Overwhelming Birthday

Birthday Celebration is one of human's best physiological inventions, you become a year older officially and it's a moment of sadness but see what happens. Then to make it even more wonderful Facebook came along. I was overwhelmed by the number of greetings I received. I would like to thank everybody who took time out write those words to me, even those very lazy ones who managed to type: "HBD".

I have never seen a Birthday cake with my name written on it ever, I am not saying it's necessary but as a child that would mean a world. Growing with rich cousins was heartbreaking especially on occasions like this when they have big parties and cake and no one remembers my birthday. Now I can afford a cake but the cake-loving excitement is gone with the age.    

There is this warm saying, "Friends are family we choose for ourselves" that redefined my life in last many years. Dechen called me in the morning and sang the whole Birthday song. She has very bad voice but it was magical. Dawa Knight and Paday walked in with  a surprise package each and it turned out that both came with cakes, they were pissed with each other but I am happy. Wa, two cakes for a man who haven't had one in a life time- quite an irony. It made me blush. Thank you endlessly.

The Two Unforgettable Cakes.

Bbay Story on Kuensel K2 Mag

K2 Magazine Cover

BBay Story

Thank you Thinley Zangmo and K2 for publishing bBay story.

bBay Imitations

A Blogger buddy, @Thimphutech sent me a tweet:

"@PaSsu_Diary, they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Check out the 'Bbay' page on Facebook.(link removed)"

I wasn't even curious to check out because I have already seen several imitations of my Facebook Group 'B-Bay Buying and Selling Second Hand Stuffs in Bhutan', but that tweet actually made me feel good. It indicates that I should be proud that people are imitating my work. And I did.

The Top is mine: Rest are imitations. 

But sometime ago I was upset at people who ran out of basic creativity and resorted to cheapest means by imitating. I even wrote to someone who not only imitated my group (except with typo) but also campaigned against my group policies. He copied my group to counter mine, because he was removed from the group after coming into conflict with our policy. I regretted having written to him.

The copyright issue is out of question but the question is about ethics and self respect. Facebook is a free platform and English is full of words yet some people cannot come up with something of their own. I adopted the word 'bBay' from 'eBay' and I acknowledged that it was inspired by eBay.

They think the magic is in the word 'BBay' but the real success comes from cleaning the Group Wall of spams, non-sense, and irrelevant items on everyday. We also filter members and accept only Bhutanese or foreigners living in Bhutan. We also filter abusive Bhutanese members, and also brokers. If we have allowed every request we would have over 40,000 members by now but we wanted the group to be useful to Bhutanese. I have employed my family to look after it and take the group seriously. That's the secret behind the success of the group. If someone else it willing to provide this service so sincerely I am willing to give up but I doubt anybody would commit so much time. They only see the finished work and not the effort that went into it.

I hereby declare that you are free to imitate bBay, but I request you to imitate my commitment too.

Bloggers Around Bonfire

I extended 'Bloggers Meet in Thimphu' invitation to 1156 members in Blogyul (The Facebook Page for Bhutanese Bloggers), of which I assumed at least 100 to be based in Thimphu. Amazing 40 members said they were coming for the event on 23rd September. I was still in Wangdue when this event was planned but I counted on Riku, Ngawang and Sogyel to work on it and they actually made it precisely the way I romanticized- outdoor with bonfire.

It was unfortunately Monday night but Rima Reyka, Singaporean Blogger who is in love with Bhutan, has always looked forward to this day and I thought passion will surpass the timing. But I was badly betrayed when only eight of us gathered. Mr.JJ, another Singaporean blogger, was my guest to the event and that made two of them from Singapore.

From Left: Riku, Sogyel, Nawang, Rima, PaSsu, Tshering C Dorji, JJ and Dema. Kunzang Thinley(PSN) was Cameraman.

Tshering C Dorji, the writer of 'Shadow Around the Lamp' and 'Living the Bhutanese Way' paid us a surprised visit, all the way from Phuntsholing. He made the evening so much fun ;) and the story related it is exclusive to the attendees.

Dema Yangzom, the youngest among us made it to her debut bloggers meet. Her presence touched me to the depth. We didn't allow her to drink because she was still considered underage ;) but I don't know what happened later...

