Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi?

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Facebook in Japan: Will It Blend?

It is rumored in Japan that Facebook will be establishing an office in the island nation sometime in 2010. This comes after Twitter successfully launched their Japanese operations in 2009 and now supposedly have more than 2 million registered Japanese users, more than it is estimated that Facebook has in Japan. If this is true, Japan is one of the few countries where there are more than Twitter users than Facebook. So, Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend?

MySpace actually entered the Japanese market back in 2006, but it was never able to gain popularity. Facebook launched its Japanese user interface back in 2008, and has had a slow organic growth since then. Unfortunately, Facebook still lags way behind the leading Japanese social networking site with less than 1/10 of their membership.

Of course, still the leader in the Japanese social networking scene is Mixi, which currently boasts more than 25 million predominantly Japanese Gen Y users (note: you need to have both an invitation from a present user as well as a Japanese mobile phone to register, which limits the Mixi demographic to those residing in Japan). If you can read Japanese, this site actually gives the real-time number of present Mixi users. Although other sites such as Ameba, a predominantly blogging site, as well as Mobage Town and Gree, social networking sites with lots of games (and plenty of virtual currency!) that are used primarily over the cell phone, are also very popular, Mixi is still King of the social networking sites in Japan much as Facebook is here in the United States.

If Mixi didn’t exist in Japan this would be another story, but how can Facebook compete against this predominant player in the Japanese market? Not to mention there are some serious cultural differences awaiting this American company as they embark on their Japanese journey:

1.) Mixi Users Tend to Use Nicknames

Japanese social networking users tend to like their privacy and therefore will tend to use a nickname instead of their real name. Facebook requires you to use your real name. This is going to be the first wall that new Facebook users in Japan will have to overcome for it to become popular.

2) Who’s Viewed Your Facebook Profile?

We don’t know who’s viewed our Facebook profile. Mixi users feel safe in using Mixi because they can see who has viewed their profile with the “ashiato” (“footprint”) functionality. This is not a for-fee service like LinkedIn: it is a fundamental part of the Mixi platform that is guaranteed for all users. Will Facebook create this functionality for the Japanese market?

3) Mixi is Community-Centric

Aligned with using nicknames, Mixi users join a lot of communities where they can learn new information all the while keeping their anonymity. Facebook has its share of Groups, which are similar to Mixi communities, but again, there is no anonymity in Facebook. This could potentially make it harder to create the same types of strong communities that are one of the cornerstones of Mixi. The below quote is good food for thought here and difficult to imagine in a Facebook-scenario:

“In using the Internet to anonymously talk about their troubles, or show off their strong points, or make people laugh,” he said, “people in Japan can now interact based on what is actually being said, without worrying about who is talking.” – Tetsuya Shibui, Writer

Note that Mixi boasts more than 1 million communities among 25 milion users. Facebook has 1.6 million “pages” among 350 million users [Facebook didn't have an official number of Groups statistic]. This should give some indication as to the relative popularity of the Mixi communities.

4) Facebook is Culturally Direct

Anyone who has done business in Japan knows that communication is done a bit more indirect there than in the United States. Want to turn away a potential vendor? Telling them that you’ll “think about” their proposal is the same as turning them down. Have a guest in Kyoto who has stayed too long? Bringing out the tea will signal that it’s time for them to go home. You get the picture.

What is the problem with Facebook then? From the minute you log on you are barraged by pictures of “people you may know” or social ads. Furthermore, considering the privacy cloak of a nickname that is used on Mixi, Japanese users will wonder how often their pictures are being shown to others. It’s one thing to search for someone that you know to connect with; displaying a picture without searching, however, may seem a bit abrupt to the average Japanese user.

The interesting thing is that the popularity of Twitter in Japan has brought two of its competitors, Ameba and Mixi, to create their own “Twitter-like” functionality. Furthermore, as famous Japanese celebrities and politicians flock to Twitter using their real names, maybe that will set the stage for Facebook to become successful in Japan. Will FB blend in Japan? Only time will tell…

For an interesting read on the Japanese social networking environment and cellphone usage, please check out this excellent Slideshare presentation (note that some of the usage numbers are dated by several months):

Japan Mobile SNS Study 2010

View more presentations from Alexei Poliakov.

