Viral video

A viral video is one of the new medium that gains widespread popularity through the process of Internet sharing typically through email or instant message, blog, SNS, and other media sharing websites.

• Internet celebrities
  Video websites such as YouTube often create Internet celebrities, popular individuals who have attracted significant publicity in their home countries from their videos.
• Band and music promotion
  YouTube has also become a means of promoting bands and their music.
• Whistle blowing
  Viral video has become a way for people to air their grievances in instances of alleged abuses of authority.
• Customer relations
  Some viral videos can be used by consumers to force companies to react to complaints.

We can find these viral videos or messages everywhere around us. Some companies use this kind of viral advertising well. These are several advantage to use.

Low cost: viral video does not cost high. Every one can make videos.

Freedom of expression: In TV advertising, there are some regulations. In viral advertising we can express freer than TV's.

Internet: nowadays people get information not only from old Media such as radio, and TV, but also through Internet. Young people use Internet and get information rather than old media.

Possibility: There are many ways to use viral advertising in the future especially in global Internet society.

I think viral video will spread widely in many ways through Internet and users. people like new, funny, violent, and sexy things which cannot see in new media. Word-of-mouth spreads like virus, and makes new media era.

Globalization of MacDonald

Paying attention to MacDonald all over the world, there are 30,000 stores in 119 countries. MacDonald is one of the biggest companies in the world. This spread of MacDonald is a kind of globalization.

MacDonald has lots of stores all over the world. The main reason of spreading internationally is the flexibility of MacDonald. MacDonald first opened the store in the U.S.A in 1940. It has been spreading gradually to other countries, and changes the styles adopting each country. MacDonald can change the menu and appearance adopting each country. each country has each character.

To get many customers all over the world, we have to focus on culture difference. Advertisement, menu, and catchcopies might be different from each country like pictures above. We have to know about culture or nationality of the countries and adopt them.

Flexibility is one of the main reasons of sucess of MacDonalds in the world.

Can facebook suceed in Japan?

Facebook has flaws. Facebook is still the best place to connect with people. Much better than other SNS.

Facebook decided to get into Japanese SNS market for real. So a "Facebook Japan" might come closer.

My space offers a Japanese version now. also Facebook offers language "Japanese". these sites offer no incentives for many Japanese people to join however. I am sure most "ordinary" Japanese people never even heard of these services.The Japanese don't really care much about other SN than Mixi. Can Facebook emulate this tremendous success?

Pros:

1)Japanese people love innovations and Facebook will be new to Japanese.

2)Compared to domestic products, foreign goods and services are often viewed as cooler, more exotic and desirable.

3)Facebook is totally different from Mixi and would be quite unique in this country's Internet market.

4)More and more Japanese people have international friends they would like to be connected with. A Japanese version of Facebook might overcome the language barrier in online networking (Mixi is only available in Japanese).

Cons:

1)Facebook is too late. They are many SNS exist in Japan such as Mixi. so there are big comperitors in Japan.

2)The Japanese are the most quality conscious people in the world. Especially security/privacy problems are serious issues in Japan. I am not sure if many Japanese people would trust a foreign social network service to keep their personal data safe.

4)Facebook applications are cool but mostly in English.

Conclusion:

I think It will be hard for Facebook to continue its success story in Japan. But I am curious about this emergence. How Japanese accept the international SNS.

For me Facebook and Mixi are good tool to communicate with people. Same as ordinary Japanese I do not accept as friend who is unfamiliar with, and publish my photos only to my friends. I use Facebook to keep in touch international friends, and use Mixi to communicate with Japanese friends. The members of facebook in Japan are gradually expanded. I want to see how can facebook make it in Japan.

Mixi -Japanese SNS-

"mixi" is one of the most popular social network sites in Japan.
Mixi had over 10 million users and an 80% share of the social networking market in Japan.
The focus of Mixi is “community entertainment” same as facebook, Myspace or another SNS, that is, meeting new people by way of common interests, and keep in touch with friends.

• Users can send and receive messages, write in a diary, read and comment on other’s diaries, organize and join communities, listen to music, read news, play the game, and invite their friends.
• One of the biggest difference from other SNS is that mixi is invitation-only, meaning that one can only join via an invitation from a current member.
• A footprint is a function that allows a user to see who has visited their page.
• My mixi, or MAIMIKU(short means buddy or friend. This is similar to content in flickr or zoomer or friend on Myspace.
• There is a word “Mixi Fatigue”. it is a psychological state of a Japanese youth experiencing a sense of tiring from using Mixi and voicing a desire to discontinue using Mixi and finally deciding to terminate the Mixi account.

Most of Japanese seek anonymity in using internet. In Facebook most of the people show their own pictures to unknown people, however, in Mixi profile, many Japanese does not use their own pictures. They want to connect many people through SNS but they fear using own pictures.

Nowadays Mixi is spreading widely in Japan. Nobody can stop.

MOVIE -train man-

This is the movie about Japanese Otaku fall in love with beautiful lady.

It change the view of otaku in Japan. There are remake of this movie in US. I don't know it is wellknown.

It is based on the purportedly true story of a 23-year-old Otaku(Japanese geek) who intervened when a drunk man was harassing several women on a train. The otaku ultimately begins dating one of the women.
The event, and the man's subsequent dates with the woman, was chronicled on the Japanese mega-BBS 2channel. This led to the compilation of the relevant threads in a book, followed by several manga versions, a movie, a theatrical play later released as a DVD, and finally a TV series.

Densha Otoko become a popular example of the "nice guys" class of Japanese geeks who wish to lead normal lives, but are too shy to find a girlfriend, or speak openly anywhere but online.

He is a hero of Japanese Otaku, and change the view of otaku,and give a power to otaku to speak up their mind.

Media has a big power to influence or change something.

This movie is one of them. Through this movie, many people who does not know about otaku can understand what is otaku, and who had negative image toward otaku can change their mind.

This boom of train man dramatically changed the idea of otaku.

I will explain more about otaku in my final presentation, but if you are interested in these stories please check this movie:)