<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">peter harris</b> <<a href="mailto:peterjharris@gmail.com">peterjharris@gmail.com</a>><br>Date: Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 5:52 PM<br>
Subject: WW-174 -- Off-portal sites in Japan see excessive growth<br>To: <a href="mailto:wirelesswatch@mailman.japaninc.com">wirelesswatch@mailman.japaninc.com</a><br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------<br>
Japan Inc Magazine Presents:<br>W I R E L E S S W A T C H<br><br>READ WIRELESS WATCH ONLINE AT:<br><a href="http://www.japaninc.com" target="_blank">www.japaninc.com</a><br>
<br>The Latest News From The Wireless Industry In Japan<br>----------------------------------------------------------------<br>Issue No. 174 Wednesday June 02, 2008<br>Subscribers: 9467<br>SUBSCRIBE AND UNSUBSCRIBE TO WIRELESS WATCH:<br>
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<a href="mailto:info@pbxl.jp" target="_blank">info@pbxl.jp</a><br><a href="http://www.pbxl.jp/seminarstt" target="_blank">www.pbxl.jp/seminarstt</a><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Off-portal sites in Japan see excessive growth<br>
<br>Japanese mobile content sites inside the walled garden of the <br>official carrier portals have a tough time. Competition is <br>severe and lots of free content is available on the mobile <br>Internet not regulated by the carriers. The introduction of <br>
search engines has made it easier to find your favorite <br>content. Over the past four years, many content providers and <br>publishing companies have moved (part of) their content to the <br>free public Internet. <br><br>
Mobage Town is a good example of such an off-portal service <br>offering games, social networking services and news. In April, <br>Mobage Town had 10 million registered users and a total number <br>of 15.6 billion page views were generated. It took only 2 years <br>
to reach these numbers.<br><br>We thought that setting up off-portal sites and making money was<br>pretty difficult for non-Japanese companies wishing to enter <br>this dynamic mobile market. In March we met Goal.com, a Swiss <br>
company providing soccer content on the web and mobile. In terms<br>of page views and unique visitors, Goal.com is the world's <br>largest new media soccer news provider. It publishes 17 editions<br>in 14 different languages – even a full Japanese version is <br>
available written by Japanese editors based in Europe. Joan <br>Blaas, Vice President Mobile of Goal.com came to Japan for <br>business development: 'We launched our Japanese mobile site in <br>November 2007, as of today we have more than 1 million page <br>
views a month,' said Joan. We were not so impressed by this <br>number. 'Since the launch, we have not done any promotion for <br>the site in Japan. My technical team in Europe has not even <br>optimized the content for Japanese handsets,' continued Joan. <br>
Out of curiosity we took our phone and entered the URL <br><a href="http://m.goal.com" target="_blank">m.goal.com</a> in our browser. The site looked bad – images were <br>very small and it took a long time to load. One million page <br>
views on such a site without marketing suddenly looked very <br>good. <br><br>We advised Joan to get in touch with UBIT, a local mobile <br>technology company that could help Goal.com with optimizing and <br>testing the site on Japanese phones. The next step was to <br>
introduce Goal.com to Mobage Town. Within two weeks, Goal.com <br>and UBIT adapted the site and the number of page views <br>subsequently doubled in a month. Goal.com has plans to grow <br>aggressively. 'We went live with our content in Mobage Town, <br>
and expect to reach 4 million page views during EURO 2008, and <br>aim to become the largest soccer site in 2009. With this traffic<br> and focus on soccer, we are an interesting medium to <br>advertise,' said Joan. We agreed. Goal.com enjoys riding the <br>
off-portal wave. <br><br>By Arjen Van Blokland<br><br><br>--------NEW GADGET BLOG: TEKRONOMICON.COM------------------<br><br>In collaboration with Gadget Watch, Gadget blog Tekronomicon<br>offers a detailed look at select gadgets - shiny and strange,<br>
