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July 09 2010
July 07 2010
Mobile in Japan: DoCoMo And The SIM Lock Debate
DoCoMo is a smart company. It knows what it’s doing. Read my opinion on the current debate.
July 04 2010
Twitter Japan Is a Scary Place
Japan is increasing Twitter addicts everyday.
This story of a Twitter-addict not writing for a day creating a panic for her followers is indeed kinda scary. ➡ A Japanese Heavy Twitter User Pausing A Day Thought As Missing By Followers, Retweeted Frantically
July 01 2010
Toshiba – Fujitsu Japan Mobile Business Merger
I’m really not sure Japan’s mobile industry can be shaken by the Toshiba – Fujitsu joint-venture. Am I too harsh?
June 25 2010
Big Goals, Big Twitter Japan, Redux
we are calling the end of Japan’s 3-1 victory over Denmark a record that bests the end of the Los Angeles Laker victory over the Boston Celtics [...] When the referee blew the final whistle, we saw 3,283 [Tweets-per-second]
➡ Another Big Record: Part Deux
June 20 2010
Big Goals, Big Twitter Japan
Japan scores against Cameroon on June 14 in their 1-0 victory
2,940 Tweets per second in the half minute after the goal. Top most tweeted goal of the World Cup so far. ➡ Big Goals, Big Game, Big Records
Facebook Takes Over The World
Facebook has yet to take over Brazil, the map shows Facebook overtaking Orkut in India.
Besides the bad visualization -changing colors between two comparable maps?- and the somewhat questionable Alexa source, the trend is there. After beating Friendster out of SEA during Q3 200, India is falling. Besides China, will Japan be feeling alone soon? ➡ World Map of Social Networks
June 18 2010
Millions Mumble Online in Japan
Twitter is like haiku. It is so Japanese.
Japan: 16.3% of internet users tweet. #1 Mixi is surpassed. 8m tweets a day, 12 percent of the global tally. Loic recently said that more than 20% of Seesmic tweets are in Japanese. Ryan has more than 30% on HootSuite. Twitter is truly dislocating that SNS galapagos. ➡ Twitter a hit in Japan as millions ‘mumble’ online
June 17 2010
Rakuten Acquires French PriceMinister
Rakuten has just announced that they bought 100% of French E-commerce company PriceMinister S.A.
After venturing in China, Thailand, the US with Buy.com Japanese e-commerce portal shows it wants to become a worldwide juggernaut. With Mixi going China and Gree in the US, are we reliving the massive international investments that Japan companies did years ago? For the same fate?
➡ Rakuten Subsidizes French No.1 E-Commerce Company PriceMinister
March 29 2010
Mobile in Japan: Japan Government Wants To Unlock Mobile Phones
► Will the proposed new law forcing Japan operators to unlock their phones shake the industry?
March 03 2010
Mobile in Japan: Willcom Files for Bankruptcy
► A quick overview on the biggest telecom bankruptcy in Japan’s history.
February 01 2010
Mobile in Japan: iPhone Felica Case
My Mobile in Japan article on how the iPhone finally gets a wireless payment system in Japan.
Interview on Podcast on Demand #3
I recently participated in a podcast with Robert Sanzalone in Nagoya. We’ve talked mostly about MobileinJapan.com, the community I’ve created with Andrew Shuttleworth about everything mobile in the keitai country.
It was made via an iPhone with a newest (and great) TalkShoe offering.
It’s called Podcast on Demand. I was on episode #3.
The show will soon be renamed JapanTechTalk, since Robert and I are working on a bigger format.
JapanTechTalk #3
Yesterday saw the third episode in the revamped JapanTechTalk podcast. Since it happened at the same time as my sayonara party, Robert Sanzalone got a big surprise as Andrew Shuttleworth, Steve Nagata, Joseph Tame, Rob Cawte and myself crashed the podcast after 15 minutes!
Only Kristopher Tate was too busy winning his UNO game to attend!
Before that, the talk centered around the iPhone and its adoption in Japan. We talked about Tokyo Beer and Blog, the new event series from Ken Brady that most of us attended last week, but also about Joseph’s live stream of his run on the Tokyo’s marathon. Robert kept on with a talk about Twitter and its network ability for people not located in Tokyo, where everything seem to happen, more often than not (he’s located in Nagoya).
Seems I will be one to test this after my relocation in Manila next week. I probably won’t be able to attend the podcast next Sunday, but be sure to tune in and to listen to the past episodes, since the podcast is now listed on iTunes.
French TV Report on Japan Startup Scene
Early October, I was contacted by Cedric Ingrand, famous news tech anchor of the biggest TV network in France, TF1, about the possibility to do a special report on the Japanese startup/tech scene for Plein Ecran on LCI, a French 24/7 news channel.
Twitter To Charge Audiences In Japan
Twitter had its first language localization in Japan, its first ads (and profitable ones), its first groups (not exactly lists), and now, the “What’s happening” company is trying out a payment model.
“We are noticing more companies using Twitter and individuals following them. We can identify ways to make this experience even more valuable and charge for commercial accounts.”
Twitter will remain free to use by everyone—individuals, companies, celebrities, etc. What we’re thinking about is adding value in places where we are already seeing traction, not imposing fees on existing services.
November 27 2009
November 10 2009
March 12 2009
Ryo Katsuma shows the meeting24.tv user adoption trend v. the Dow Jones Industrial one. A classic.
Taken at Tokyo 2.0 #22 on March 09, 2009, at Super-Deluxe
Director: Paul Papadimitriou (socialevangeli.st twitter.com/papadimitriou qik.com/papadimitriou)
More information on tokyo2point0.net
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Japanese Groupon Piku Raises 650m JPY
Combine the business model of online coupons and a country which adores them (current online players) and you’ve got an amazing opportunity. Congrats to Dave. ➡ Piku Raises 650 Million Yen Venture Capital Round