to integrate this service into other sites is by embedding content in other media, such as blogs. This way, blog readers can enjoy the resource without having to go to another site, stopping them getting lost and optimising the number of clicks.

Flickr

www.flickr.com/irekia

Flickr is a service for publishing photos on the Internet that serves as a repository of images, complementing, as in the case of YouTube, the Basque Government’s image/icon bank “Argazki”.

In Flickr you can publish photos from institutions, events, press conferences, presentations, etc.., of each department, divided into different albums according to the topic. It has to be taken into account that the free version has a monthly upload limit of 100 MB (10 MB per photo) and when it reaches a peak of 200 photos, it hides the first ones we loaded; it also has limitations regarding the number of albums that can be created. Therefore, if more capacity is needed, the pro version will need to be purchased and this cost will be endured by the department who requests it.

However, the general recommendation is that the different directives publish their photographs within the Basque Government’s corporate account, where there is a collection and/or album available exclusively for them. As well as the ability to create special albums if there is a specific need.

Flickr also allows the posting of videos of very short duration (90 seconds).

Presentation aspects: account customisation

Flickr allows you to add our avatar. The image dimensions are 48 x 48 pixels and will be provided by the Office of Open Government and Internet Communication, according to the corporate design for presence on social networks.

You can also choose the display mode of the channel. That is, the photos appear in single column, double column or triple column, with albums and collections of our own appearing by the side, etc.

Account management

The Basque Government has a pro account on Flickr, with a collection for each department, which, in turn, is composed of several albums for the Directorates, Services, special events, etc., which facilitates classification and subsequent search for photos.

The Web Service will determine whether the Department requesting an account on Flickr can have an individual account, which is not recommended and will have to be adequately justified by a significant amount of graphic material, or it will be given customised access so that its photos can be uploaded to Flickr Pro corporate.

The Basque Government’s Flickr accounts are created from ex-gv emails and managed from the Firefox extension called FireUploader (www.fireuploader.com). This application allows access to Flickr content on our account without having to access the Flickr website and works in a very similar way to the logic of an FTP client. We can upload photos, add the title, description and tags and classify them into different albums or collections, which will then be visible from the Flickr site.

Content

The Directorate of Open Government and Internet Communication will reconfigure the Flickr account so that the photos have a Creative Commons recognition licence (see Chapter 4 of this Guide).

To do this, you have to access the Your account / Privacy and permissions / Default options for new uploads / What license will your content have and choose the option Attribution-No Derivative Works.

Language use

You must comply with the Usage Criteria of the Official Languages of the Basque Government contained in Chapter 3 of this guide. Photo or album tags and titles will be published, as far as possible, in both official languages of the CAV (Basque and Castilian). When entering content, priority will be given to content in Basque. Content will firstly be seen in Basque and then in Castilian.

Networks

The dissemination of materials published on Flickr takes place through other social networks, like Twitter and Facebook, with the aim of reaching the a greater number of users.

The Flickr account will be configured to fulfil the sole purpose of an image repository. To save the posting of comments which act as a social network, you must go to the Privacy and permissions section, then to Default options for new uploads / who can add notes, tags and people, and select the option Only you.

Integration

The most common way to integrate this service into other sites is by embedding content on corporate blogs. It can be embedded as part of the contents of a blog entry, but you can also use applications (widgets) in the sidebar that permit you to access the Flickr gallery from the portal, website or blog in the department, service or brand.

Slideshare

www.slideshare.net/irekia

This application allows you to publish online presentations, text documents, PDF’s and videos of very short duration. In this sense, it serves as a repository for all kinds of documents generated by different Departments, services or brands of the Basque Government.

Account management

As a general rule, departments will use the corporate account to upload their documents to Slideshare, except in those cases where the volume of documents generated by a particular department justify a specific account.

SlideShare channels of different government departments will be corporate and authorised by the Web Service, who will send the approval to the Office of Open Government and Internet Communication for their configuration, following the request process outlined in Chapter 2 of this Guide.

Basque Government SlideShare accounts are created from ej-gv emails and managed from the Firefox extension called Fireuploader (www.fireuploader.com). This application allows access to the contents of our SlideShare account without having to access the SlideShare website and operates in a very similar manner to the logic of an FTP client. It allows us to upload presentations and add the title, description and tags, which will then be visible from the SlideShare site.

