Published May 26th, 2007
in Japan, Entrepreneurship and Technology.
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I had dinner last week with Jujin Giga one of the original guys at Mixi (before it was called Mixi) and Toru Maesaka a fairly new guy at Mixi. Also my friend Jordan Ritter joined (he’s the co-founder of Napster). In my last post I talked about how Japanese companies lack entrepreneurial spirit. I think Mixi is different. It was one of those rare moments in Japan when you can eat Japanese food and talk about what its like to have that “spirit.” Even though Mixi is becoming a big company I think the people who work there still have it.
Dinner with them also made me realize another common trait among people with that “spirit.” They are generally well rounded people. Easy to get along with and a open mind to different things. I think it might be common for people like us to have several hobbies or interest. Thanks guys!
Published May 23rd, 2007
in Japan and Entrepreneurship.
This trip to Japan has been interesting. I’ve been in a meeting everyday and find meetings with traditional “salary men” to be frustrating. There just aren’t enough entrepreneurs in Japan and the few here have a lot to overcome to become successful. The salary men here have a tendency to ask things like “Is that REALLY possible?” while entrepreneurs are always asking “Why NOT?”
I’ve blogged about the entrepreneurs mind before but its a real contrast here in Japan. I would imagine that entrepreneurs in Japan are hard people for traditional salary men to relate with or deal with. I’ve come pretty close to telling people “Let me worry about what is or isn’t possible and you just do your job.”
Maybe this sounds harsh but my feeling is that many salary men are very talented and good at what they do, they just can’t dream. And dreaming is the foundation of entrepreneurship, its the foundation of innovation. Anything else is just a job. How do Japanese entrepreneurs deal with being surrounded by people who can’t dream?
Disclaimer: My description of salary men applies to both men and women. It also doesn’t include all Japanese employees, just a specific mentality common in many Japanese employees. Especially those at large slow companies.
Published May 14th, 2007
in Japan.
I’m in Tokyo now working on stuff becoming a little frustrated. All of the work I do with my computer security company is kept private but those projects are generally never more than two weeks. What I’ve been doing in Tokyo has been much longer than two weeks and it’s much more exciting than my computer security work. But I have to keep a low profile for now.
In the meantime I need to think of something to blog about. Tokyo weather has been great. I hope to make a trip to Osaka in a few weeks. I’ve started taking Japanese lessons again, but I always find it frustrating that people in Tokyo would prefer to practice English with me than to just speak Japanese. Though I admit it may be because my Japanese ability isn’t good enough to force them to do otherwise.
The sushi is fresh. Unlike my previous stays in Japan I’ve been able to avoid the consumerism that seems to infect everyone. A infection that used to make me buy expensive things I really didn’t need only because it looked “cool.” I think I’m growing up.
Published May 7th, 2007
in Japan and Technology.
I’m about to board my flight. I just started reading a interview of world renowned artist Takashi Murakami. I haven’t finished the article but he gives a very interesting analyses of Otaku culture in Japan.
But, in my view, otaku is discriminated against in the contemporary Japanese society. The latest example of the discrimination is the suppression of the Aum Cult. They committed murder. However, religion usually seems to have the latent nature of ideological war which makes people kill each other. It occurred in the present Japan and caused widespread fears. I am not taking Aum Cult’s side. However, I’m not surprised that Aum Cult emerged in Japan and that it was connected to otaku culture. Most of the newly developed cults consist of people like the otaku because they are so severely discriminated and alienated that they either choose to join these cults or create new cults in their desperate search for salvation.
What I find most interesting is not the fact that Otaku may be more inclined to join cults, but that they are likely to join them because they are so often discriminated again. The culture of Otaku is glamorized in a way by westerners in Japan and who are interested in Japanese culture. But often when I joked with Japanese that I was a computer Otaku they made strange faces, almost signs of disgust like I made a bad joke. It looks like the negative feelings about Otaku are much stronger than I imagined. The complete interview is here.
See you in Japan.
Published May 7th, 2007
in Family.
I’m taking a moment from packing for Tokyo to reflect. on my younger sisters recent graduation from college. For a family that lived in poverty, her graduation was a very special event. Not to long ago her older brother, and my younger brother graduated from college too. That makes two of my younger siblings graduates of higher education.
We didn’t grow up in a traditional family structure of two parents and we really didn’t have much opportunity, yet somehow we turned out really well. Why is that?
Its clear to me that our childhoods greatly effect the way we see the world but it doesn’t define us. It doesn’t decide who or what we will become. Once we reach a certain age, young. Maybe 16 or so? We make a conscious decision about who and what we want to be. Sometimes we model our parents, but in the absence of that we must create a new mold, shaped in part by our childhood experiences but not defined by it.
I only hope that if I should have children they can accomplish as much as my two siblings have accomplished thus far.
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