Kuenzang Thinley (PSN) drove 59 Km from Paro, after office, only to meet us. He is a father of three daughters and still found time and meaning in attending this gathering. I was reminded of the first Blogger Meet I attended in 2010 driving 75 Km from Wangdue. It's all about passion, and I will always cherish Kunzang's presence. 

From Left: Tshering C Dorji, PaSsu, JJ, Dema Yangzom, Sogyel, Kuenzang Thinley(PSN), Rima, Nawang
Photo by Riku

The remaining four of us where the hosts and we have met often in the past and I am sure we will always work together to organize such events- once beaten twice try.

Bloggers Who Attended (Click on the Names to go to their Blogs)

1. Rima Reyka
2. Nawang Phuntsho (Penstar)
3. Sogyel Tobgyel
4. Riku Dhan Subba
5. Dema Yangzom
6. Yee Jenn Jong (JJ)
7. Tshering C Dorji
8. Kuenzang Thinley (PSN)
9. PaSsu

Students' Haircut

Few weeks ago a fellow teacher had posted the following picture on Facebook and it suddenly became an issue. He managed to takedown the picture but by then it has become a topic of debate on social media. The matter reached Education Ministry, who later notified on Facebook that they were investigating the case.

Many of the people engaged in the debate on social media then had not seen the picture including myself, yet there were endless comments against the teacher. Many shared their personal stories and of their children who had to suffer similar experiences.

Today, someone uploaded the picture on Facebook with an open letter to the teacher and all of a sudden it went viral. To many it's a breaking news because they didn't know when the issue actually surfaced. The picture is shared on various groups and pages on Facebook and so far it has gathered hundreds of comments, mostly condemning the teacher.

The Picture on the Facebook. 

Just by looking at one picture so many people have dictated the whole biography of the teacher and if there is anyone victimized in this case it's the teacher who in his entire career was never so much appreciated like he is insulted and condemned for one act, which may not be his doing.

The issue on haircut in school has a long controversial history; if your look from outside the school you would strongly argue on the connection between education and hair, but from inside the school we know hair talks about the child, and changing hairstyle is a sign of changing character. However, short hair is not necessarily proper hair, which is therefore a topic of a timeless debate.

But in this issue, the children in the picture are very small and at this age in rural schools they hardly care about their hairstyle- if you have been to such a school you will understand. And often school staff and teachers become barbers and help give kids brush cutting. They aren't wearing school uniform, which suggest it's on a weekend. On weekends rural school usually help clean their children; give them haircut, and cut their nails. Perhaps this picture was taken on one such day before their actual hair cutting session. The barbers must have had fun with these children on Saturday afternoon but after that their hair would be cut to the minimum length appropriate for children to care for. The question of demoralization, trauma, and physiological implication seem far fetched in this case.

Posting the picture on Facebook was something many people felt inappropriate. It's very true in the western context. It's a serious offence there because people mind being publicised without their consent.  But here in Bhutan do we really mind? There are thousands of tourist snapping ugly shots of our people and are published in blogs and magazines but no one seem to mind. How suddenly so many people became so conscious about privacy? Do these children mind being on Facebook? Do they even know there is something called Facebook? If there is anything they are concerned about, it may be a new pair of shoes, a set of notebooks, decent food, and a good life ahead. And if you wish to be a partner in giving them a good life, join the teacher you have condemned and know the job he's doing.

I am not defending a fellow teacher, I have taught in a rural school and lived with such children and I know that sort of fun we have with our children. The picture in the limelight seems very harmless. But my perspective could be driven of my ignorance because I haven't studied or lived outside Bhutan. You could choose to differ but please don't condemn the teacher so badly just by looking at a picture, at least wait to know the story behind the picture.

**The identity of the boys are hidden not because I thought it's important but because some good friends advised me to and I respect their views.

Jigme Couldn't Find Taxi From Thimphu

My son Jigme was rushing home from Paro this afternoon. He wanted to spend this election holiday with us at home. But he is stranded in Thimphu tonight because he couldn't find a taxi coming to Wangdue. The taxi he got into asked him Nu.450, almost 100% more than normal rate, and when he questioned the driver, he was told that all taxi charge same rate today. His repeated protest made the taxi driver change his mind and direction. The taxi politely threw out my boy and went to Paro.
I made the following request on Facebook (see picture) and only respond I got was to note the number of the taxi and file a formal complaint against it in RSTA office. 