Configuration

SlideShare allows you to customise the page with our avatar. Image dimensions are 100 x 100 pixels. So that all presentations have a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Licence (CC BY 3.0), you must go to Edit profile / Manage account / Choose defaults for your content and select the CC Attribution Licence option.

Content and network

The dissemination of material published on SlideShare takes place on other social networks like Twitter and Facebook, with the aim of reaching a greater number of users.

On this network, users cannot be prevented from making comments, but they should not be promoted. The only networking aspect of the application which will be used is subscription.

In order for SlideShare to exclusively fulfil the role of a presentation repository, you must go to Edit profile / Privacy settings and select the option No-one among the four options that appear.

All material published on SlideShare, whether presentations or documents, must be in PDF format, to prevent Internet users who download them from making any modifications. The following parameters must be defined: document title, tags, corresponding CC licence, continuous page layout, definition of the file with the document title and visualisation set to full page.

Tags

Words to be used to tag documents and presentations uploaded to Slideshare must be defined with precision to help users find them easily.

A tag can be formed by a single word or more that should describe, in a concise and clear way, the shared content. Remember also that there is no limit to tags per document, so we can use as many as we need to sort them properly.

In order to make the shared material homogeneous, we will establish a set of tagging guidelines:

- We should always label without accents and without punctuation marks.

- If the shared content is generated from any official body of the Basque Government, we always add, firstly, the tag ejgv.

- If the shared content is generated from an official department of the Basque Government, we will always add, secondly, the departmental tag. In the event that the department has more than one departmental tag, we will choose the most appropriate option or options..

The list of tags for each department:

Presidency

Presidency

Lehendakaritza

Lehendakaritza

Interior

Interior

Herrizaingoa

Herrizaingoa / Interior

Justice and Public Administration

Justice and Public Administration

Justizia eta Herri Administrazioa

Justizia / Herri Administrazioa / Public Administration

Housing, Public Works and Transport

Housing, Public Works and Transport

Etxebizitza, Herri Lana eta Garraioa

Etxebizitza / Herri lana / Garraioa / Housing / Public Works / Transportation

Industry, Innovation, Trade and Tourism

Industry, Innovation, Trade and Tourism

Industria, Berrikuntza, Merkataritza eta Turismoa

Industry / Berrikuntza / merkataritza / Travel / Innovation / Commerce

Education, Universities and Research

Education, Universities and Research

Hezkuntza, Unibertsitate eta Ikerketa

Hezkuntza / Unibersitatea / Ikerketa / Education / University / Research

Economy and Finance

Economy and Finance

Ekonomia eta Ogasuna

Ekonomia / Ogasuna / Finance

Employment and Social Affairs

Employment and Social Affairs

Lana eta Gizarte Gaiak

Lana / Gizarte gaiak / Employment / Social Affairs

Health and Consumer Affairs

Health and Consumer Affairs

Osasuna eta Kontsumoa

Osasuna / kontsumoa / Health / Consumer

Environment, Land Planning, Agriculture and Fisheries

Environment, Land Planning, Agriculture and Fisheries

Ingurumena, Lurralde Antolamendua, Nekazaritza eta Arrantza

Ingurumena / Lurralde antolamendua / Nekataritza / Arrantza / Environment / Land Planning / Agriculture / Fishing

Culture

Culture

Kultura

Kultura

Language use

We must conform to the Usage Criteria of the Official Language of the Basque Government set out in the previous section. Content and tags will be posted, whenever possible, in bilingual format or in the two official languages of the CAV (Basque and Castilian). The title, in the corresponding language. Tags will firstly be in Basque, and then in Castilian.

Integration with other sites

The most common way to integrate this service into other sites is by embedding content in the blog or corporate portal. This way, readers can enjoy the resource without having to go to another site to view the content, which stops the reader getting lost and optimises the number of clicks required.

Delicious

www.delicious.com/irekia

What is Delicious?

Delicious is a social bookmarking service on the internet. It is a repository of URLs of interesting web sites or documents of all types that are published on the Web. Following the model of so-called “favorites”, the list of websites of interest that are stored on the personal navigator, Delicious lets users share this material on the Web and classify it thanks to the use of tags and tag packages (bundles), very useful because they facilitate the search for material by keyword within the same portal.

Another service offered by Delicious is the creation of its own network of people (network) with whom we can share social bookmarks and access to the social network hotlist, where the most recently visited bookmarks are found.