Gree To Open Social Application Platform (asiajin.com)
Mixi Echo Becomes Mixi Voice To Chase Twitter (asiajin.com)
Mixi Adds New Friends-Making Feature For Shy Japanese (asiajin.com)
Twitter launches Japanese mobile site (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Japanese social networking – it’s all mobile (socialmediatoday.com)

http://twitter.com/animal/status/7955295090 Recruiting Animal

RT @NealSchaffer – Facebook in Japan – http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5
http://twitter.com/helpmyresume/status/7956319922 Help My Resume

#Networking Advice Facebook in Japan: Will It Blend? – It is rumored in Japan that Facebook will be establishing an… http://ow.ly/16ndwa
http://twitter.com/windmillnet/status/7956472238 Windmill Networking

Facebook in Japan: Will It Blend?: It is rumored in Japan that Facebook will be establishing an… http://bit.ly/6eQRS0 (via @NealSchaffer)
http://twitter.com/thesocialexec/status/7956472547 Ryon Harms

Facebook in Japan: Will It Blend?: It is rumored in Japan that Facebook will be establishing an o… http://bit.ly/7hLjmz via @NealSchaffer
http://twitter.com/kevinliebl/status/7956659153 Kevin Liebl

Facebook in Japan: Will It Blend?: It is rumored in Japan that Facebook will be establishing an office in the isla… http://bit.ly/8x9NUh
http://topsy.com/tb/bit.ly/8x9NUh Tweets that mention Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking — Topsy.com

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Recruiting Animal and Kevin Liebl, Help My Resume. Help My Resume said: #Networking Advice Facebook in Japan: Will It Blend? – It is rumored in Japan that Facebook will be establishing an… http://ow.ly/16ndwa [...]
http://twitter.com/dgupta5150/status/7958314850 Deepak Gupta

Neal Schaffer #blog Facebook in Japan: Will It Blend? – It is rumored in Japan that Facebook will be establishing a… http://ow.ly/16neDv
http://twitter.com/takethe_plunge/status/7958354416 TakeThePlungeCoffee

Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking http://icio.us/rwz3fe
http://twitter.com/drkenho/status/7959492889 Ken

Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? A look at Japan today. http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5 (via @NealSchaffer)
http://twitter.com/timsstrategy/status/7966486935 Tim Tyrell-Smith

New @WindmillNet Facebook in Japan: Will It Blend? – It is rumored in Japan that Facebook will be establishing an o… http://ow.ly/16nlqW
http://twitter.com/willdobbs/status/7966709259 William Dobbs

RT @TimsStrategy New @WindmillNet Facebook in Japan: Will It Blend? – It is rumored in Japan that… http://ow.ly/16nlqW
topsy_top20k_en

New blog post: Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? A look at Japan today. http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5
http://twitter.com/takethe_plunge/status/7981863957 TakeThePlungeCoffee

Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with… http://su.pr/2COi0W
http://twitter.com/motoole1/status/7984330992 Mike O’Toole

Twitter has more users in Japan than Facebook…but Mixi is the King. Nice analysis on FB's chances in Japan http://bit.ly/5UatPD
http://twitter.com/tarquinc/status/7986018280 Tarquin Clark

Twitter has more users in Japan than Facebook.. Nice analysis on FB's chances in Japan http://bit.ly/5UatPD (via @motoole1)
http://twitter.com/good_people/status/8018805488 JasonBall_GoodPeople

Facebook coming to Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking http://ow.ly/YSgD
http://twitter.com/jamesballen/status/8019372774 James B. Allen

(I'm already using it in Japan!) RT @good_people: Facebook coming to Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? http://ow.ly/YSgD
http://twitter.com/goodpeoplejapan/status/8026498203 Jason Ball

Facebook coming to Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking http://ow.ly/YSh1
http://twitter.com/tokyohottie/status/8026879398 Tiffany Rossdale

RT @nealschaffer Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5
http://twitter.com/chiekos/status/8028544005 Chieko Sonohata

Wow. RT @GoodPeopleJapan: Facebook coming to Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking http://ow.ly/YSh1
http://twitter.com/salyavin/status/8036345417 salyavin

Could facebook compete with mixi in Japan? http://is.gd/6KBmT
http://twitter.com/j_management/status/8046623282 Parissa Haghirian

RT @tweetmeme Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5
http://topsy.com/tb/ow.ly/YSgD Tweets that mention Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking — Topsy.com

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Japan Society, Japan Intercultural. Japan Intercultural said: RT @GoodPeopleJapan Facebook coming to #Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? http://ow.ly/YSh1 <excellent analysis> [...]
http://twitter.com/yukiy7981/status/8056628358 Yuki Yamauchi

RT @japansociety: @JapanIntercult: @GoodPeopleJapan Facebook coming to Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? http://ow.ly/YSh1...
http://twitter.com/cocreatr/status/8062097887 Bernd Nurnberger