It was not about my son alone, it was about the illegal fare hike going on and I thought RSTA will go there and catch them red handed, but it turned out that we have to follow procedures, which indirectly meant there is no heart in dealing with the problem. Like a friend on Facebook commented,

 "That is the problem we have la; even, if we file a formal complaint with veh. registration No., they will ask for evidence and will go on..."

This was a problem since my school days and I am shocked even during my children's time the same problem bothers our country. I am sure many desperate travellers during this election must have been harassed by these taxi drivers, which will make the very voting experience bitter. Now I know why Monggar election officer chose to hire private cars rather than taxis. 

Election and Social Media in Bhutan

On 23 April 2013, when Bhutan voted for National Council election for the second time in the history of the newly democratic country, another history was made on an equally new platform. For the first so much information was generated by Bhutanese on Social Media, that when I return from short toilet breaks I could see over hundred updates on Twitter and Facebook- and yes everything related to election.
I wish I have the resources to count and analyze how much data was generated exactly but Bhutan telecom must have enjoyed maximum business. Twitter accounts of Kuensel and BBS were on fire that day- another record breaker! When BBS TV viewer were jumping in excitement with the result of fourth Dzongkhag we on Twitter were done with all 20 Dzongkhags results via two government media tweets.
However, National Council Election for some reason is taken lightly by people, at least on social media, and also among the 67 candidates who took part only about 10 of them were active on Facebook and just 3 on Twitter.
Come National Assembly Election and we will see the real revolution of social media. There are several groups on Facebook that are seriously discussing Bhutanese democracy and not to mention the so many anonymous intellects and analysts on Tweeter who have million questions to ask. Bhutanomics has made itself available to Bhutanese via Facebook (though its actual website is blocked) and Bhutantimes.com has made a comeback.
Feeling the need of the time all five political parties have established themselves on the major platforms of social media and are actively interacting with Bhutanese netizens. And interestingly many cabinet ministers have joined Facebook recently, and most of the new members of political parties have begun their introduction from Facebook. Some former members are already seeded player on Social media with amazing fan followers.
If you happen to see a party's page or a member's profile on your Facebook sidebar, that's because they have advertised with Facebook, which is another new thing in Bhutan.

Following table shows the presence of Political parties on Social media: (Click on the pictures to Follow them on Twitter or Like their Facebook Fan Page)



Now Imagine the amount of data Bhutan will generate, and imagine the dimension of debates and their influences on the minds of voters- even those of who are offline!

Fish on bBay

I am pleased to see my bBay appearing in Kuensel's List of "Site You Could Use". But more than that, Gyalsten K Dorji must be applauded for bringing bright new change to boring Kuensel pages, in fact Kuensel could build on this idea and make a list of their own like the famous Forbes List.

I created bBay two years ago and it enjoyed publicity from Business Bhutan and Thimphutech.com besides my own blog. Today it's one of the most active groups on Facebook where the following happens (from Kuensel)

"If you are looking to buy or sell something, the most active place to do this today is on Facebook. Named after ebay, the popular online auction and shopping website, a page named B-Bay currently has almost 14,000 members using the page to find buyers for their second hand items, or to find something they want. A wide range of items, like apartments, land, vehicles, electronics, jewellery, shops, and even doma can be found being marketed on the Facebook page. The page also provides for some entertaining exchanges between buyers and sellers. Since the page is hosted on Facebook, posts are free."

Page 13- Kuensel

I must thank my dear friend, idea box and brilliant businessman, Tshering Tenzin who helped grow bBay to the size it has today. Right from the beginning we made it clear to ourselves that bBay will help people from being bullied by brokers, which is why we have banned over hundred brokers till date. We, including my wife and brother, monitor bBay everyday to keep the wall free from spams, jokes, harassment, and brokers. We only earn a few Nu. from the Ads we post on cover and in pinned section, which is at times questioned.

