4 ms·

You are cherry picking your examples. Uber eats didn't really become popular until the pandemic, I'm not sure if it will even sustain that after things go back

You are cherry picking your examples. Uber eats didn't really become popular until the pandemic, I'm not sure if it will even sustain that after things go back to normal because a conbini is good enough most of the times. Uber's ride share never took off in Japan. Slack/Github are tech tools, they don't have much cultural influence because it's not used by general public. Look at iMessage vs Line for example. Or instagram vs Twitter. No lime/bird in Japan, Docomo is trying with Bikeshare since 2011 but it never took off.

samwestdev 6y ago
> Uber eats didn't really become popular until the pandemic Maybe it the place where I live (central Tokyo) but Uber eats was always huge even before the pandemic. > iMessage vs Line iMessage doesn't cater to Japanese needs but I fail to see why would iMessage be an example of aggressive levels of cultural ignorance. > instagram vs Twitter they are both SV companies with a huge userbase in Japan. > Docomo is trying with Bikeshare since 2011 but it never took off. Docomo is a Japanese company. I don't know why you included it.
- donw 6y ago
  Central Tokyo -- Meguro, Ebisu, Roppongi -- are where all of us foreigners live. It's like living in Manhattan, Nob Hill, or Los Gatos. You're pretty insulated from... everybody else. I live on the edge of Tokyo. Uber eats was here occasionally before COVID. They did not effectively exist at all in pre-pandemic Saitama, Kanagawa, Osaka, or Sapporo. Now -- Instagram and Twitter are both companies that succeeded here. Instagram, because Japanese people love taking pictures. I have to wait to eat dinner every day because my wife wants to take a picture of whatever it is I cooked. Twitter is used very differently here than in the US, but I think I'm right in saying that they're the #2 tweetiest nation on Earth.
- harpratap 6y ago
  > Maybe it the place where I live (central Tokyo) but Uber eats was always huge even before the pandemic. Maybe we have different definition of "huge". I consider things as "huge" when it's become a part of local culture, which Uber eats is far from achieving in Tokyo, let alone Japan. > iMessage doesn't cater to Japanese needs but I fail to see why would iMessage be an example of aggressive levels of cultural ignorance. The east prefers info dense and all-in-one super apps. iMessage is only just starting to do that will Line did it years ago. Emoji was invented in Japan, and it's natural progression - stickers, were introduced much late in iMessage. > they are both SV companies with a huge userbase in Japan. In almost every other country Instagram/Facebook has almost 10x the user base to that of Twitter amongst teenagers, while Japan has more twitter users than Instagram - https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00785/ https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00785/ Here's US for comparison - https://www.statista.com/statistics/250172/social-network-usage-of-us-teens-and-young-adults/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/250172/social-network-us... > Docomo is a Japanese company. I don't know why you included it. I'm also comparing all companies who simply ape SV ideas to replicate in local markets but fail to take in the cultural context.
fomine3 6y ago
iMessage couldn't get share in Japan due to situation. Docomo (largest career) starts selling iPhone in 2013 (so iPhone 5s/5c) and LINE was already de facto standard at the time. LINE also supported feature-phones (that's majority in 2013). IMO not adopting platform-depended messaging service is good.

samwestdev 6y ago

> Uber eats didn't really become popular until the pandemic Maybe it the place where I live (central Tokyo) but Uber eats was always huge even before the pandemic. > iMessage vs Line iMessage doesn't cater to Japanese needs but I fail to see why would iMessage be an example of aggressive levels of cultural ignorance. > instagram vs Twitter they are both SV companies with a huge userbase in Japan. > Docomo is trying with Bikeshare since 2011 but it never took off. Docomo is a Japanese company. I don't know why you included it.

donw 6y ago
Central Tokyo -- Meguro, Ebisu, Roppongi -- are where all of us foreigners live. It's like living in Manhattan, Nob Hill, or Los Gatos. You're pretty insulated from... everybody else. I live on the edge of Tokyo. Uber eats was here occasionally before COVID. They did not effectively exist at all in pre-pandemic Saitama, Kanagawa, Osaka, or Sapporo. Now -- Instagram and Twitter are both companies that succeeded here. Instagram, because Japanese people love taking pictures. I have to wait to eat dinner every day because my wife wants to take a picture of whatever it is I cooked. Twitter is used very differently here than in the US, but I think I'm right in saying that they're the #2 tweetiest nation on Earth.
harpratap 6y ago
> Maybe it the place where I live (central Tokyo) but Uber eats was always huge even before the pandemic. Maybe we have different definition of "huge". I consider things as "huge" when it's become a part of local culture, which Uber eats is far from achieving in Tokyo, let alone Japan. > iMessage doesn't cater to Japanese needs but I fail to see why would iMessage be an example of aggressive levels of cultural ignorance. The east prefers info dense and all-in-one super apps. iMessage is only just starting to do that will Line did it years ago. Emoji was invented in Japan, and it's natural progression - stickers, were introduced much late in iMessage. > they are both SV companies with a huge userbase in Japan. In almost every other country Instagram/Facebook has almost 10x the user base to that of Twitter amongst teenagers, while Japan has more twitter users than Instagram - https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00785/ https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h00785/ Here's US for comparison - https://www.statista.com/statistics/250172/social-network-usage-of-us-teens-and-young-adults/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/250172/social-network-us... > Docomo is a Japanese company. I don't know why you included it. I'm also comparing all companies who simply ape SV ideas to replicate in local markets but fail to take in the cultural context.

fomine3 6y ago

iMessage couldn't get share in Japan due to situation. Docomo (largest career) starts selling iPhone in 2013 (so iPhone 5s/5c) and LINE was already de facto standard at the time. LINE also supported feature-phones (that's majority in 2013). IMO not adopting platform-depended messaging service is good.