RT @j_management: RT @tweetmeme Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5
http://twitter.com/kicauan/status/8064064087 kicauan

Facebook in Japan: Will It Blend? – http://su.pr/9mOPIe
http://twitter.com/ychackernews/status/8064084691 YC Hacker News

Facebook in Japan: Will It Blend?: http://bit.ly/5mG3Ax Comments: http://bit.ly/5jazGs
http://topsy.com/tb/su.pr/9mOPIe Tweets that mention Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking — Topsy.com

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by kicauan, YC Hacker News. YC Hacker News said: Facebook in Japan: Will It Blend?: http://bit.ly/5mG3Ax Comments: http://bit.ly/5jazGs [...]
http://twitter.com/voidnothings/status/8064112741 voidnothings

Will @facebook blend in japan? http://windmillnetworking.com/2010/01/19/facebook-in-japan-will-it-blend/?goback=.hom
http://twitter.com/webstartupgroup/status/8064113557 Web Startup Group

StartupNews: Facebook in Japan: Will It Blend? http://bit.ly/8ZAQSd
http://twitter.com/hkrnws/status/8064289358 hkrnws

Facebook in Japan: Will It Blend? http://bit.ly/90GB6l
http://twitter.com/anatoo/status/8064847559 anatoo

「京都ではお茶を出されたらそれはもう帰れという意味」ということが書いてあるけど、お茶じゃなくてお茶漬けだろそれ http://bit.ly/6BHUsG
http://twitter.com/kumoriharu/status/8065816548 九森晴

人の過去の結果だけを評価する社会では難しいだろう。 Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking http://bit.ly/7IoqYz
http://twitter.com/ique/status/8066062314 ique

Facebook about to launch an office in Japan. Will Facebook in Japan work? What do you say @TommyMappy would you use it? http://bit.ly/7IoqYz
http://twitter.com/yanbe/status/8066238400 山家雄介（å±±å®¶ é›„ä»‹）

[bookmark] Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking: #facebook #mixi http://bit.ly/6CQOPp
http://twitter.com/tmenjo/status/8066613747 Takashi Menjo

スライドを見て、ちゃりんちゃりん言わせるには形のないもの（アバターとかアイテムとか）を売るのが効果的なんだなあ……と思ってしまった。 http://tinyurl.com/ydv23ok
http://twitter.com/livedoorcliphot/status/8066712038 livedoorcliphot

Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking: Facebook in Japan: Will it Blen… http://bit.ly/7ykpAt
http://twitter.com/tomohiko11/status/8066944679 Tomohiko Kezuka 毛塚智彦

途中で切れてしまった。URLはこれ http://windmillnetworking.com/2010/01/19/facebook-in-japan-will-it-blend/
http://twitter.com/reibai/status/8067517023 John Purcell

Will Facebook change itself in Japan? http://ow.ly/Zj8n
http://twitter.com/rtree/status/8068261923 rtree(TomohikoAraki)

Ashiato is for communication, rather than for security -Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking – http://qtwt.us/xb4p
http://twitter.com/mt947doppel/status/8068653967 MT

Hacker News – Facebook in Japan: Will It Blend? http://windmillnetworking.com/2010/01/19/facebook-in-japan-will-it-blend/?goback=.hom
http://twitter.com/txtechiplaw/status/8071188074 Nathan Roach

RT @nealschaffer Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5 Insightful article on cultural roadblocks to FB Japan.
http://twitter.com/seapixy/status/8075965084 seapixy

Online anthro: Facebook's US-style "cultural directness" may not be the best social networking strategy in Japan http://bit.ly/7IoqYz
http://twitter.com/yanbe/status/8099121053 山家雄介（å±±å®¶ é›„ä»‹）

FaceBookが日本で苦戦する理由を、長々書いてるけど、どれも微妙に的を外してる気がするhttp://windmillnetworking.com/2010/01/19/facebook-in-japan-will-it-blend/
http://twitter.com/mizoki346/status/8102386136 takayuki.mizuki

RT @nealschaffer Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5
http://twitter.com/mwerneburg/status/8179148056 michael werneburg

RT @nealschaffer Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5
http://twitter.com/hirokotabuchi/status/8240975215 Hiroko Tabuchi / NYT

RT @nealschaffer Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5
http://twitter.com/takaochikubu/status/8241112907 takaochikubu

RT @HirokoTabuchi: RT @nealschaffer Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5
http://twitter.com/belfastangel/status/8241116374 Eva

