Mobile creation - the Japanese way

Mobile phone and the Japanese

Michael Keferl and Sven Kilian write in the now defunct (but still great) vodafone receiver magazine about the future of Japanese mobile culture and the here-and-now feeling of mobile-born, user generated content. It's a wonderful article with a ton choice tidbits.

From the article:

While we were tethered to our PC's to stay connected, in Japan many people had their first experiences on the web via mobile.

While the West rooted itself in the internet from the PC side, for most Japanese the mobile handset was the original gateway to the web, a mindset that generated the most unique, mobile-crazy culture in the world. Since voice functions are among the least utilized by the mobile generation, to call a mobile handset a 'phone' is a tremendous understatement. Most prefer to communicate through mobile email and make their first email addresses not with Yahoo or Gmail, but through their mobile carriers.

Japan, particularly in the big cities, is a place where daily downtime is a fact of life. Whether braving a long commute from the suburbs or simply waiting in line, downtime that was once exclusively filled by reading material or nothing at all, can easily be converted into productive communication and creation, through one tiny device.

Differences in authoring and sharing content via blogs.

The average blogger typically chooses (or is by default forced) to remain semi or completely anonymous, represented by a nickname and avatar of their choosing. For Mobage Town, Japan's largest mobile SNS, anonymity is part of the business model, as they derive most of their revenue from selling accessories for avatars. In general, blogs don't feature the author as the star in the way many American blogs do but are rather an insight into their world, with the camera as their eyes. Either way, in true Japanese style, some of the most popular personal Japanese blogs are written by celebrities documenting their own meals, pets and weekend trips.

On mobile novel subculture

Mobile novels aren't just about providing a new medium for writers but are also about capturing the writing style and culture of a generation fully fixed on their handsets. Years of writing mails to their friends has made the 'thumb generation' highly proficient with a keypad and the books are printed to look the same way on paper as they would on the screen, to maintain realism. The short sentences, slang and abbreviations may not lend themselves well to traditional literature but they very much reflect the real lives of the authors and their audiences.

Mobile creation - the Japanese way (2008)

Mobile creation - the Japanese way

Mobile phone and the Japanese Michael Keferl and Sven Kilian write in the now defunct (but still great) vodafone receiver magazine about the future of Japanese mobile culture and the here-and-now feeling of mobile-born, user generated content. It's a wonderful article with a ton choice tidbits. From the article: While we were tethered to our PC's to stay connected, in Japan many people had their first experiences on the web via mobile.

While the West rooted itself in the internet from the PC side, for most Japanese the mobile handset was the original gateway to the web, a mindset that generated the most unique, mobile-crazy culture in the world. Since voice functions are among the least utilized by the mobile generation, to call a mobile handset a 'phone' is a tremendous understatement. Most prefer to communicate through mobile email and make their first email addresses not with Yahoo or Gmail, but through their mobile carriers. Japan, particularly in the big cities, is a place where daily downtime is a fact of life. Whether braving a long commute from the suburbs or simply waiting in line, downtime that was once exclusively filled by reading material or nothing at all, can easily be converted into productive communication and creation, through one tiny device.

Differences in authoring and sharing content via blogs.

The average blogger typically chooses (or is by default forced) to remain semi or completely anonymous, represented by a nickname and avatar of their choosing. For Mobage Town, Japan's largest mobile SNS, anonymity is part of the business model, as they derive most of their revenue from selling accessories for avatars. In general, blogs don't feature the author as the star in the way many American blogs do but are rather an insight into their world, with the camera as their eyes. Either way, in true Japanese style, some of the most popular personal Japanese blogs are written by celebrities documenting their own meals, pets and weekend trips.

On mobile novel subculture

Mobile novels aren't just about providing a new medium for writers but are also about capturing the writing style and culture of a generation fully fixed on their handsets. Years of writing mails to their friends has made the 'thumb generation' highly proficient with a keypad and the books are printed to look the same way on paper as they would on the screen, to maintain realism. The short sentences, slang and abbreviations may not lend themselves well to traditional literature but they very much reflect the real lives of the authors and their audiences.

Mobile creation - the Japanese way (2008)