How Aladdin Channel/2channel in Densha Otoko and Twitter Relate and Differ

Nearly four years ago, I started watching the Japanese drama Densha Otoko (translated as Train Man) to better understand Japanese language and culture. I made it through the first four episodes of the drama series, which was based-on-a-true-story, and then put it on hold to concentrate on finding an English-teaching job in Japan. Lately, I’ve made more time for things other than maintaining websites, analyzing websites statistics, constantly being on top of various social media accounts, and my day job.

When I first watched the drama series, I watched it for what it was: A guy who is dedicated to his hobby, can’t find a girlfriend because of his status as a nerd, and seeks advice on a message board for single men. Recently, though, I watched the final seven episodes of the drama series and found that Aladdin Channel—based on 2channel, a real message board in Japan—is similar to a service that really caught on in 2009: Twitter. As I skimmed the 2channel message board where the true story of Densha Otoko took place, I noticed that, other than random pictures that people created from text, most of the messages were really short, similar to how Twitter has a 140 character limit. The picture on the left is a screenshot of both 2channel and Twitter.

Whereas Aladdin Channel looks like people can only access it while on a computer with a fully functional Web browser, Twitter is accessible in multiple ways; on mobile devices, on laptop and desktop computers, through third-party applications, and through third-party websites. With immediate, anywhere access to a community and a variety of ways to communicate with friends, the networking experience is much more useful. For example, if Train Man had access to Twitter on his cell phone while on a dinner date, he could’ve gone into the men’s bathroom, hid in a stall, and asked for advice on what he should do next. I don’t think a scenario like that is farfetched; I’m sure there’s been a lot of people who have asked for advice through Facebook or Twitter, hoping for real-time support while on the spot. Having to wait until I get home to search for answers and get advice when I’m out and about seems archaic.

Twitter’s platform makes the communication experience more interactive; people can visualize who they are talking to by see profile pictures, pictures and videos uploaded to third-party websites, and where people are currently located, among other things. In the Densha Otoko series, nobody knows what each other looks like because the message board is primarily text only, with some hyperlinks sprinkled in. The most noticeable difference between Aladdin Channel/2channnel and Twitter is the level of personality that people can apply to themselves through profiles.

It’s hard to argue that by making content available on multiple devices and through various third-party applications, building a trusting, reliable community is much easier than being restricted to a desktop or even laptop computer. However, as shown in episode 10 of the Densha Otoko series—where people find out who Train Man is—I don’t think people understand the risks and vulnerability they submit themselves to with open networks. With the various sharing that happens on Twitter—pictures, videos, hyperlinks, name-dropping, divulging peoples’ locations, and sensitive personal or business content, among other things—people should be prepared for their information to fall into the wrong hands. On the plus side, the subjects people talk about could also fall into the right hands, as evidenced by people who have found jobs by using Twitter.

A Single, Effective Way to Measure Social Media

A few days ago, a few people retweeted a blog post titled 100 Ways to Measure Social Media by David Berkowitz. After reading it, I felt inspired to use what little knowledge I have of social media to show you how I measure social media. I’m sure that others have already done this before, so feel free to apply what I’ve documented:

1. Open up an Internet browser that supports tabs and open all of the social media sites you actively use.
2. Grab a ruler and measure the distance from one tab to another. It’s ok if your tabs start disappearing because you have too many open. (NO CHEATING! I know some of you will use tabs like peopleofwalmart.com and icanhascheezburger.com. Don’t be dishonest.)
3. Take that number in inches and multiply it by how many social sites you have open in tabs.

For those that need help visualizing how I did this, I’ve posted a picture tutorial below.

Here are my numbers: 9 inches x 8 sites = a score of 72 social media measurements of complete bragging rights. Go ahead. Measure social media on your own and leave your score in a comment. Hell, post it on Twitter if you want.

*Disclaimer: Measurements may vary depending on your screen size.

New Sound, Refreshing Lyrics from Lo-Fi’s Recently Released Album, Stereo Soul

Jazz. Funk. Blues. Breakbeats. Soul.

This is how the Japanese trio Lo-Fi describes their music. Even during singing breaks, the instrumentals by 5 (pronounced Goh; vocals and bass guitar), Yosh (drums), and Nori (keyboard) are ridiculously relaxing. After hearing that their new album, Stereo Soul, was available for download, I purchased it along with their previously released album, Low-Fidelity EP. To the left is a screenshot of the trio’s two albums in the iTunes Japan top jazz albums section. Sales of Stereo Soul, ranked #8, also saw increased sale of Low-Fidelity EP, ranked #18.

I listen to a lot of music, but Lo-Fi’s sound is completely new to me. What’s strange, though, is that the melody sounds familiar, but not familiar like I’ve heard it before; it’s more familiar like I should’ve already heard it. The drums and the keyboard are well balanced, but there’s also times when one of the instruments is deliberately the focus—almost like a solo but with background music.

A huge influence on whether or not I enjoy listening to the artist is whether I feel a connection with their lyrics. In Stereo Soul, the lyrics touch on topics like war, love, social issues, dealing with personal struggles, and friendships, which really draws me in and makes me want to listen. The words are almost like short influential pieces either from a personal view or from a broader perspective.

