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Japan Internet Report No. 61 October 2001
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In this issue:
- Roger Boisvert is greatly missed
- Can i-mode go West?
- White paper now available: Internet-enabled cell
phones
- Paka-paka girls in AsiaWeek
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Roger Boisvert is greatly missed
The Internet community in Japan has lost one of its
leaders and best friends. Roger Boisvert was killed
while on a business trip to Los Angeles on September 30.
Details can be read at the L.A. Times site.
Roger is widely acknowledged to be the founder of the
first commercial Internet connectivity service provider
in Japan. He was also a brilliant entrepreneur and
successful businessman.
More important, he was a living example of kindness,
openness, and generosity to all who knew him.
I first became acquainted with Roger in 1996, when he
agreed to an interview for Japan Internet Report.
He took a sincere interest in this publication and my
small company, and was always extremely helpful in
response to my questions and generous with his time and
knowledge.
He was a loving, family man. I grieve for his wife and
children. And ponder the future of the United States, my
home and world center of war making and senseless
violence.
Readers who will be in Tokyo on Saturday October 27 may
attend Roger's memorial service.
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Can i-mode go West?
It seems that ever since i-mode started getting coverage
in Western media, pundits have been taking sides on
whether this technology will or won't be adopted in the
U.S. Now my colleague Steve Kemper in Ion Global's
Portland office has jumped into the fray, with a
balanced, well-thought out response to this question -
and some good jokes to boot.
See below for an excerpt of the serious stuff, or read
the full text here.
"Modern computers and the Internet were invented in the
United States and have remained US-centric ever since.
While mainstream programming languages and scripts can
be used to produce multilingual applications and Web
sites, the programming languages themselves remain in
English. We know that the dominant position that the
English language holds on the Internet is loosening, but
it will forever be the founding and default language of
personal computing and the Internet. Call it first mover
advantage."
"The wireless Internet is new territory. It was not
invented in, nor is it native to, any one country or
even any single region, for that matter. And the United
States holds a decidedly non-dominant position. In fact,
in an odd turning of the tables, NTT DoCoMo's i-mode
handsets sometimes have trouble displaying Western
languages properly, with some letters getting cut off
completely. This is a relatively minor issue, but the
point is that the wireless Internet wasn't born in the
United States."
"Wireless customers in each region of the world are, for
the most part, enjoying services designed specifically
for them. Much of what is out there on the World Wide
Web, particularly commercial fare, was created by and
for Americans and crudely modified, if at all, for use
in other markets. Overseas users are often forced to
select the Web sites they use for lack of anything
better rather than because they are exactly what they
need. Even homegrown offerings are often thinly veiled
knockoffs of things that are perceived to have worked in
the United States. This is not the case in the world of
wireless..."
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White paper now available: Internet-enabled cell phones
To help non-readers of Japanese better understand
Japan's wild and woolly Internet-enabled cellular
telephone market, Ion Global has compiled a white paper
entitled "Japan's Web-enabled cellular phone market:
Capitalizing on a trend." This 33 page PDF document is
full of concise information, insightful commentary, and
imagery sure to be valuable to anyone interested in this
unique business sector.
To receive your complimentary copy, please visit theIon Global Web site.
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Paka-paka girls in AsiaWeek
Read JIR's updated take on Japan's Paka-paka girls in
the October 12 issue of AsiaWeek, available at
newsstands now. We don't see the online version of the
story yet, but serious Asia watchers will want to check
out the Web site at <www.asiaweek.com> and consider
subscribing.
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Tim Clark
Strategy Director, Japan
tim@jir.net
Please use the online forms to subscribe to or unsubscribe from JIR.
Copyright 2002 by Ion Global All rights reserved
Tel: +81 3 5777-3810 Fax: +81 3 5777-3814
Ion Global
strategic e-business integration
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