Account management

Basque Government Delicious accounts are created by the Office of Open Government and Internet Communication upon request and approval from the web service of the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. They are created from Yahoo! email accounts which are associated with ej-gv email accounts and can also be managed from other tools. The installation of the Delicious plug-in in Firefox is essential.

Contents

Using Delicious will:

1. Create a history of all content shared by the government through any of its profiles.

2. Keep track of all content generated by the Government on the Internet.

3. Organise a storage space of content of interest and sort it according to its topic and source.

Contents

The basic information which must be completed when a link is saved consists of four fields:

- URL: the URL of the resource.

- Title: The title of the resource. Normally the system automatically takes the title of the resource you want to save, so it is possible that it will have to be changed to adjust to the content.

- Notes: This is the part where we describe the link. It is useful for expanding the information given by the title or tags and to make it easier to find though a search.

- Tags: we use them to describe and classify the resources, and serve to group things in an orderly manner.

Tagging

There is no limit to tags by bookmarks, so we can use as many as we need to sort bookmarks in an appropriate way. Delicious can also create labels for the resources we are saved. We shall use them in those cases where we find them useful.

To make sure that shared material is homogeneous, we will establish a set of tagging guidelines:

- We must always tag without accents and without punctuation.

- Delicious only supports simple words as tags. Therefore, if we need two words to properly define content, we shall create compound words. For example, in the case of electronic books, a correct tag would be electronic books.

- If shared content is generated from any official body of the Basque Government, we will always add, in the first instance, the tag ejgv. We recommend creating a bundle for EJGV that includes the following tags: EJGV, Basque Government, EuskoJaurlaritza.

- Tags will be written, as a minimum, in the two co-official languages of the CAV. If, because of the type of content, it is necessary to add tags in a third language (English, French, etc.), tags will also be written in this language.

- If shared content is officially generated from a department of the Basque Government, we will always add, secondly, the departmental tag. In the event that the department has more than one departmental tag, we will choose the most appropriate option or options. See list of tags for each department.

It is important not to forget the departmental tag, as it will enable us to classify bookmarks by categories or tag packages (bundles), facilitating the search for material by departments. Other bundles can also be created to group similar thematic content.

It is recommended that the number of bundles is limited in order to facilitate their classification and specify content as much as possible. In this sense, it is essential to choose the terms that define them, which should be clear and concise.

The list of tags for each department:

Presidency

Presidency

Lehendakaritza

Lehendakaritza

Interior

Interior

Herrizaingoa

Herrizaingoa / Interior

Education, Universities and Research

Education, Universities and Research

Hezkuntza, Unibertsitate eta Ikerketa

Hezkuntza / Unibersitatea / Ikerketa / Education / University / Research

Economy and Finance

Economy and Finance

Ekonomia eta Ogasuna

Ekonomia / Ogasuna / Finance

Justice and Public Administration

Justice and Public Administration

Justizia eta Herri Administrazioa

Justizia / Herri Administrazioa / Public Administration

Housing, Public Works and Transport

Housing, Public Works and Transport

Etxebizitza, Herri Lana eta Garraioa

Etxebizitza / Herri Lana / Garraioa / Vivienda / Obras Públicas / Transportes

Industry, Innovation, Trade and Tourism

Industry, Innovation, Trade and Tourism

Industria, Berrikuntza, Merkataritza eta Turismoa

Industria / Berrikuntza / merkataritza / Tourism / Innovation / Trade

Employment and Social Affairs

Employment and Social AffairsTurismo

Lana eta Gizarte GaiakTurismo

Lan / Gizarte gaietarako / Employment / Social AffairsTurismo

Health and Consumer Affairs

Health and Consumer AffairsTurismo

Osasuna eta KontsumoaTurismo

Osasuna / Kontsumo / Health / ConsumerTurismo

Environment, Land Planning, Agriculture and Fisheries

Environment, Land Planning, Agriculture and FisheriesTurismo

Ingurumena, Lurralde Antolamendua, Nekazaritza eta ArrantzaTurismo

Ingurumen / Lurralde antolamendu / Nekataritza / Arrantza / Environment / Land Planning / Agriculture / FisheriesTurismo

Culture

CultureTurismo

KulturaTurismo

KulturaTurismo

Language use

We must conform to the Usage Criteria of the Official Languages of the Basque Government set out in the previous section. Content and tags will be posted, whenever possible, in bilingual format or in the two official languages of the CAV (Basque and Castilian). The title, in the corresponding language.Tags will firstly be in Basque, and then in Castilian. With the aim of making the tagging process more straightforward, it is recommended that bundles be created which collect both languages.

