The Japanese blogsphere
Japan is one of the most developed countries to show presence in the blogsphere. In terms of blog posts by language, the Japanese generate 37% of all posts (where English takes only 36% of them all). Japan is far behind though when it comes to social networks. In the IPsos report Japan seems to maintain a relatively low frequency of visitation to social networking websites (only 9% visited a SN in the last 30 days, 13% in more than 30 days). goo Research (via whatjapanthinks) published a survey which provides more evidence: about 63% of the survey respondents using social networking sites never added another person to a social network! Mixi (the largest social network in Japan, attracting 11.1 million people) is a social network with an ‘invitation only’ participation. That been said, I wonder what potential spread this platform holds when the majority of participants are reluctant to add new friends. Does it say much about Japanese difficulties to socially interact with others? Probably it does. Blogs, unlike social networks, are individual communication platforms. In blogs, Japanese feel free to express themselves and are not committed to initiate any social interactions. The current form of open social networks is probably not fit to hold the Japanese social behavior. No wonder a new Japanese version of Second Life (Meet-Me) is predicted to be a success. What can we learn about Japanese online users? What can explain their barrier to add new friends? Is it that they wish to be kept as a close community? Or is it that cultural restraints as shyness to reach out, or a respect towards other’s privacy, brings them to withdraw from adding new friends? [Trendsspotting]
- 0
- 0
Also by TRENDSSPOTTING
YOU'RE SAYING (0)
No comments yet.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Canadian artist Brandon Jan Blommeart’s trash monsters lumber across beautiful landscapes, happily playing with each other as if they had inherited the earth from their human creators. Read more
At a gig last year Foals were forced to abandon their last song halfway through because the stage was stormed by too many crazed fans. The reason behind the hype they’re creating, both on stage and in the normally merciless media, isn’t immediately clear upon first listen: the sound is less than friendly on the ears, and they don’t employ the same catchy hooks and melodic chorus patterns that shoot your average band to fame in their early years. Read more
Oh wow. The illustration work of Brooklyn based James Blagden is amazing. The colours leap out like flouro socks in a mid-80s Wham clip. Read more
On my recent visit to Barcelona, my love for Animal Farm led me to the Plaça de Geroge Orwell. There I discovered Oviso. The tiny café features hand painted walls and low wooden benches, where inhabitants enjoy great coffee for €1 and discuss music, beer, photography and the hordes of tourists that bustle just beyond the quiet square.
Australian group Pivot have recently signed with the mighty Warp label and — even better (well, for us anyway) — have written a fun Secret Playlist for us. You can see where the many disparate influences have seeped into their latest recording, the beautiful and colourful, O Soundtrack My Heart.
Using a chemical free philosophy, Skinny Nelson and Friends is an androgynous, eco label, the creation of Sydney-based designers Zachary Midalia and Jacqui Alexander.
Somehow, meme-based blogs never lose their charm. Maybe because they’re just so stupid. The FAIL blog is simply a catalog of the funniest FAIL images on the web.
WE'RE RESPECTING
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Our celebrity-saturated culture makes many of us irrationally hateful of the faces we see on our TV screens and magazine pages. Good thing there’s Celebrity PunchOut to let off some of that steam.
Check out Mike Stimpson’s Lego reinterpretations of classic photographs. Stimpson’s version of Malcolm Browne’s iconic 1963 photograph of the self-immolation of Thich Quang Duc is particularly twisted. Read more
Richmond-based graffiti artist Chip7 has a style that is at once urban and also vaguely tribal with their crude lines and rich patterns. Read more
Yum, yum, cupcakes are fun. These creations are so clever, so arty, so damn bizarre that it would almost be a shame to eat them. Almost! Read more
Illustrator Timothy Karpinski sews painted paper together to create his images, giving them a classic look. Read more
Wolfmother. Rock n roll. Mystical lyrics. Heavy riffs. They have a new album out, Cosmic Egg, and we have five copies to giveaway, along with their debut album. To enter, tell us your favorite Wolfmother song and the city you live in. Yo! Two fingered salute. Read more
This beautifully soft, handmade and dyed scarf is by the New York-based designer, Ryan Sullivan. They can be purchased through the Lost At E Minor store. Read more
FOLLOW US
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it’s not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.
