What is Bottup? 

[span class=approved]Bottup is a nonprofit social network where people post their own news and where journalists work for them.  Any citizen can register for free and get their ‘Press Card'(profile) in this site dedicated to current information from a different perspective to that of traditional media.  The aim of Bottup is provide a platform for citizens to decide and communicate what really interests them and they can do so in a dignified and professional manner.  To achieve this, journalists in the editorial Bottup work directly for them. I want to sign up[/span]

Bottup is online since 30 January 2007, when it became the first citizen journalism project in spanish language.  Since then, Bottup is a reference in participation in information, participating in various conferences as examples of Journalism and Digital Citizenship, and becoming a role model considered by international experts such Dan Gillmor, father of the term ‘Citizen Journalism’.  You can read news about Bottup in the Editor’s blog. 

Why this name

Bottup is an acronym for the english expression “From Bottom Up”, ie “From the ground up”.  We chose this name because it synthesizes the main pillar on which rests this project: to create the information (and thus build public opinion, the real staying power of the citizenship) from the bottom up rather than top down, as we understand that occurs with traditional media. 

Mainstays

[number value=1]CITIZENSHIP: Active citizenship is always synonymous of a healthy democracy and society progresses.  The main Bottup’s objective is to provide them a tool and professional service fully independent, disinterested and non-profit to be active in the field of information.  In point 1 of Article 20 of the Spanish Constitution clearly states that all Spanish has the right “to freely communicate or receive truthful information by any media”.  Our mission is to facilitate this first part forgotten until now.[/number]

[number value=2]JOURNALISM: The professionals who manage, work or collaborate in Bottup understand that their profession is a necessary social service and can not be constantly subjected to the proprietary interests of large media groups.  We believe in a closer relationship to our true customers (the users).  We believe that which is today in crisis is the journalism understood as business and as a private weapon of pressure, not the journalism as social service.[/number]

[number value=3]NON-PROFIT: Bottup is a platform, a free social tool.  Built with the effort and enthusiasm of a small group of people, Bottup expects to grow to be more useful to more people.  And aspire to it via non-commercial.  Currently Bottup survives thanks to contributions from Nxtmdia, a small company that acts as a small foundation: the revenue derived by the investing work for others to keep Bottup.  All clients who hire Nxtmdia are actually allowing the existence of Bottup.  In the near future, Bottup aims to support himself through the creation of a legal nonprofit structure, which can involve all those who want it.[/number]

Who participates

In Bottup we find the following actors:

[list class=special-7][li]Visitors: Are Bottup passive audience, one that comes to consume information and comment.[/li]

[li]Citizen journalists: Are those audience members who register, get their Press Card and begin to participate actively in the platform, generating their own information.[/li]

[li]Journalists partners: Are those professional journalists who identify with the mission and the basic mainstays of Bottup and collaborate with the newsroom to service to the citizen journalists.[/li]

[li]Bottup Newsroom: Formed by professional journalists, is a short newsroom in collaboration with journalists working for editing the information of citizen journalists and provides all the support they need to produce their own information.[/li][/list]

How it works

This is the process by which information is generated in Bottup:[important color=green title=Login]

The citizen journalist enters their user data in Bottup.  Apart from managing their contacts with other citizens and journalists and to communicate with them, the user accesses the posting page.  They Compose their information (which may include photographs, audio and video) and save it. 

[/important]

[important color=green title=Editing]

The newsroom team of Bottup receive an automatic notice about the new content is introduced by the citizen journalist.  A staff writer or a journalist collaborator opens it and submits it to the editing process.  This process includes:

Contrast and verification of information (for which the newsroom should also contact the user if necessary)

Spelling and grammar

Syntax

Header

Layout: Highlights, summaries, crabs, asides, cuts, etc..

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[important color=green title=Publication]

Once edited the article, the newsroom publishes it in the section and definitely appropriate category identified by the user.  Sometimes the editors can refuse to publish an article if it is surreptitious advertising, incurs homophobia, xenophobia or any expression that intentionally incites violence.  The author will always be informed of this decision and if you want you can submit your article to the scrutiny and decision of other Bottup journalists citizens. 

[/important]

Who

Bottup was founded in January 2007 by a small group of young journalists who were working on the idea from a year earlier.  Shortly after founding Bottup, and by necessity of obtaining some sort of income to maintain the site, we founded Horizontal Communication and New Media SL, Nxtmdia.  Through Nxtmdia they obtained legal status in order to bill for work-related journalism and / or digital content and social networks.  Since then, Nxtmdia works for external clients for the sole purpose of conducting live Bottup until the day he finally becomes a legal nonprofit.  The goal of Nxtmdia since its beginnings is innovation in journalism and digital communication.  Other projects driven by Nxtmdia are PlanetaCrisis.com, the video production Recetas Mileuristas, the Bottup’s podcast and all Bottup.com internal projects, such as the First Citizen Journalist Award, the first of its kind ever held in Spain.