The Sebinomics Blog 1.0

A few weeks ago I came across a very interesting book by Roland Kelts — Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. I did not know about the book or Mr Kelts and was amazed by the content of the book. It goes far beyond just anime and manga. Mr Kelts explains how and why Japanese artists and companies behaved and worked the way they did or still do.

I recommend reading Japanamerica not only to people interested in anime and manga, but to everyone who is interested in pan-pacific relations. It also helps understanding why westerners are increasingly fascinated by East-Asian pop culture and where it is going to lead us. Below you can find a few passages I highlighted while reading Japanamerica. Enjoy.

As in Woody Allen’s films and their renderings of New York, in Lost in Translation the city [of Tokyo] became one of the star attractions. And suddenly, everyone I knew wanted to visit. (p. 6)

Kagaku ninja-tai Gatchaman’s story and characters boasted fundamentals that spoke directly to Japan’s cultural values: the “hero” is in fact a team, whose members must rely upon one another and not stand out as individuals. (p. 12)

No longer seen as the manufacturing king of Asia, Japan is now the region’s most visible arbiter of cool, via video and computer games, postmodern pop music trends, cuisine, clothing, mix-’n'-match light-speed fashion scene and, especially, its iconic animations and graphic novels. (p. 16)

Pikachu is an animated representation of precisely nothing we know in our physical world, introducing Americans to just one aspect of Japanese pop culture’s creative freedom. (p. 17)

In Japan there are two very specific words to define (these) selves: tatemae, or the presentation of your public self, and honne, how you really feel. The underlying truth. … Puritanism is just tatemae. (p. 24)

Charles Salomon is a Los Angeles-based animation critic who writes for the New York Times. He says, “That’s a problem of a lot of animated films from [America]–the characters are so sarcastic and hip, they don’t even seem to believe in the story they’re in. You don’t find that sarcasm in Japanese anime.” … Regardless of how hip, futuristic, high-tech, edgy, and coolly drawn the characters and their surroundings, their essential longings and their interactions with others are presented with a striking degree of sincerity, even when the characters are discussing mecha or biochemical, technologically transmitted viruses. (p. 29)

Osaka produces the majority of the nation’s entertainers, in comedy, music, and film. (p. 41)

What makes Astro Boy especially Japanese? “He’s troubled. And he worries. A lot.” (p. 46)

Nostalgia is often a mask for rage. (p. 58)

The relationships between characters and stories are critical. (p. 89)

“I’m Toru Iwatani. I invented Pac-Man.” … [Those] were different days, and the story was always about the creation, not the creator. (p. 109)

“Fans of Lord of the Rings can’t go to Middle Earth, and Harry Potter fans can’t get to Hogwarts,” says Macias. “But you can save up your money and book a flight to Tokyo, or just dream about a while savoring the endless details and depth of history.” (p. 118)

“[Sailor Moon] is not really masculine–she’s small and fragile. But she’s powerful. That’s very Japanese.” (p. 166)

Akashingo, minna de watareba kowaku-nai, or “Red lights–if everyone crosses against them together, there’s nothing to be afraid of.” (p. 169)

Self-publishing is on the raise in [America and in Japan] and with advances in computer publishing software and technologies, it may well result in shadow subcultures of production and economy, especially as niche markets continue ti subdivide into smaller, more narrowly focused readerships. (p. 171)

“To many young Americans, Japanese pop culture has a feeling of being ‘fresh,’”says Schodt, “and it can therefore be perceived as an alternative to native pop-culture traditions that in some cases, such as comics and animation, even music, feel quite ossified today.” (p. 183)

What do you find most enjoyable about anime? [Masakazu Kubo] asked [students], expecting to hear raves about the graphics or storylines. Their response surprised him: the ‘fansites,’ or websites run by American otaku. (p. 191)

Shinichiro Ishikawa: “The anime industry is character driven, and the basic creativity comes from manga. … The very social structure of Japan is our greatest advantage.” (p. 196)

Ishikawa: “We want to be like Marvel Entertainment. Basically, Marvel made two big hits based on cool action comics — X-Men and Spiderman. Overnight that turned their library of 100 other comic titles into a goldmine.” (p. 199)

We might appreciate the differences. We might get closer to the world. –Roland Kelts

I used to play in a great band with two great musicians between 2001 and 2004. The trio was called Monsterbazz and released two albums as an indie band. You can find a lot about the story of Monsterbazz on my website and on Myspace.

In 2007, Monsterbazz decided to reunite for one gig and played a tremendous concert at the first BassDay Schweiz. After that, I went through my collection of MiniDV tapes where I found almost every gig ever performed by the trio.