What is the Fish on bBay?
However, recently I visited a big office where I met two smart guys who were upset with me. They confessed to me that they were among the brokers whom I have banned, but what they shared after that upset me. After they were banned they have fooled us by joining with new account and remained ideal to escape out censorship. But what they enjoyed was full access to what our members post and they were the active buyers. They buy from our members and sell offline. To shock me even more they say they have done two to five deals each week. Sometime they see their sold cars coming back on bBay, which happens because there are many more hidden brokers on bBay. They promised to give me a list of all the brokers they know on bBay so that I can make it a clean place I had hoped for. So my dear member on bBay, I must admit to you all that there are some fishes in the group, which is important for you to know, but as long as you are getting what you want for the price you agree they should be a problem.

Social Media Monitor

I am officially appointed as the Social Media Monitor for 2013 Election by Election Commission of Bhutan since 10th March 2013. I will be working under office of Media Arbitrator in Chubachu with a team of media experts and a lawyer.
I have willingly agreed to undertake this role because of my love for social media. Now I can official be on twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, and online forums for 24 hours without upsetting my wife.
But I also have fear of being misunderstood by my cyber buddies-you might start thinking I will be policing on you and restrict your freedom on social media but in reality we are as free as ever as long as we follow rules. And ECB Social Media Rules and Regulation of the Kingdom of Bhutan, 2012 has nothing more than ordinary rules we follow in life, what makes it different is it stresses on election. It's just a question of few months for the sake of Free and Fair election.

The rules are there to

1. "Promote the responsible use of Social Media..."
2. "Ensure a level playing field for all contestants..."
3. "Prevent and Control any violation of the Electoral Laws in the use of Social Media in elections."

Click on the Picture to Download the book (Just 15 pages)

Let me quote few lines from the Rule book that will give you an idea of what you can and cannot do on Social Media during the Election Period;

4.1

Every user of the Social Media shall have the responsibility to carry out oversight duty and report to the election authorities any violation of the laws, in particular the Election Code of Conduct by a Political Party, Candidate, Voter, media, electoral officer or worker of a Political Party.

4.4

No individual shall communicate/transmit/post hate messages or any content with intent to defame or reduce the electoral chances of an opposing contestant or Political Party.

And under "Fair and Accurate Reporting" I'd like to highlight one point:

8.6

A Party, Candidate or their supporters shall not include rumour or unsubstantiated statements that have potential to mislead or deceive the reader, listener or viewer.

Role of our office is as stated in 4.6 (however the online version needs to be updated with changes made)

"The office of the Media Arbitrator shall put in place facility to monitor the Social Media forums effectively during the election and be responsible to arbitrate all media related disputes."

And in case of violation of the Electoral Laws by Anonymous users on Social Media:

4.9 (It's not in the online version)
"An ISP shall be required to put in place a system that can lawfully intercept and provide the necessary information on the identity of social media abuser using its services"

And two Solid Don't's you must remember during the election period are:

8.2 An online poll on support or opposition to Political Party or Candidate shall not be permitted during the Election Period.

6.1

The 48 hour period before poll and until the close of Polls, is also referred as Blackout Period or the 48-hour no-campaign period under the Laws, during which:

6.1.1

No one shall publish, broadcast, or transmit any item that is of the nature of election campaign supporting or opposing any Political Party or Candidate.

 **The views expressed on this blog are my own (except the Quotes) and not those of the Election Commission of Bhutan or the Office of Media Arbitrator. It's for my fellow social media users for information.

Dasho Tshering Dorji's Answer

Dasho Tshering Dorji is a National Council Member from Haa. People in my village have high regards for him for his numerous visits and meetings with them. I almost got a chance to meet him in my village after the earthquake last year but missed by some hours. The only place we ever get to meet is on a Facebook group called Haap Dorros, where he presents his works, progress and achievements. We haaps have created our own forum for regional discussions, where he participates a great deal and I thank him for that.

But yesterday some Haap Wangchuk posted the following:

Haap Wangchuk

As this is the page for Haap Dhoros, that did our elected Members bought any changes in your area.Did they helped you when you were in trouble.Did they fulfilled their promises they made. For me i will say they are neutral. What ever the decisions taken by the Dzongkhag administration and gewog administration is final. They dont even have guts to justify the complaints made by victims.

I have never seen or head of them correcting the errors made by Dzongkhag and gewog Administrations.