Geolocation

Geolocation social networks are proliferating from the expansion of the mobile Internet (portable devices, mobile phones, Wi-Fi use, 3G, etc).

The user geo-positions himself in a specific place which he then communicates to his contacts.

The main geopositioning platforms are: Google, Facebook, Tuenti, Foursquare and Gowalla.

The Basque Government oversee the status of their sites, indicating its headquarters amongst these Social Networks.

The Department who wants their headquarters to form part of the corporate accounts will make a request by following the established procedure in this Guide.

Blogs

blog.pip.euskadi.net

What is a Blog?

A blog is a tool which has the objective of disseminating information related to the present, with the projects of the departments, with different events, etc. Entries are published with a certain amount of frequency to maintain the communication link with readers. For this reason, it is crucial to plan the editorialising of blog entries, which should be interesting and dynamic texts, which encourage debate and are related to the activity of the department, service or brand.

The blog is corporate and at the service of the department. Therefore, blog or editing profiles will be corporate (i.e., the users who generate content do so from a generic profile). However, there can be blogs where entries (posts) are signed with the name and surnames of the person posting the information (service blogs, brand blogs, etc.)..

The ultimate aim is for the blog entries to encourage people’s participation. Therefore, it is be necessary to continue the editing process with a good dissemination of postings via appropriate social networks. It will also be necessary to undertake responsibility for managing any comments.

Requests and configuration

Blog creation is requested by contacting the Web Service to communicate the initiative and detail the objectives, audience and subject matter thereof. Annex 1 includes the form with the application request, which must be completed and sent to the Web Service. Once the initiative has been accepted, the Web Service will get in touch with the EJIE Common Internet Projects team to create the tool. Finally, within 24/48 hours, EJIE Common Internet Projects team sends the applicant and the Web Service the access details and a short developers manual.

Configuration

Blog configuration will correspond to the Department, service or brand.

The Basque Government does not have a standard template for corporate blogs. These can use the template that they want, taking into account, if they so desire, the colour gamut of their own brand and with the only requirement of including the logo and a link to Euskadi.net in the header.

The blog serves as a link between all of the social networks of Government departments, which means that the rest of the complementary tools complement the blog and are used to promote its dissemination. To facilitate this role of feedback, applications or widgets are included in the blog that redirect us to the social networks of the department concerned. In this way, we manage to connect to greater number of users and create an even more extensive network. The objective is to integrate everything, so that users know the department’s different existing profiles on the web and can choose which sites they prefer to connect.

Contents

Frequency

The general recommendation is to publish an entry or two per week so as to allow sufficient time for user comments; in this sense, quality is more important than quantity.

The times of day and days of the week most opportune for publication and distribution of entries will have to be evaluated, according to the behaviour of the network of people who feed the blog in question. In this way, we will achieve maximum dissemination of the entry through the various social networking tools.

Style guidelines

1. Structure:

The text should be six paragraphs or less (around 400 words) and paragraphs should be short and concise, divided into two reading levels. At the first level we will summarise the main information and at the second we will present additional information (explanation and details.)

2. Organization of information:

- I. Titles:

A blog is NOT a repository of press releases.

In this regard, priority is given to informative headlines, which explain the contents of the entry in a concise and appealing way, without losing the formal style of a corporate blog.

- II. First reading level:

It is recommended that structures which invite reflection are used (rhetorical questions, statements, etc.)

Paragraphs will be more explanatory, but should be brief: it is important to be able to summarise information as much as possible. Also, it is recommended that you finish with a sentence which invites you to continue reading the second levell.

- III. Second reading level:

Here the additional information is shown, which is to say, the details that allow the initial content to be expanded upon, but which are not essential to get a general idea of the post.

It is not necessary to include a final conclusion in summary form: remember that we are publishing in the Internet environment and if we don’t prioritise the important information at the beginning, the user could leave the page and not continue reading. In other words, the summary or important information should go in the first level and not the second. The aim is to provide the user with the key text in the first few paragraphs so that they can decide if the subject interests them or not.

It is important to link to sources of information that the text is based upon, so that when a concept, name or term that may be unfamiliar to the reader is cited there is a link to a trusted source where information can be expanded on (The Basque Government’s own sources, dictionaries or trusted Web sites, media, some blogs, etc)

3. Images

In order to make posts more attractive, it is recommended that they be illustrated with images. It is important to know the intellectual property rights of the images we use to illustrate our posts.