RT @nealschaffer Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5 (via @HirokoTabuchi)
http://twitter.com/asktaka/status/8241377152 asktaka

Facebookが日本事務所を設立か。Twitterに後れを取った唯一の国で巻き返し？RT @HirokoTabuchi: RT @nealschaffer Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5
http://twitter.com/enfu/status/8241578436 enfu::hybrid nippop

RT @HirokoTabuchi: RT @nealschaffer Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5
http://twitter.com/kemlo/status/8246321885 Kemlo

Social networking in Japan RT @HirokoTabuchi: RT @nealschaffer Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5
http://twitter.com/jos3ph Joseph Miller

It's been a while since I slogged through Mixi, but are I wonder if there are any decent apps on it yet.

Localized versions of Farmville could be popular and from a business perspective a self-serve advertising platform could be a much better value than Mixi's ad agency 'contact us' style. Facebook also has very attractive mobile implementations, which is crucial.
http://twitter.com/cujojp/status/8251273802 Kaleb White

Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? http://tinyurl.com/yd5uhn5
http://windmillnetworking.com/ nealschaffer

Hey Joseph,

I know that Mixi has been adding apps, at least to keep up with competition from Gree and others. Facebook could indeed compete with Mixi on apps, although it sounds like Mixi's mobile implementation is even more crucial. I will be back in Japan in mid-March and will report back to everyone on Mixi's latest situation!

- Neal
http://twitter.com/tommymappy/status/9632181487 Maho

@Eemma Via @ique http://windmillnetworking.com/2010/01/19/facebook-in-japan-will-it-blend/?goback=.hom (This is about Facebook, though)
http://isabellofgren.wordpress.com/2010/03/31/facebook-nation/ Facebook Nation « Isabel Löfgren

[...] Also hardly any Japanese users, and also not many Korean. They have their own way of socialising online away from Western [...]
http://twitter.com/socialmktgmgrsf/status/12399253995 Gregory C Viloria

Facebook in Japan – Will it Mix? http://bit.ly/cdWHiN from friends @windmillnet
http://www.seop.com/social-media-marketing/ social media marketing

I think facebook in Japan will work. I think everyone loves this kind of communication so it'll definitely work.
bob

Where is the Japanese office of Twitter?
http://windmillnetworking.com/ nealschaffer

Hey Bob,

That is a good question. I have no official connection with Twitter, but I couldn't find the Twitter Japan address either! If you really want to get in touch with them, I highly recommend that you contact their Japanese investor, Digital Garage (http://garage.co.jp/en/).

@NealSchaffer
http://windmillnetworking.com/ nealschaffer

Hey Bob,

That is a good question. I have no official connection with Twitter, but I couldn't find the Twitter Japan address either! If you really want to get in touch with them, I highly recommend that you contact their Japanese investor, Digital Garage (http://garage.co.jp/en/).

@NealSchaffer
http://twitter.com/yslaise/status/14137953982 Yacoub Al-Slaise

RT @nealschaffer Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking http://bit.ly/dxv4Be
http://twitter.com/shuhey_mdg/status/14138010946 Shuhey

RT @yslaise: RT @nealschaffer Facebook in Japan: Will it Blend? How to Compete with Mixi? | Windmill Networking http://bit.ly/dxv4Be
http://twitter.com/sachikoohmura/status/14277215275 Sachiko Ohmura

The most dominant SNS in Japan is "mixi." Can Facebook break it? http://windmillnetworking.com/2010/01/19/facebook-in-japan-will-it-blend/
http://twitter.com/kuharich/status/14830426270 Mark Kuharich

Facebook in Japan: Will it blend? http://j.mp/5AoHOi
http://aiko0324.wordpress.com/2010/06/05/twitter-has-gone-mainstream-in-japan/ Twitter Has Gone Mainstream in Japan « Social digitization

[...] users in Japan. For example, Linkedin and Facebook have less than 1 million users in Japan. (source) The number of registered members of the local social networking site, Mixi, is 10 times greater [...]
http://vfourvictory.net/?p=908 Facebook targets China, South Korea, Japan and Russia | v4v main hub

[...] Yes, Facebook isn’t exactly a tangible product: it’s simply a mode of communication. I know countless Koreans and Germans who use Facebook, but it’ll be a touch reckless to just assume that the Asian countries will embrace the social networking site the way we have in North America. On the other hand, Twitter has attracted more users in Japan than FB. Click here to find out why. [...]
http://creativerikkyo.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/can-facebook-beat-mixi/ Can facebook beat mixi!? « creative industries @ rikkyo

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