Thursday, February 22, 2007
MySpace Shipping out to Japan
Apparently, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is planning to provide a Japanese version of MySpace but will face stiff competition from the most popular social networking site currently in Japan, Mixi. Mixi has about 8 million users and has a significantly different appearance from MySpace. You can view the original article here. The main difference between the two is said to be representative of the clash of cultures between America and Japan. America's MySpace is known for its flashy and "teen-magazine-like" layouts while Japan's Mixi is known for its clean, organized design. Tony Elison, senior vice president at Viacom International Japan, argues that "In Mixi, it's not all about me. It's all about us." As opposed to MySpace where the dominant impression is that the complete opposite is true. Do you think these differences in design are representative of the different cultures, Japan being viewed as more refined and the U.S. as more flashy and full of teenie-boppers? Or is this view invalid and making a broad generalization that may not neccesarily be true? Just some things to think about.
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2 comments:
No, I think that there is an intense cultural difference between American and Japan. I've heard of mixi before as awell as another very popular site I can't remember based in Korea. They are highly used, and typically better designed and more functional than myspace. One thin however, I think myspace will still see some success. Fox isn't THAT stupid and probably will put a little effort into research and adjust SOME features to appeal better the than Asian market. Also, like American Rock to them or Anime to Us, i think that some of it will catch on just due to a cultural exchange type thing, where they will adapt a bit to myspace,
I think that FOX may have some work to do before they make myspace a successful networking community in Japan. I think the Japanese culture is one of efficiency and sticking with what works, and they may see through the flashy appeal of the myspace interface.
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