Out of those one billion-odd groups, it’s estimated that over one million of those are related to Nepal, and these are discussions mostly created by young Nepalis exploring topics ranging from “B-Boying” to “I ain’t no Indian, nor a Mexican or Chinese…I’m a NEPALI BIOTCH!!!” and everything in-between. In other words, there’s a Nepali group for just about anything Nepali you can think of, from dal bhat to Pol Pot.[break]
And as far as Twitter goes, the numbers are also just as staggering, too, with an estimated Twitter penetration of 8% or more into the total Nepali population, and with Nepal and neighbors India and China contributing to worldwide tweet traffic in the billions per year.
Add that to the number of Nepali bloggers online, and comparing social media site popularity over traditional media outlets online, it’s clear that the majority of youth in Nepal are living in Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, etc and have moved away from old-school media sites like the BBC, Himalayan Times, Khabar, and yes, even this media outlet, Republica.
This of course is no surprise to media watchers, as Nepal doesn’t buck any worldwide trends in this regard, and as a young country stats-wise, it just makes sense that most folks under the age of 35 are involved in a big way with social media, either voicing opinions, venting, or organizing for the greater good.
We’ve seen what youth have used social media-wise during the Arab Spring of 2011, and some of us can even remember as far back as 2006 when the Nepali blogosphere became alive and filled an information vacuum created by the ideologically encamped media outlets of the country.
One of the most established of such blogs, United We Blog!, sums up this transition on their home page quite succinctly:
“United We Blog! was born because we wanted to share something we can’t share in newspapers!”
So a new voice was born, outside of the established vehicles of “Letters to the editor” and in other guest contributions to established and controlled journalistic outlets.
All well and good, but this birthing isn’t without criticism and animosity by the powers that be.
The Government of Nepal reacted with the Electronic Transaction Act 2008, which has been used on occasions to squelch opposing uttering from Nepali youth. The exact wording of the Act that applies is as follows:
If any person publishes or displays any material in the electronic media including computer, internet which are prohibited to publish or display by the prevailing law or which may be contrary to the public morality or decent behavior or any types of materials which may spread hate or jealousy against anyone or which may jeopardize the harmonious relations subsisting among the peoples of various castes, tribes and communities shall be liable to the punishment with the fine not exceeding One Hundred Thousand Rupees or with the imprisonment not exceeding five years or with both.
That, in conjunction with various criminal acts and constitutional amendments, and working with NTA-amended licenses to ISPs, has combined to put limits on what Nepal’s youth can say and post online. All well and good, as long as it’s not abused – as all civil societies need boundaries in this regard, no?
It’s obvious after reading the rules and regulations, that we in Nepal do lean to liberal in regards to the curtailing of free online speech, and we can count our lucky stars that we don’t have the authoritarian online rule of our nearest neighbor, China.
As of date, the youth of Nepal can say what they want, where they want, without fear of reprisals within the limits of Nepal’s liberal laws in 2011.
For example, it’s hard to imagine anything happening today like what happened during 2004/5, when the then King Gyanendra said he was exercising censorship for “peace and democracy.” Yet this is not to say that the new online voice of Nepal is now without problems, or in need of a good cleanup.
For example, any visit to a few Nepali YouTube videos will uncover hate speech and other forms of online obscenities that would make any Didi blush.
To help in this regard, the Bloggers Association of Nepal (BLOGAN) has put together a worthwhile initiative for anyone posting online: A Code of Ethics for Bloggers, which was first signed by members of BLOGAN and the Online Journalists of Nepal (OJA) in July of this year.
Modeled after Tim O’Reilly’s Code of Conduct, this set of guidelines is a must-read for anyone sharing online.
By following this Code, we can all contribute to the collective in a meaningful and civil way, even if some of the tenets may seem trivial, self-evident, or even restrictive.
In other words, with new freedom comes new responsibility, and I, for one, thank BLOGAN and the OJA for pointing this out in their newly formulated Code of Ethics.
What say you?
CODE OF ETHICS FOR BLOGGERS
(Signed on July 24, 2011)
As a blogger, I would honestly:
1. Be fair on what I write in my blog
2. Write things that I believe to be truth
3. Specify my source of information – credit to offline sources and link to onlune sources
4. Specify clearly the use of any unconfirmed fact or information
5. Avoid conflict of interest – clearly disclose my position including job, financial interest, affiliation and relationship if they are related to the post OR maintain a detailed About Me page
6. Clearlt differentiate between advertisements and blog content
7. Disclose clearly if an entry is posted sponsored or as advertisement or after accepting a payment or goods to write it
8. Admit and correct mistakes as soon as possible but only with strikethrough or editorial notes
9. Allow comments to engage audience, allow different opinions and clearly state my moderation policy if any
10. Show compassion for human being – be sensitive writing about or using photos of victims
11. Promote freedom of speech
As a blogger, I wouldn’t intentionally:
1. Completely rewrite or delete an entry
2. Threaten people and institution using the blog for personal benefits
3. Write anything undermining nationality, national security, religious harmony and social order
4. Give space to pornography, hate speech and crude content
5. Publish personal and confidential information of people collected during their visit to my blog
6. Spam, spread malware and viruses and engage in criminal activities
7. Plagiarize – copy and paste from other sources
8. Disclose the source of primary information without source’s consent
Jiggy Gaton is quirky kinda older techo-expat who appreciates all the new voices in Nepal, and wishes younger folks all the best in 2011 and beyond.
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