The social network platform Twitter broke the one billion tweets barrier as it celebrated its fifth anniversary in March of this year. Since October of 2010, the European Council and its President Herman Van Rompuy have contributed to this record result.
Twitter is a free micro-blogging platform that allows users to send or read short status messages composed of up to 140 characters. Twitter users are asked to update their statuses by answering the question: “What’s happening?”
The social network serves as an important marketing tool: it gives politicians, celebrities, companies and individuals in general the possibility to develop their own brand and their own style when interacting with their subscribed readers, also known as followers.
Twitter gives politicians a chance to better connect with their voters. Political institutions have also recognised the value of the social network. At European level, the Council of the European Union and the European Council each opened a Twitter account in October of 2010. The European Council was the first to post a tweet on 26th October through President Herman Van Rompuy’s personal channel @euHvR. The Council of the European Union followed shortly after, posting its first tweet on 27th October (@EUCouncilPress). The first challenge for the Press office was to cover the first European Council – which gathers the 27 EU head of states and hundred of journalists in the same building during two days – using Twitter, on 28th and 29th October. During this first summit, a total of 65 tweets were posted by the official EU team.
Breaking official news on Twitter
The initiative was particularly interesting for journalists because the first tweets focused mostly on the upcoming EU summit, announcing agenda items and other important information under the official hash tag#Euco. Put simply, a hashtag is used to mark keywords or topics in a tweet and allows these items to be found again by browsing or searching. It is similar to tags used in the blogosphere. A search query on Twitter for #Euco would show all messages related to this specific topic.
By following the hashtag #Euco, journalists and citizens around the world could not only see what was happening in relation to the summit but also what was happening during the summit. Van Rompuy took it a step further when he started tweeting updates on the results of private negotiations among head of states.
In December Van Rompuy announced limited changes on the treaty of Lisbon and just recently, he used Twitter to reveal which non-Euro country will be participating in the Euro Plus Pact.
The Tweetwall experience
When the EU Council press office created its Twitter account in October of 2010, it also opened an onlineTweetwall service in the Atrium during the summit. The Tweetwall was a large screen set up in the press room where hundred of journalists were able to see all the tweets bearing the hashtag #Euco.
This type of live coverage can be useful to journalists especially when it comes to finding out about rumours or learning official breaking news through Herman Van Rompuy’s announcements.
However, a debate took place regarding the moderation of the tweets, since all the messages that appeared on the screen were checked beforehand by the press office. The fact that the experience only lasted for 45 minutes was also discussed.- why such a short period?
Berlusconi insults
The Tweetwall was used once again during the following EU summit in December. This time however, the tweets were not moderated. The blogger Jon Worth decided to get the hashtag #euco trending on Twitter. Italians understood the message and started posting tweets about the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi : “Berlusconi pays for sex, for votes, for mafia protection, for everything he can buy. What he cannot buy, will be stolen”. Or, quoting Berlusconi himself : “Mussolini never killed anyone. Mussolini used to send people on vacation in internal exile”.
The Tweetwall was switched off prematurely after two hours instead of three as planned. Dana Manescu, from the Council press team, told EUobserver: “The point was not to show insulting messages about Berlusconi. If anyone from the Italian delegation saw it, it would hurt their sensibility.”
Even though Manescu assured that the press team “will definitely do this again”, the experience has not been renewed so far.
The European Council on Energy and Innovation on 4th February tried to organise a special debate on the Tweetwall but it did not last long.
A changing strategy
Despite the fact that the wish in October was to expand the use of social media during the European Council itself, the strategy changed in December after the Berlusconi attacks on the Tweetwall. Nicolas Kerleroux, head of the Council’s press office, now says: “We want to renew the experience. But it does not mean that we will use it [the Tweetwall] each time.”
“We want to use the video walls in the Atrium in a dynamic way. Apart from live coverage (arrivals, round table, etc…), we will try to show films or special animations, and if need be, the Tweetwall,” he clarifies.
The use of the expression “If need be” reveals that unfortunately, a tool such as the Tweetwall is no longer a priority during sessions of the European Council.
Those who believed in free speech and debates inside the institution will not be happy.
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This post was originally published on the European Journalism Centre’s website.
Photo Credits: Flickr CC The Prime Minister’s Office and European Parliament
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