And before anyone could write any comment Dasho Tshering Dorji replied as follows:

Tshering Dorji 

Haap Wangchuk, Before you shoot your mouth, as a responsible citizen, you also have the responsibility to consider the following 1. Please go through the constitution and and the NC and NA acts and also the recently passed Local Government Act to understand and comprehend the role of NA, NC and the local government. 2. As a haap yourself please find time to come and attend the public meeting(zomdu) that I conduct after every session as mandated by the law or atleast make an effort to call up your local leaders-gups, mangmi, tshogpa or elderly people from your village to find out as to what I as an elected representative been doing within my constitutionally provided responsibilty as a parliamentarian in general and in specific to the recent earthquake event. You must also understand as a good citizen that while there is tremendous temptation to overstep our feet on the toes of the local administration due to misunderstood, personalized and politicized pressure such as one that you are giving, it is also in the larger interest of this nation and people to be reminded of the Constitution and do whatever I can within the legal bound. However, you will only know this only if you are still in touch with the ground reality and genuinely concerned with the overall welfare of all the Haap victims. However, you have a lot of guts in publicly criticizing us and the public institutions that we represent based on your ill-informed imagination. As per the section 317 and 320 of the Penal code of Bhutan, what you have posted in the public media in nothing less than the offense of defamation and Libel since you are intentionally trying to causes damage to the reputation of another person or a legal person by communicating
false or distorted information about that person's action, motive, character, or reputation in writing. However, you are right, I dont have guts to take the matter further but if I do please also consider what could happen to you. Fellow Wangchuk, please remember that democracy does not mean going beyond the rule of law but it means fulfilling the nation's and people aspiration within the rule of law. Freedom of speech and expression does not mean speaking recklessly or mindlessly, you never know where a slip of your tongue will land you up. So think twice before you shoot your mouth irresponsibly.false or distorted information about that person's action, motive, character, or reputation in writing. However, you are right, I dont have guts to take the matter further but if I do please also consider what could happen to you. Fellow Wangchuk, please remember that democracy does not mean going beyond the rule of law but it means fulfilling the nation's and people aspiration within the rule of law. Freedom of speech and expression does not mean speaking recklessly or mindlessly, you never know where a slip of your tongue will land you up. So think twice before you shoot your mouth irresponsibly.

I didn’t find anything “publicly criticizing” in what Haap Wangchuk wrote for Dasho to narrate whole law on defamation with section number in the Penal code of Bhutan. He was just asking a few questions to his fellow haaps like anyone of us would do. He was also presenting his opinion as “neutral” since he seems to have some grievance, which if possible Dasho could have ask and clarified. But the threatening reply confused me totally- aren’t we allowed to question about the work of our representatives?

Invitation to Bhutan

My sister in-law is a Japanese, living and working in Taiwan. She visited my brother for the first time after their long Facebook relationship in September and spent over a week with my family. She enjoyed her times with us so much that she sacrificed her job and bonuses to meet us again in October. Fifteen day stay made her even more happy and wanted to come here again.

This time I thought I should invite her as our personal guest so that she won't have to pay so much as she did during her first two visits- she paid cost of a car already. However, I didn't know that the Immigration in my country won't acknowledge her relationship with us. My application for invitation was rejected. By the rule they have in their book, we should have met her outside Bhutan to qualify for invitation, which otherwise means that she can't be my sister in-law because she met us in Bhutan. What could be the possible logic behind recognizing acquaintance outside Bhutan? What I think should be important is the authenticity of the relationship. 

At Dochula, during her second visit.

Many people I contacted for information advised me to find a person who has been to Taiwan and prepare the application in their name, or to cook up a story of having met her in Singapore during my visit there but I defended knowing our true story was far better than those lies- after all they are humans at the other end! If I had known there are all robots interpreting the rules rigidly I would have listened and lied.

It's not all about money. I just wanted to show her the Bhutanese we are, our courtesy and hospitality to guest, and that's not possible after letting her pay thousands of dollars. She was supposed to visit us for the third time in February 2012 but she couldn't wait that long. And here my application was rejected. I couldn't tell her that she could will have to pay a huge price to meet us again but it turned out that she was more Bhutanese than the people who rejected my application. She consoled me saying, "Hey brother, don't worry, money can be made." 

