But the BU's antics exploded as an Internet meme: "a unit of cultural information...transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another." In this case, transmission via the Net has reached the front pages of financial newspapers read by the pinstripe-suits in Exchange Square. And among IT workers, his signature phrase "You have pressure! I have pressure!" resonates-recent polls have flagged IT as one of the modern world's more stressful occupations.

And it was a camera-phone (an IT device unknown a decade ago) that made the meme possible. In the 1960s, artist Andy Warhol postulated a future where "everyone would be famous for 15 minutes." Thanks to camera-phones and homegrown-content aggregator sites like youtube.com, Warhol's prediction is now as certain as No-Plastic-Bag days at Hong Kong's supermarket chains.

There are significant privacy concerns here. Neither BU (whose bus outburst brought notoriety and fame) nor the target of his verbiage (who wishes the whole thing would go away) knew they were being recorded.

Fortunately, here in Hong Kong, we have the Privacy Ordinance: an overriding law that protects HKSAR citizens' privacy in matters ranging from government surveillance to Bus Uncle-type incidents. When it comes to enforcement in Hong Kong (where law and order are realities rather than polemics), there's a steel fist inside the velvet glove. Private details are kept private, and HK citizens are continually reminded of the Privacy Ordinance by government adverts as well as private-sector initiatives.

So what happens when technology allows an essentially private encounter to hit the Net, spawning karaoke remixes, parody-videos and who knows what? In this case, the mother of the young man targeted by Bus Uncle is said to be planning legal action against the camera-phone-wielder, who sold some of the footage to a local magazine. As for Uncle, some local toughs were irked and gave him a black eye. Literally, during a promotional appearance (they wore surgical masks, although perhaps not for health reasons).