from gizmo ground zero in Tokyo.<br>See the gadgets introduced in Gadget Watch,<br>with photos and more at: <a href="http://www.tekronomicon.com" target="_blank">www.tekronomicon.com</a><br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>++EVENTS<br><br>----------------------------------------------------------<br>Marcus Evans Events - Supported by J@pan Inc<br><br>Compensation and Benefits Forum, 27th – 28th May, Tokyo<br><a href="http://www.marcusevans.com/html/eventdetail.asp?eventID=13778" target="_blank">http://www.marcusevans.com/html/eventdetail.asp?eventID=13778</a><br>
This event provides Japanese firms the 'how-to' of investing in<br>their employees to sustain their businesses. Supported by JSHRM<br><br>3rd Annual LNG World, 15th – 16th July 2008, Tokyo<br><a href="http://www.marcusevans.com/html/eventdetail.asp?eventID=13569" target="_blank">www.marcusevans.com/html/eventdetail.asp?eventID=13569</a><br>
This event focuses on key operational aspects of LNG business<br>and current market dynamics to succeed in this competitive<br>market.<br><br>Leveraged Finance Japan, 29th – 30th July 2008, Tokyo<br><a href="http://www.marcusevans.com/html/eventdetail.asp?eventID=14126" target="_blank">http://www.marcusevans.com/html/eventdetail.asp?eventID=14126</a><br>
This event provides the opportunity for participants to assess<br>the buyout & leveraged buyout activities in Japan.<br><br>'J@pan Inc readers are entitled to a 10% discount upon<br>registration with Ms. Esther Wong.'<br>
Contact: +603 2723 6736 Email: <a href="mailto:estherw@marcusevanskl.com" target="_blank">estherw@marcusevanskl.com</a><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>Start a Company in Japan<br><br>Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar 31st of May, 2008<br><br>If you have been considering setting up your own company,<br>find out what it takes to make it successful.<br>Terrie Lloyd, founder of over 13 start-up companies in Japan,<br>
will be giving an English-language seminar and Q and A on<br>starting up a company in Japan.<br>This is an ideal opportunity to find out what is involved,<br>and to ask specific questions that are not normally answered<br>
in business books.<br>All materials are in English and are Japan-focused.<br><br>For more details:<br><a href="http://www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar" target="_blank">http://www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar</a><br>
<br><br>---------- Metropolis and eigoTown.com Party --------------<br><br>Metropolis-Tokyo's favorite lifestyle magazine and<br>eigoTown.com - Japan's premier English language learning<br>
website - join together on June 14, 2008 to bring you<br>The Metropolis and eigoTown.com Party.<br><br>Roppongi hotspot Alife will host over 500 revelers for an<br>evening of fun with people from different backgrounds<br>
coming together to eat, drink and make friends!<br><br>Tel: Metropolis(Will Thompson) 03-45502759.<br>Nearest stn: Roppongi. <a href="http://www.metropolis.co.jp/party" target="_blank">www.metropolis.co.jp/party</a><br><br>
CORPORATE SPONSORS WELCOME<br>
<br><br>-------------------- ICA Event - June 25 ------------------<br><br>Speaker: Henry Ng, Head of Professional Security Services<br>-Asia, Verizon Business<br>
<br>Topic: Bridging the Security Management Gap:<br>How to Move from Point Solutions to Process<br><br>Details: Complete event details at <a href="http://www.icajapan.jp/" target="_blank">http://www.icajapan.jp/</a><br>(RSVP Required)<br>
Date: Thursday, June 25, 2008<br>Time: 6:30 Doors open includes light buffet<br>Cost: 4,000 yen (members), 6,000 yen (non-members)<br>Open to all-venue is The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan<br><a href="http://www.fccj.or.jp/aboutus/map" target="_blank">http://www.fccj.or.jp/aboutus/map</a><br>
<br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>++END<br>
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