Timu is a Swahili word which means "team:" team being the core principle of the new platform the Italian <ahref Foundation recently launched.

Timu is a publishing platform for crowdsourced information and its main feature is to apply a common research method which is then recognised by a specific icon that websites and blogs can display in their homepage, to declare they are following that method.

The Timu hallmark is an assessment of a shared working methodology based on the core standards for high quality information: accuracy, impartiality, independence, legality.

This means providing accurate information, facts and data, being as impartial as possible, publishing a disclaimer for any possible conflict of interests involved in the article or in the subject of the article, acting in the shadow of legality and respecting fundamental liberties as well as privacy rights.

The hallmark is not a certification as it's self-awarded: like the Creative Commons license it is a gift to the readers because it qualifies a sense of responsibility based on a working method for producing quality information, as Luca De Biase, president of <ahref, wrote.

The idea of displaying this quality voluntary icon sparked a debate online and attracted some criticism. Some questioned whether this hallmark could work for bloggers as they are supposed to express their personal opinions and therefore they are not impartial.

The Editors Weblog spoke to Michele Kettmaier, General Manager of <ahref Foundation, who underlined that the Timu icon is not meant to be just for bloggers and not for all bloggers, but for anyone who is producing quality information online, following the guidelines of accurate reporting. It can appeal to bloggers and blogs when they do reporting.

This reflection is part of a wider debate about whether bloggers are journalists or not. Regardless of the specific opinion one might have about the topic, what is important in this context is the working method the writer is following, a declaration of the reliability and accountability of the published content.

The Timu icon, Kettmaier said, is not a rule and therefore no one could break it (as, for example, disregarding the announced quality principles). There is no external authority that can judge an eventual violation, it will be the online community to sanction it if necessary.

Timu is a civic media that, as part of the wider <ahref goals, aims to "promote best practices that provide access to the opportunities opened up by the social media information ecosystem".

It is also a first step toward a broader project regarding the concept of a social certification of the online credibility of users. To agree on a method of accurate reporting is a first move toward building your online credibility.

It could be beneficial for mainstream media, Kettmaier said, as it might encourage them to address the issues of quality reporting and learn from others who are providing quality information online.

Also this could be an opportunity for the entire information ecosystem: raising quality levels could prompt a virtuous circle of rising standards, leaving those that do not meet this level out of the conversation.

Sources: Timu, Blog De Biase (1), (2), Il Fatto Quotidiano, TagliaBlog, Indigeni Digitali