And thus she came here for the third time as tourist and these days she is with us in Wangdue having a wonderful vacation with my family.

P:S: If you happen to be a wanna-be guest or a host and stumbled upon this post while Googling, please note that this article is not to encourage you to cheat your way out in this process, but I am not responsible if your application is rejected after telling the truth either!

Bhutan's Biggest Earthquake

This was the strongest and the longest earthquake I felt in this life of mine. I was with my wife and daughter at a hotel visiting my brother and our Japanese in-law. At first I was calm, telling my wife not to worry but as it went on and on I was the first to run underneath the door frame and then gathered everyone around me. My in-law was unexpectedly cool about it, she shares how such quakes happen often in Japan. But what she doesn't know is that the pillar she is holding on to may not be as strong as those in Japan.
Our son was all by himself and away from us, we desperately tried to connect to him but in such times even mobile fails us. Then I got worried about my mother but it was five hour later that I could talk to her. She tells me this was the biggest quake she felt in her 50 years on earth. Upon reaching home it was a big relieve to see nothing happened and that we could share news to friends and family via Facebook.
Our Prime Minister, who is currently in New York quickly clammed us all by sharing news from across the country through Facebook. He was even aware of the status of Mobile Phone service in the country, to which I asked what alternatives do we have in such times. His excellency was kind enough to make a reply on my wall. But despite his comforting promise I wonder how could we possibly ensure a secure communication line in such times, when we saw earlier this year how super countries like Japan could fail.

PM's reply.

Another major concern is our lack of preparedness despite so much of awareness done through different medias. Listening to how people reacted today, everybody seems to have ran out of their home for their lives, but that is the unsafest way out- many know about it and only few trust it.

The final and the most dangerous practice in our communities is our quickness in cooking up rumors and spreading them. In times of disasters we must try and help calm people around us, ensuring everybody's safety, get needful information from authentic sources and report casualties to authorities without waiting for someone else to do it. On the contrary, we are good at panicking ourselves and dragging others into it by listening to and spreading rumors. Today, many families are sleeping outside fearing the aftershock which was rumored to happen by midnight. Some people are already talking about GLOF triggered by the earthquake and few crazy people have started talking about the end of the world. As an educated individual it becomes our personal responsibility to verify the rumors and make it stop from spreading further because sometimes it could cause more damage than the disaster itself.

It may shake us but it can't break us.

Thank you Dawa Knight

My blog began enjoying over 1000 page views per day since early last week even when I didn't add anything new. I just checked back and found that one post I wrote on September 11 last years was drawing in lots of American visitors. It was about how not to remember 9.11. Later yesterday I saw an unbelievable 3080 page views and it happened on September 11, 2011. I couldn't help announcing it on Blogyul, a Facebook page for Bhutanese bloggers. What happened next gave me even greater joy, a fellow blogger Dawa Knight gifted me a sketch of me and my daughter in appreciation for the massive hits.

Dawa Knight's Gift.

I would like to thank you Dawa for considering me worth for blackening your wonderful fingers. To the world it may mean nothing more than a sketch of an ordinary Bhutanese with his daughter but to me it mean the world. I would love to receive the original copy as you promised.

Screen shot from Blogyul

Google+ and Facebook

If Facebook were a country, it would be the third most populated country with over 750 million active citizens, beating even the United States. It gives me pain to realize the fact that a man younger than me would be ruling that country, yes I am hinting at Mark Zuckerberg. One crazy idea made all the difference!

The King!

But I am not alone in the list of people who envy Zuckerberg. Some countries blocked Facebook, many companies followed, and so many offices tried. But it surprised me when I found even Google was jealous. But I never thought Google will add a “+” and join the war against Facebook. Google+, is nothing new- another surprise, but has acquired over 18 million users even before it opened to public. That is over 30 times the population of Bhutan.

If + could make a difference...

With Facebook blocked in so many places Google+ is going to have party. When I joined Google+ last Sunday I was very lonely, so I told Pema Gyamtsho, who invited me there, that Google+ is a brand new bar with different brands of wine and whisky, but all our friends are still drinking in the old bar called Facebook. It felt very lonely among 18 million people after having spent years with 750 million people.