The general recommendation is to go to the Irekia Photo Library www.irekia.euskadi.net/es/gallery or to Argazki, the Basque Government’s iconographic bank, seeing as, in both cases, the images have an open licence and can be reused.

If a third-party photo is needed, we can obtain images with Creative Commons licences: http://es.creativecommons.org in different Internet repositories. These images have licences which protect copyright, but permit certain uses by third parties. And these licences must be respected, citing the source or with the conditions set by their author.

Dissemination

When we post a new blog entry, it is advisable to spread it on Facebook and Twitter: we can reproduce the title of the post by adding the link, or look for more attractive ways (asking the users about a specific theme, encouraging participation, etc.). It is important to direct the participation towards the blog to centralise the discussion on a single platform.

Language use

Basque government blogs must conform to the Criteria for Use of Official Languages of the Basque Government set out in Chapter 3 of this Guide. Contents are to be published in full in the two official languages of the CAV (Basque and Castilian) in two different versions. The quality of the two languages will be ensured. Comments may be conducted in the language desired by the author and will be published in the language corresponding to the language of the comment.

The blog will have a bilingual administrator or facilitator will be responsible for energising the pace of publication (proposing collaborations) and will ensure a balance in the publication of originals in both official languages. Likewise, when an issue or discussion of general interest arises in the comments in one of the languages, new content will be created of with the same material in the other language. Contents may also be provided in other language, such as English, if, because of its global nature, it is required.

Content

The blog should be prevented from becoming a diary, therefore is should not include either announcements of events or forecasts. You should only publish posts about announcements of relevant events when the objective is to generate a debate, prior to arousing interest in attending the session in order to continue the conversation maintained in the blog. Instead, it can be interesting to write reviews of events of some significance once they have taken place.

The information posted on the blog should have added value to capture the interest of readers. It is also important to define the thematic lines of the blog in one of its pages, so that users are informed.

Comment management

It is recommended that blog comments are moderated prior to publication. It is important to display the basic guidelines of comment posting in a conspicuous place on the blog. These guidelines should be based on relevance (comments related to the thread of the conversation), respect (use of inoffensive language) and the type of information (respect for data protection and privacy of individuals).

Advertising information which usually includes links to websites whose content has nothing to do with the objective of our entry must be avoided. Comments that do not meet these requirements cannot be published, although the authors can be given the opportunity to reformulate them, if they wish.

Those responsible for editing the blog should ensure that the comments have a minimal linguistic quality where necessary (spelling correction), following the character of the model which the blogs of the Administration have. The appropriate period to respond to comments is 24 hours.

Content managers

What are content management systems?

They are tools to help us manage the contents of a website from a common interface and focus on the content we are publishing and not so much on its design or management of contacts.

As we have already seen, with the aim of ensuring optimal management of Basque Government Social Network accounts, adequate data protection and transfer of responsibility and control, the model of Government presence on social networks avoids working directly with the identifier and password of different social networking applications.

They also have built-in tools that improve the management of social networks: timers to program status updates, URL shorteners, alarms, etc.

Applications and settings

As reflected in Chapter 2 of this guide, once the Web Service or the Office of Open Government and Internet Communication has approved the request of the department, brand or service for the opening of accounts on social networks, the department will request, through its Head of IT, the installation of the Firefox browser on those computers from which accounts will be managed.

Ejie installers will proceed with the installation of Firefox with the add-ons:

- Fireuploader, which is a manager that controls the ftp of Flickr, Slideshare and

- Delicious, which serves to manage the departmental Delicious account.

The configuration of the accounts in these extensions will be undertaken by the Office of Open Government and Internet Communication.

To manage the social network Twitter, CoTweet has been chosen as content manager for its features and ease of use.

It is a web manager. In its free version, it allows you to manage 5 Twitter accounts at once and also form work groups or assign tweets, as well as use a customised bit.ly account (URL shortener), which allows us to obtain statistics on shared links.

The Office of Open Government and Internet Communication will configure the departmental CoTweet account.

Basic vocabulary

AVATAR is the image of our consistent profile, usually a photograph for people and the logo for the departments, services or brands.

BOOKMARK, is the English expression for marking the page.

BUNDLE is a group of tags with common characteristics and which have the purpose of improving the search for content on bit.ly or delicious.com

DM is a private message between two Twitter users.

