Can social media help unite Nepal?

change, media, social media

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Nepal is not poor. It is just poorly managed. And to manage it better, Nepalese are finally getting a unique kind of help that comes in the form of “social media”. This time we citizens have a powerful ally.

This ally is an amplifier. It is neutral. it’s free. In-fact it is inexhaustible and almost indestructible. It makes every citizen have his/her own media.

This ally is ‘social media’. With social media’s help Nepalese are uniting resources, knowledge and action to build a prosperous nation within our lifetime.

So what is Social media, you may ask? Simply it is the use of Internet and mobile technologies to help you communicate simultaneously and interactively with millions!

Here is what I mean. In the old days, to talk or to seek help or to do business with someone you had to go and knock on their doors. Now our technology has reached a point where while sitting in our bedroom, we can actually knock on thousands of doors simultaneously!

In other words, social media makes it possible for you to have communication with tens of thousands at the same time! It exponentially expands your network from hundreds to tens of thousands. It

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What is 21st century relevant leadership for Nepal?

change, common sense, leadership, thought provoking

“What is 21st century relevant leadership for Nepal?”

(नेपालीमा पढ्नुहोस् )

In the past few months, there has been a lively discussion in the national media. All about an acute need for an alternative ‘political’ force in Nepal. I am encouraged by this intellectual discourse which surely will help build 21st century relevant leaders for Nepal. Thank you everyone who have consistently kept this important agenda into the limelight.

Here are my 2 years of fresh experiences building a political force in Nepal that would be relevant for the 21st century.

2 years ago, Nepal was going through a tumultuous period. A syndicate of incompetent political parties who had little will or vision were taking turns ruling Nepal. Bitter political wranglings topped by acute corruption was rapidly dismantling any good governance we had left. All of a sudden, Nepal’s constitution building body was abruptly dissolved, leaving behind a power vaccum with a deeply divided society.

This created much hatred towards the country’s political forces. Every Nepali then, had only one question in their minds, “ (Oh god!) What Next?”

At such crucial

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How to find, build and retain customers?

entrepreneurship

Followup to the part 1 of the article: How to build a strong team: (by Prasanna Dhungel and Ujwal Thapa)

Part 2: How to find, build and retain customers?

Lets say you have built a strong team, the next logical question is how to find or build customers?
First list out your potential customers . Look from all angles.

 Lets take an example of an online travel booking provider for local motels in the trekking routes of Nepal.

Your potential customers could be:

Customer 1: Local Hotel / Motel owners: (whose place you book)

Customer 2: Guides / Porters (affiliates who guide customers to you)

Customer 3: Travel Agencies (Affiliate and customer both)

Customer 4: Trekkers/ Travelers (direct customer)

Customer 5: Banks ? financial transaction carrying institutions ? (a good ally to process online transaction and serve as a trusted ally to convince your local motel owners)

Now how do you build customers ?

Here are some challenges to answer that question:

Who do you target first ?

The hotel owner because if they don’t use our service, we cannot book the place.  Then maybe trekkers. Travel agencies could use your service while being a competitor

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Women and Nepali society

change, environment

In 2011, ‘ECS living’ magazine interviewed me on a woman’s role in a modern (21st century) Nepali society. I had all forgotten about it when I recently found its transcript. I found it good enough to share with you. I have edited it for clarity and now am reposting it here 🙂

Women are perceived as someone’s daughter, wife or mother in our society. Do you think it is necessary for women to have a separate identity of her own besides being a wife or a mother?

Yes. Women have to forge their unique identity in the world today. Mother/wife/daughter are secondary roles. Any of you can have those. So start following your own path and become that change you seek in the world today.

Does religion reinforce the traditional roles of women? How?

Yes and No. If you follow religion to the scriptures (word by word), you might be misguided into accepting traditional rules which is not its intent. If you follow the essence of any religion (what it implies), then you would understand that religion actually provokes women to change the rules of the game, to be proactive and change agent in this world.

The patriarchy categorizes certain

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