These two previously unreleased songs are among my most favorite Monsterbazz songs. I hope the band will find its way back together someday and will produce, record, and release them for good.

Monsterbazz “Monster” (Live 2003)

Monsterbazz “Cleaning The Stars” (Live 2003)

We have all heard of Facebook, Myspace, and other virtual communities. What many people do not know is that there are many other platforms that have been created around a very specific topic, where people with exactly the same interests can meet. Organizations allover the world have started implementing the online networks for their students, employees, or customers to help them connecting with each other and foster their want to belong to the same community. Of course, you can also create groups in Facebook and invite your friends who you have studied with abroad to join the group. But what if you had your very own community?

I studied two semesters at Kansai Gaidai University (KGU) in Osaka, Japan. I belong to two different KGU online groups. One was created on the German-speaking Studivz.net platform, and the other one is more international and can be found on Facebook. If KGU would have its own virtual community available to everyone who has ever been to KGU, it would make me feel even deeper connected to the university and to everyone who is or has studied at Gaidai. And, it would promote the brand.

There is another community I belong to that has helped me grow as a person and as a musician. Mr Sam Steiner, a bass player and great mind has created Bassic.ch in 1999 for a rather small target audience that proved to be very interested in connecting with like-minded musicians. The community has been tailored to the needs and wants of bass players and kept growing since its start and became a self-driven platform where German-speaking bass players meet, do business, and exchange ideas on every topic revolving around the bass guitar and music in general.

Even though you can find me on Facebook, Myspace, Xing, Studivz, Kyte, YouTube, Bassic, Wikipedia, and I guess some other platforms I forgot I applied to, Bassic and the KGU groups are the ones that attract me most, because those are the two worlds I really live in. And when talking to my friends, I realize, that is what people want and need from a community. They do not necessarily want a very broad topic. They want to meet people and talk about subjects they are interested in, and possibly learn from people they share views with, as I do with bass players for example.

The Web 2.0 enables users to find exactly what they are looking for. This phenomenon brings people with same views and interests from allover the world closer together and fosters the want to belong to a very specific group or community. As Copernicus said, ‘The world does revolves around [me]’, and it is becoming true for all of us.

Step 2: Go public.

How did the most common virtual networks become what they are today? Innovators and early adopters found and tested the platform and invited their friends to join the community. Mouth-to-mouth works well from initial test users to regular new users of a community. Established users can introduce rookies to the community and influence them with their actions.

Kick-off Events.

Let’s say a company or a university will implement a virtual community for their employees or students: In order for potential participants to be aware of what the community has to offer, exhibitions should be staged where possible. These events will include a presentation of the platform that follows a practical approach. For example, set up two computers with one user each and show on a big screen how these users surf the community and interact with each other. The audience can learn from a practical exhibition and is free to ask questions on the spot. Underline the benefits the community will bring to members. Furthermore, include staff members into the presentation to promote an interactive exchange between layers of the organization that makes the platform indispensable to everyone.

It is crucial to spread the idea and benefit of the community among potential participants. Therefore, set the date for a kick-off event when everyone can be able to attend. With every new group of people joining the organization—a new semester in school or a new class of trainees in a corporation—new kick-off events need to be organized to introduce the platform to new prospective users.

Step 3: Stay tuned!

Once the community starts rolling with all entitled participants mingling and getting to know new people through the virtual community, the administrator needs to give incentives for users to contribute content over and over again. It is not the administrator’s job to provide the content to entertain the group. The group needs to receive a ‘world of its own’ with the necessary infrastructure to keep the community growing. The administration might be seen as a governmental body that implements structures and pays attention to what is going on in the community—something like a ‘Big Brother’.

A community as good as its people.

As Jimmy Carter said in 1976, “A government as good as its people.” I will go one step further and say, “A community as good as its people!” Let the administration be the hand implementing the changes wanted and needed by its people. At the same time let the community be driven by the invisible hand that creates all levels of society and adjusts the so-called ‘Wikinomics’. People need to feel at ease in their new world, otherwise they will look for another world. They need to want to belong to the community in order to be active. For instance, a country needs an active population to grow and generate new ideas. The government cannot be the only body adding content to the country. That usually happens it in times of recession. But in good times, the administration should not interfere too much in Wikinomics. Its job is to provide a comfortable environment for people to be active with desire to grow, and foster their desire of creating a well-running community. As a result, the community can only be as good as its people.

Homecoming.

Every contribution usually gets awarded with activity points. These activity points show the status a member has in the community and can typically be used in a specified online store to exchange points for products or services. Nonetheless, this might not be enough. Notification emails need to inform participants about personal messages, blog comments, or forum replies they receive from other community members. If no notification can be given, discussions, and therefore important connections, might get lost. Notification emails will enhance members’ desire to return to the platform and check on their activities. New features need to be implemented in due time to keep the community attractive not only for elders, but especially for people who might want to move on to a different community if a community is stagnating.