TAG See below

FBML (Facebook Markup Language) is the Facebook markup language. Its purpose is to help build applications which are fully integrated into the Facebook environment. It allows actions such as access user profiles, show their photos, integrate comment forums, and much more.

FF See FOLLOWFRIDAY

FOLLOWFRIDAY. It’s a game that takes place massively every Friday on twitter. It involves recommending other users who, for whatever reason, seem worthy of a mention. At the beginning or end of the tweet the expression #followfriday is displayed, preceded by the hash sign, which is the way to tag content on twitter.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is the protocol for the transfer of files, a method which can be used to upload and download information to and from the Internet

HASHTAG is the name given to the TAGS on Twitter and which serve to categorize these tweets.

HEADER is the header of a website. It is where the title of a blog and the brand of the department are usually placed.

OME is the home page.

HOTLIST, is the list of the most-saved urls by users of Delicious.

HTML (Hypertext markup language) is the predominant markup language for website development.

LINK, See URL

LOGIN, user identifier within a system. To enter the secure system we are usually asked for our login and password.

NETIQUETTE, a set of rules dictated by custom and experience that defines the rules of courtesy and good conduct which Internet users should follow in their relations with other users.

PIXEL English acronym picture element, “element of an image”) is the smallest unit uniform in colour that is part of a digital image, be it a photograph, video frame or a graphic.

POST, or article usually written on a blog or Facebook wall.

PROSUMER, is an acronym formed from the joining of the words producer and consumer. Equally, it is associated with the joining of the words professional and consumer.

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a family of formats for documents used to publish frequently updated content on the Internet.

RT is to republish a tweet previously generated by another user.

RETWEET, see RT

SIDEBAR the side column of any webpage.

TAG, is a word or words written without spaces (withoutspaces) or with a hyphen (without-spaces) that serve(s) to describe a piece of information or a multimedia file.

TIMELINE it is our wall, where messages from our contacts are published chronologically. It applies, above all, to Twitter. The term wall is used more on Facebook.

TWEET, each of the status updates on the social network Twitter.

URL, is the web page address which we type into the browser.

WIDGET is a web application that can be downloaded or embedded into a website, blog or social network. It allows the sharing of content that will be updated automatically.

Annexe I:
bibliography

Introduction

- www.flickr.com/photos/briansolis/3398531745

For more information:

- Social Networks:
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redes_Sociales

- Web 2.0:
wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0

- Loretahur Online Social Networking Workshop:
loretahur.wikispaces.com/Redes+Sociales

Open licences

For more information:

- Creative Commons:
creativecommons.org/international/es/

- ColorIuris:
www.coloriuris.net/

- Introduction to Copyleft:
www.uca.es/ ... /416059007_268201041313.pdf

Twitter

For more information:

- Twitter Course. Gipuzkoa Provincial Council:
cursotwitter.igipuzkoa.net/twitter_1.php?idioma=es

Annex II:
registration procedure

Request for Registration of web 2.0 and Social Networking Tools

Type of tool

Blog, Wiki, Foro, Newsletter o Red Social (Youtube, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter...).

Name of initiative or campaign

Name for the blog, forum, wiki or newsletter.
In the case of Social Network, brand or campaign name, service or requesting address

Department / Directorate / Service

Which department (address or service) is requesting the tool?

Person responsible

Name and surname of the person responsible for the initiative

Contact details of the person responsible

Email address and telephone number

Description of the initiative

1. Objective:

2. Receiver/s:

3. Theme:

4. Brief description of the features and sections that the initiative will have.

Application date

Common tools for sharing initiatives on www.euskadi.net: Blogs, Wikis, Forums and Newsletters

What are these tools?

Blog

“... is a periodically updated website that collects chronological texts or articles from one or more authors, the most recent appearing first, where the author always retains the freedom to leave published that which they believe is relevant.”

Sourc: wikipedia.org

Wiki

“... is a website where the pages can be edited by multiple volunteers through the web browser. Users can create, modify or delete a shared text. The texts or ‘wiki pages’ have unique titles.”

Source: wikipedia.org

Forum

“... are a complement to a website inviting users to discuss or share information relevant to the theme of the site, in a free and informal discussion, which leads to the forming of a community around a common interest. The discussions are usually moderated by a coordinator or moderator, who generally introduces the topic, asks the first question, stimulates and guides.

Source: wikipedia.org

But, how are forums different to blogs and wikis?