Just another proof of how social media really connects people and drives others to different experiences, I found out about Lo-Fi on Twitter through 5. Other than Twitter, the trio is active on other social networks, with accounts on Facebook, MySpace, Mixi, YouTube. They also have a website in Japanese and English, a mobile website in Japanese, and 5 blogs regularly both in Japanese and English. I think it’s great that they’re reaching out on so many networks and in two languages; that takes a lot of hard work!

I highly suggest buying Lo-Fi’s album—either on iTunes or on CD Baby. If you’re still skeptical, listen to the previews available on either of those music sites or watch the group’s live performance below. It was this artistic flavor—and this video in particular—that really turned me on to the trio’s music.

"Make That Change" is from Lo-Fi's Low-Fidelity EP, available on iTunes.

After listening to Stereo Soul from an amateur listener’s point of view, here’s how I would describe Lo-Fi’s sound:

Smooth. Social. Spoken word. Mellow hip hop. Familiar.

 

*Looking for this post in Japanese? A translated version of it is on my Mixi blog (Mixi account required). Thanks for translating it, Yang!

Puget Sound Blood Center Organizes Blood Drive, Social Media Fuels It

Sean DeButts, Social Media Coordinator at the Puget Sound Blood Center, has set up the organization’s first blood drive tweetup! If you’re in the Seattle area and available on Tuesday, June 23, I highly recommend that you go and donate some blood. Not only will you be donating for a great cause, you’ll also be surrounded by some wonderful folks. Sean will be posting pictures on Flickr and videos on YouTube of people who are donating throughout the day. You can even publish your experience in real time by blogging or tweeting while you donate!

For more information, check out the following links:

• Puget Sound Blood Center website
• Puget Sound Blood Center’s Facebook page
• Puget Sound Blood Center on Flickr
• Puget Sound Blood Center’s MySpace page
• Puget Sound Blood Center on Twitter page
• Puget Sound Blood Center on YouTube

Coming late to the party: My social media “wow” moment

I just had my first social media “wow” moment. Before I explain what happened, I’ve got to tell you that I’m borrowing the phrase “social media ‘wow’ moment” from Kenji_Onozawa and his website, Seattle Social Media Profiles. In his written interviews to the folks that he interviews, that’s one of his questions. If you’re a Northwesterner or just a plain ol’ person who engages in social media, this site is awesome; it really helps put social media and the local people involved in it in perspective!

Oh, that’s right… So on to my story.

I was on Twitter, reading some updates and responding to some of the tweets that I had favorited throughout the day (I typically don’t tweet during the weekdays because I’m too busy at work), and one of my friends, Bloglue, retweeted a question that he had posted the day before asking about programming and the use of 24-hour clocks and AM/PM settings. Since I follow a decent amount of programmers/developers, I figured at least one person might be able to answer… and answer he did! noahcoad answered within 10 minutes of me retweeting Bloglue’s message. 10 minutes! It just blew me away.

It’s just proof that reaching out to others and actively searching for answers for yourself and for others really works online. But you know what? It’s even sweeter when you can meet these people at social events and other types of meetups.

I’m still amazed at how much more I “got it” today. I think I’ll use this as my own proof point for when people want me to explain what the significance of social media is. Now, let’s see how many more online tools I can use to help others…

Collaborative efforts between social media and the slumping movie theater business

I came up with this rough idea while I was out on my lunch break today: What if movie production studios used Twitter to advertise movies? For example, what if 20th Century-Fox Film promoted the Wolverine movie on Twitter like this?:

20thCenturyFox: Wolverine seeks revenge against Victor Creed for the death of his girlfriend, & ends up going through the Weapon X program. (link)

That’s in pretty basic form. It might grab the attention of people who are interested in movies in general and those who might have heard of Wolverine.

But here’s the more exciting, engaging tweet that I had in mind while I was lunch-break brainstorming:

20thCenturyFox: Weapon XI and Logan's fight moves to the top of a nuclear reactor & it appears Logan is outmatched until Creed shows up to... (link)

This kind of tweet is much more likely to draw in 20thCenturyFox’s followers because it leaves it up to them to click on the link or ponder what will happen. The aim of this kind of tweet is for people to think “There’s action going on here, and someone appears to… to what??” Clicking on the link could take them to either the movie’s Web site that further explains the story or, my favorite, points them to a link of that specific scene. Using the second example from above, if someone were to click on the link, they would be taken to a site that plays the scene from when Creed shows up and a collage of video clips from that scene would play—enough to give the audience an idea of what happens in that scene, but not enough to give away everything that happens.

And, with the variety of ways for tweets to automatically update Facebook statuses and blogs and Web sites that post updates containing predetermined Twitter handles and keywords, something like this has the potential to reach an audience that doesn’t even originate from Twitter.

Profitability-wise, movie production companies would see an increase in site traffic, which could turn into more people who visit the theater when the movie is released. As for Twitter’s profitability from this? Well, I haven’t really come up with a solid idea for how this could increase the company’s income. Maybe a co-branding effort with the movie production company?