Many of us are members in at least one virtual community that revolves around a specific topic or interest. In the following paragraphs I will be discussing what it takes to implement an online community and what approach I would use.

Wikipedia writes that, ‘A virtual community, e-community or online community is a group of people that primarily interact via communication media such as letters, telephone, email or Usenet rather than face to face, for social, professional, educational or other purposes’. The backbone of such a community is, people gathering and forming their own virtual world. The structure is typically given by the platform and the participants are most welcome to contribute to the content of the community. Contributions can be awarded with points or credits that can be exchanged for goods or services in a dedicated online shop. Some participants will collect more points than others because they will be more active. There are different ways to participate in a virtual community. A certain amount of members will just observe what is happening online, whereas others will engage in discussions and add content. Certain members might connect to other participants and make higher concept ideas, while some longtime users might leave the community because of lack of time or new interests. Here is a short list from Wikipedia on virtual community participation:

Peripheral (Lurker) – Observing the community.
Inbound (Novice) – Beginning to engage the community.
Insider (Regular) – Consistently adds to the community discussion and content.
Boundary (Leader) – Connects with regulars to make higher concept ideas. Will often correct a user in behavior the community considers inappropriate.
Outbound (Elder) – Usually leaves the community.

The implementation of a virtual community must be tailored to meet the needs and wants of the targeted participants. Important questions that need to be answered, among others, are,
What is the main topic of the community?
What connects the individuals within the community?
How much time are participants willing and able to spend on the platform?
Which are the most significant benefits for the participants?
How relevant are these benefits?
What makes the community remarkable?
After the evaluation of respective answers the implementation of the community software can start.

Let’s implement it!

Step 1: Test it.

Find test users.

Choose about twenty test users that have the potential to become ‘leaders’ and test the platform with them. It will be easier to work and connect with less people. As a result, try to keep the amount of users in the beginning as low as possible, but still to an amount that can create a certain drive to make the community roll. If there are too many members during the testing phase, it will be practically impossible to address all of them and build a close relationship with everyone. Just imagine if all test users contribute two ideas each, the administrator will already need to invest an enormous amount of time to evaluate those ideas. And, what if all ideas are worth integrating? Either the administrator will have to work two shifts a day or a second administrator will need to be hired.

Testing phase.

The testing phase should last at least four to six weeks, since many questions from test users might arise in the beginning. To create a certain drive, the administrator, or network relationship manager, needs to clearly support and motivate all test users. This might take two weeks until everyone figured out how to surf and contribute to the community, and after that all participants should be able to ‘make a living’ in their new virtual home.

All participants will be able to acquire activity points and use every available tool during the testing phase. They shall retain their accumulated activity points when the platform will be accessible to everyone else. This will promote them to a ‘leader’ status, which will give them new drive and motivation to perform even better than before.

Personalized contact vs. spam.

To find test users, create personalized emails of what you are doing and send it to your target audience with an invitation to join the test group. Explain what the aim of the test is and how test users can benefit from taking part. If there is not enough response try again with more detailed information and, possibly, contacting them one-by-one personally by phone. On the other hand, if there is too much interest in being a test user, think of something that consoles the applicants that will not be able to participate in the testing phase. When all participants are chosen make it official and welcome them heartily to show your appreciation!

Start the test.

Set a specific date when the (temporarily closed) community will open its doors to its newfound members. The administrator needs to ‘start the engine’ by contributing the first, and maybe second and third, input and ‘keep the motor running’ by being active whenever an action takes place in the community. It is very important to give incentives to potential leaders of the group to throw in as much input as possible and make them a crucial part of the building of the community. This can happen through messages to their mailbox or onto their pin wall with incentives to write news feed or upload pictures and so on. The most important point is to create a dialog with members and foster flow of information throughout the community.

Monitor what is happening and respond to members in a way for them to feel needed and appreciated. The so-called ‘Egoboo’ is alive and crucial in every community, and therefore, ‘all’ test users need to be taken care of.

Evaluate and improve

Problems arising during the test of the platform need to be fixed before the platform is open to all participants. In addition, evaluate test users’ feedback and take care of every critical point addressed by them. If they see that their ideas are being implemented they will keep contributing to the community. The platform needs to be a very comfortable place for all test users before going public. If it is not appealing to the leaders, how can it be appealing to people who did not even want to be part of the test group? Hence, do not try to produce a ‘very good’ environment, create a ‘remarkable’ environment!