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[UPDATE] more commentary on MySpace culture.
Right off my last post I there is a rumour that MySpace will create a API interface similar to facebook. It will be interesting to see how that develops. My impression is that MySpace doesn’t have the culture to truly take advantage of such a platform.
What is the future of social networks as walled gardens? Steve Rubel ponders the need for social networks to open up in order to become successful over the long term. A social network does not need to be open to be successful. In fact, I prefer if it were closed.
The problem, however, lies in this fact - Facebook gives nothing back to the broader web. A lot of stuff goes in, but nothing comes out. What happens in Facebook, stays in Facebook. As Robert Scoble noted, it’s almost completely invisible to Google. You can share only a limited amount of data on your public page - as he has here. That’s fine for many users, but not all.
You don’t have to give anything to the web to become successful, you especially don’t need to be visible to Google. You just need to make your users happy. Facebook made a great decision when they opened their API to outside developers. Just make sure your users are happy and that they are getting what they want. If AOL and Compuserv had open API’s that allowed small companies to build businesses around their userbase or develop software that worked inside their garden they may still be around. Long term success comes when you create a economy dependant on your businesses success. This is the same reason why Microsoft will continue to be around and why Apple failed to grow during its early, closed API days.
Mixi’s walled garden is a asset but their greatest danger is its closed API. Mixi is fine now because its competitors in Japan are limited. If another player comes into the market and creates a open API, a new economy will develop around that competitor that will quickly erode the companies market share. These small business economies are what drive companies like Amazon, Ebay and in Japan, Yahoo Auctions.
If MySpace Japan is simply a sales and translation force for MySpace USA it won’t be able to compete with Mixi. If MySpace Japan accepts major influence from Softbank, its Japan partner and investor it could pose a danger. However my impression is that unlike Yahoo Japan, Softbank won’t have much sway in platform strategy.
If Mixi opened its API to outside companies it would pretty much eliminate the market for competitors in Japan. On the other hand if it opened up its walled garden it would turn away many of its core users who value their privacy.
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Motivation is weird. I only have a limited amount of it and it expires after a few weeks. Projects that seem exciting become dead boring for no other reason than time. Is it just me?
Here is a explanation of why fiat money works. Its long.
Want to know how to finance a Presidential campaign? It helps if you can charge $175K a month in consulting fees.
I’m back in NYC now dealing with mail. First thoughts returning home? There MUST be a better way to print magazines. I subscribe to two weekly magazines and they took up the vast majority of the space in my mailbox. How long have we been printing magazines in the same format, stapled together? I dont know what the alternative is but it just seems time for innovation.
The NYC government sent me a mailer about how to recycle, I promptly “recycled” it without reading. It was junk mail. If they are going to promote recycling can’t they figure out a better way than mass mailing people on dead trees? Maybe I should have checked to see if it was printed on recycled paper.
The East Village is a great place to live.
How much of my paper mail can I totally eliminate? I thought I converted all of my bank accounts to send electronic statements. But they still send paper confirmations for certain transations.
The music played in Starbucks in the USA is much louder than the music played in Starbucks in Japan. I’m happy to be home.
Compared to all the other countries I’ve visited Japanese women have the best sense of fashion. But I’ve been suprised with how complex womens fashion in Japan can be. Just out of curiousity I’ve been asking women what they call their style of fashion. The main purpose was to identify in a word, the type of style I liked in a woman.
Here are some of the styles, I’m not sure how to classify them all:
One-kei - Gorgeous(?)
One-keji - Gorgeous casual
Gyaru - Daddy’s little Princess, Delicate(?), Young
Onegyaru - Princess, casual, mature
Street - Sort of artistic, young, hip
And of course there is a huge industry around selling to these niche communities. I know I’m missing some of the old styles like kogyaru, but those are out. What’s in?
I’m still in Japan, its insanity.
I’m still suprised when people tell me business ideas are impossible. Most entrepreneurs are successful because they are willing to attempt the impossible, or more often to do what others are simply too lazy to try.
Do you know about entrepreneurs who take advantage of rifts?
Strange rumours floating around the internet about women buying lambs thinking they are puppies. I don’t think its actually true. I imagine it would be tough for a criminal organization to get ahold of 1,000 lambs and sell them before they become large enough to be identified as sheep.
I really want to visit a maid cafe I was hoping to visit this trip. But it will have to wait until next time.
Last week I read a article about Japanese Denim and the store Hinoya. This weekend I went to Hinoya and purchased a pair of SugarCane Jeans. I’m such a consumer.
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