“... compared with wikis, contributions from other members cannot be modified unless certain special permissions are held, as those assigned to moderators or administrators.

“... compared with blogs, they differ in that forums allow a large number of users and discussions are nested, somewhat similar to how comments would be on blogs. Also, generally, forums tend to be about more diverse or wider themes with a more varied amount of content and the possibility of customisation on a user level (not only at owner level).

Source: wikipedia.org

Newsletter or information bulletin

“... is a regularly distributed publication, generally focused on one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers.”

Source: wikipedia.org

Tool Features

Standards-based tools

- BLOG (WordPress 3.0)

- WIKI (MediaWiki)

- FORO (PHPBB)

- Lista (PHPList)

Immediacy, flexibility and self-management

Those responsible for the initiative will be able to:

- Have the tools available to them in a short period of time (24/48 hours from the validation of the initiative by the Web Service)

- Adapt the solution to their needs (development)

- Decide, plan and put the adaptations (developments) into production autonomously.

- Define the model of participation management

Self-management implies that full responsibility must be assumed for the initiative regarding:

- The proper functioning of the environment once adapted

- The adaptation of the solution (code versions, plugins, etc)

- The start of production and development testing.

- Technical/functional information about the products is NOT provided

Application procedure

1. The applicant contacts the Web Service to communicate the initiative and detail the objectives, audience and subject matter.

2. They also complete and submit the application form (annex) to the Web Service.

3. Once the initiative has been accepted, the Web Service gets in touch with the Ejie Common Internet Projects team to register the tool.

4. Within 24/48 hours, the Ejie Common Internet Projects team sends the applicant and the Web Service the access details and a short manual for developers.

Criteria for validation of the initiative

The Web Service will analyse and, where appropriate, validate the requested initiative based on the following criteria:

- The defined objectives are participatory and/or collaborative (in the case of the Newsletter, the main objective is dissemination)

- Participation objectives on specific topics: Is participation about a defined topic?

- Recipients: Is it an initiative aimed at specific groups?

- Features: Are the desired features consistent with the requested tool?

Requisitos de diseño, maquetación y estándares

- The Euskadi.net logo should be located on the right side of the header

- Templates (themes) must meet the standards set by the W3C: XHTML and CSS

- Templates (themes) must comply with web accessibility guidelines WCAG 2.0, level AA (if any difficulties exist at this point due to the nature of the selected application, the possibility of alternatives or of not applying the standard in specific content will be evaluated with the Web Service)

- To find out about accessibility requirements, consult the New Basque Government Access Management Model (www.euskadi.net/r33-2288/ ... /ModeloGestionAccesibilidad.pdf).

Annex III:
Graphic image on social networks

The Office of Open Government and Internet Communication is entrusted with facilitating the relevant avatars to the different Departments, Public Enterprises, Autonomous Institutions, Private Public Entities and communication events and/or campaigns in keeping with the corporate image adapted to social networks.

The avatar will have a coloured background with a subtle gradient effect. The logos, brands or coat-of-arms of the Basque Government will be adapted in white on this background.

The colour of the background will depend on the brand itself or, failing that, an appropriate colour will be chosen.

The letters EUSK, for both Eusko Jaularitza and Euskadi (Basque Government and Basque Country), will appear on the bottom of the avatar.

In the case of avatars for Facebook, the name of the Departments, Public Enterprises, Autonomous Institutions, Private Public Entities and communication events and/or campaigns will also be included and the calibri typeface will be used.

Grey will be used as the background for Twitter, with the watermarked coat-of-arms of the Basque Government.

Examples:

Avatars for Twitter

Twitter Background

Avatars for Facebook

This guide is an open document. Let’s improve it collaboratively:

- irekia@ej-gv.es

- facebook.com/GobiernoVascoIrekia

- twitter.com/irekia

Edition:
First, April 2011

Illustrations:
© Aída García Corrales (www.aidarte.blogspot.com) 2011
All rights reserved

Internet:
www.euskadi.net

Edited by:
Eusko Jaurlaritzaren Argitalpen Zerbitzu Nagusia
Servicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno Vasco
Donostia kalea, 1 - 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz

Legal warning:
Text based on the Style and Usage in Social Networks Guide of the Generalitat de Catalunya and subject to a Creative Commons 3.0 Recognition licence. The contents may be reproduced, distributed, disseminated and transformed to prepare a derivative work, without any restriction whatsoever provided that the rights holders is cited: Basque Government - Eusko Jaurlaritza.