Exactly one week ago, I wrote about the first blog of Bhutan. I was surprised to see the huge response that I received from the Bhutanese Internet surfers and I touched that not only the blog is extremely popular but also Bhutan has a sizable number of Internet users. Tshering NORBU is the man behind Bhutan Weblog. He is the operator of the blog and there are 3 other moderators who support him. I contacted Mr. NORBU through email and then sent him some questions. Here is the interview:
SouthAsiaBiz: What did make you feel to create a blog?
Mr. NORBU: I created the first Bhutanese online discussion forum several years ago when Internet was very new to Bhutan. Some people found it hard to accept then. I saw troubles coming in my personal paths if I continued and it was best discontinued. Kuensel (national newspaper) consulted me on the idea and now they run on their website. I am glad it has made Kuensel website very popular. Ever since my giving up on the forum, I wanted to create something interesting and beneficial again especially for the Bhutanese. About a year back, I thought about a blog for Bhutan and the Bhutanese. From the general popularity the blogs gain online and due to the vocal nature of our people, I knew they will like it. So, here I am with Bhutan Weblog.
SouthAsiaBiz:How did you promote your blog and what was the initial response?
Mr. NORBU: I began by sending emails telling about it to people I knew personally and requested them to forward the information to people who they thought will like it. I gave its address in Bhutanese Chat which I introduced, but now runs as DrukNet Chat.
All the people who visited the blog liked it so much and they invited their friends and relatives through a word of mouth or emails. I received many encouraging feedbacks of good words and wishes on creating the blog. Most of them wanted to contribute in writing which they still do today.
SouthAsiaBiz:What kind of impression do you think your blog may create on the foreign people towards Bhutan?
Mr. NORBU: I must admit my blog is created for a Bhutanese audience and it may be little hard for a foreigner to completely comprehend the articles in there as they are mainly written in a Bhutanese context or tones as I usually refer to. But there is no doubt that a foreigner visiting the site would get the impression that our people are relaxed, light-hearted, fun loving, happy, vocal, and intellectually smart while it will paint an overall stability and good health of social, economic, and political picture of Bhutan in their minds.
SouthAsiaBiz:What is your future plan with your blog?
Mr. NORBU: I am very grateful to the writers of the articles and my immediate plan is how to repay them monetarily or in other terms. I also have Bhutanese websites directory, Images Gallery and a free Classifieds & Personal sections on the blog. I will have to work to make them equally as popular as the articles. I plan to promote the blog at the organizational and business level and get advertisements to generate some revenue. If it does well, I will pay writers besides meeting an operating expense. The amount may be low, but that will at least let them know how thankful I am to them and may inspire them to write more and encourage other potential writers to submit articles. I also have in mind to introduce few more services on the blog which I am researching on their feasibility at the moment. But I can assure the present fun it provides to visitors will not be compromised at all.
SouthAsiaBiz: Is there any other blog from Bhutan?
Mr. NORBU: I do not know of any other blog from Bhutan yet. Some are probably thinking about creating them.
SouthAsiaBiz:How foreign people do you think can use this blog and what kind of information they will get from this blog?
Mr. NORBU: My blog can be a one-stop website if anyone is looking for information and wanted to learn about Bhutan. It contains Bhutan Websites Directory which has listing of websites related to Bhutan and is growing. As I said earlier, the articles will present them with the overall picture of Bhutan and Bhutanese. With a good mass of readership and writers who will be ever willing to provide any assistance and information, a foreigner would just have to voice his or her needs on the blog or email us. In short, I can say, just as the articles on the blog cover all themes, a foreigner should not hesitate to post any need for information or other assistance. We are a nation with small population who are interlinked and even though, the visitors of the blog may not be able to provide direct information and assistance, they will be able to link up or refer to someone else.
SouthAsiaBiz: What are the problems that you faced in implementing this blog?
Mr. NORBU: As I operate this blog besides my full-time obligations, time constraint was and is still the only issue. I make myself available at all possible time for the blog. It took me longer to implement or to get something to work on the blog technically as I needed. So, I would just implement something online even only half completed and then would continuously work on it to improve.
SouthAsiaBiz: How do you bear the expense of the blog?
Mr. NORBU: The monetary expense is not much at the moment. I bear it personally. I have links to three websites on the blog. They wanted to pay for it, but I did not accept it. In near future, I hope to raise some money through advertisements.
SouthAsiaBiz: Please tell us a bit about you and the main people behind Bhutan Weblog?
Mr. NORBU: I am doing full-time 2-years MBA program at the moment outside the country. I have one more year to go. I am on a study leave from the company I work for in Bhutan. I did Telecommunications engineering from Australia and have mainly worked in the Internet after that.
I like to call myself as the operator of the blog. I have three moderators assisting me. Our moderation is very light. All of them are postgraduate students at the moment studying outside the country. I plan to get more moderators especially from within the country.
At first I should give my thanks to Mr. Tshering Norbu, the himself called operator and creator of the first Blog in Bhutan. He has taken a good initiative for Presenting the Bhutan to the foreign people. I think now many more people will come forward to make blogs and realize the significnse of a blog in presenting a country. Moreover, his blog may create an interests among the foreigners to Bhutan that can make a boom in the tourism sector of Bhutan.
Thank you for making an excellent interview.
Posted by: bdbkd2005 | May 28, 2006 1:07 PM | Permalink to Comment