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Regarding advertising, the article states: "Rather than being seen as a tool to enable people Japanese companies often see the web as just another advertising p

Regarding advertising, the article states: "Rather than being seen as a tool to enable people Japanese companies often see the web as just another advertising platform to push their message across as loudly as possible. Websites ends up being about the maximal concentration of information into the smallest space akin to a pamphlet rather than an interactive tool." I find this quite ironic, especially given how unusable most websites are due to third party advertising resources being loaded into them these days. HN users in particular will agree I bet, ad blocking seems prevalent here because of that exact reason. I think Japanese websites are better in this sense because their ad technology is usually 'outdated' banner ads and internally served sponsorship content. They're luckily stuck in the era of static and freshly-baked server-side content.

Wohlf 6y ago
I agree with you but unfortunately these sites almost always have poor usability too.
- grenoire 6y ago
  Well, it's one single component of the problem, there are many other factors involved in bad UX. Resources wasted on advertising are unequivocally the hardest to justify out of them all.
  - presentation 6y ago
    Isn’t it the easiest to justify? As in, you justify putting ads on your site because you get money for it.
- _nosewings_ 6y ago
  IMO, the Web could stand to be a little bit harder to use.
  - krapp 6y ago
    Why?
    - antepodius 6y ago
      To filter out idiots and the lazy. 'Normies'.
      - oxford_comma 6y ago
        Here is where I consider myself a segregationist. Give them their web: Facebook, YouTube, Google, et al. -- leave me out of normie net.
        kwhitefoot 6y ago
        You needn't join in. You are free to segregate yourself.
        ZWoz 6y ago
        Are they? You still are in same infrastructure and legal framework. Thats like saying you are free not visiting neighbouring apartments. Their "influence" (smoke, noise) is still leaking to your space. Same with web. Like facebook negatively affecting separated web forums.
        krapp 6y ago
        You can find another infrastructure and legal framework like Project Gemini, and I'm sure other separatist protocols will pop up in the future.
      - astrobe_ 6y ago
        Snobbism aside, I would gladly give up on some "usability" for a passive web (basically raw HTML or even Gopher or Gemini) and a separate active web (basically a proper virtual machine perhaps like Squeak/Pharo). But as soon as you cut off ways to make the Web more "engaging", it makes it far less interesting for the ads market, so less contents. Even individual content producers (e.g. Youtubers, Twitchers) look for monetization these days.
sizt 6y ago
Japanese websites? Are we kidding here? What design? Let's just be honest about it. Sites like these suck and there is no reason to make excuses about it or attribute it to some cultural aesthetic. Most things in Japan are designed beautifully. Websites in Japan are an exception.
rowanG077 6y ago
This!!! I'd much, much rather have some obvious in thr face banner ad then the shit that passes for modern web these days. Less information does not mean more useable.
ekianjo 6y ago
> I think Japanese websites are better They are only better if you never use them.
- knolax 6y ago
  The few Japanese websites I've used have been superior to their American equivalents. Kotobank is definitely a lot more pleasing to the eyes than Webster's.
  - ekianjo 6y ago
    So you refute an argument based on a few exceptions ?
  - stolenmerch 6y ago
    Seems like every knock off search engine/content farm site.
    - knolax 6y ago
      ? It's not a search engine. Did you not even get past the second page.
AniseAbyss 6y ago
Every once in a while I browse the internet without an adblocker and I wonder how people can live like this.
mjgs 6y ago
Does anyone know if all the GDPR type laws in EU and US are causing Japanese website makers to add consent forms on their websites? That’s probably the worst usability problem with the current web, it used to be popups, now it’s constant in your face consent forms. Consent forms are really just legally enforced popups. Probably US users don’t know how bad it is because the US sites only add them to requests originating in the EU.
- julianlam 6y ago
  I don't think that's the case, if only anecdotally, as I have seen a huge uptick in these consent modals in Canada. Most of these sites needed or wanted them implemented on the cheap. Restricting it to EU customers would require extra work...
  - mjgs 6y ago
    It’s surprising to me that sites which depend on users seeing their content to make money, would add something that blocks the user from seeing the site. It makes no sense. If there isn’t a legal requirement, why would they risk impacting their ability to make money?

Wohlf 6y ago

I agree with you but unfortunately these sites almost always have poor usability too.

grenoire 6y ago
Well, it's one single component of the problem, there are many other factors involved in bad UX. Resources wasted on advertising are unequivocally the hardest to justify out of them all.
- presentation 6y ago
  Isn’t it the easiest to justify? As in, you justify putting ads on your site because you get money for it.
_nosewings_ 6y ago
IMO, the Web could stand to be a little bit harder to use.
- krapp 6y ago
  Why?
  - antepodius 6y ago
    To filter out idiots and the lazy. 'Normies'.
    - oxford_comma 6y ago
      Here is where I consider myself a segregationist. Give them their web: Facebook, YouTube, Google, et al. -- leave me out of normie net.
      - kwhitefoot 6y ago
        You needn't join in. You are free to segregate yourself.
        ZWoz 6y ago
        Are they? You still are in same infrastructure and legal framework. Thats like saying you are free not visiting neighbouring apartments. Their "influence" (smoke, noise) is still leaking to your space. Same with web. Like facebook negatively affecting separated web forums.
        krapp 6y ago
        You can find another infrastructure and legal framework like Project Gemini, and I'm sure other separatist protocols will pop up in the future.
    - astrobe_ 6y ago
      Snobbism aside, I would gladly give up on some "usability" for a passive web (basically raw HTML or even Gopher or Gemini) and a separate active web (basically a proper virtual machine perhaps like Squeak/Pharo). But as soon as you cut off ways to make the Web more "engaging", it makes it far less interesting for the ads market, so less contents. Even individual content producers (e.g. Youtubers, Twitchers) look for monetization these days.

sizt 6y ago

Japanese websites? Are we kidding here? What design? Let's just be honest about it. Sites like these suck and there is no reason to make excuses about it or attribute it to some cultural aesthetic. Most things in Japan are designed beautifully. Websites in Japan are an exception.

rowanG077 6y ago

This!!! I'd much, much rather have some obvious in thr face banner ad then the shit that passes for modern web these days. Less information does not mean more useable.

ekianjo 6y ago

> I think Japanese websites are better They are only better if you never use them.

knolax 6y ago
The few Japanese websites I've used have been superior to their American equivalents. Kotobank is definitely a lot more pleasing to the eyes than Webster's.
- ekianjo 6y ago
  So you refute an argument based on a few exceptions ?
- stolenmerch 6y ago
  Seems like every knock off search engine/content farm site.
  - knolax 6y ago
    ? It's not a search engine. Did you not even get past the second page.

AniseAbyss 6y ago

Every once in a while I browse the internet without an adblocker and I wonder how people can live like this.

mjgs 6y ago

Does anyone know if all the GDPR type laws in EU and US are causing Japanese website makers to add consent forms on their websites? That’s probably the worst usability problem with the current web, it used to be popups, now it’s constant in your face consent forms. Consent forms are really just legally enforced popups. Probably US users don’t know how bad it is because the US sites only add them to requests originating in the EU.

julianlam 6y ago
I don't think that's the case, if only anecdotally, as I have seen a huge uptick in these consent modals in Canada. Most of these sites needed or wanted them implemented on the cheap. Restricting it to EU customers would require extra work...
- mjgs 6y ago
  It’s surprising to me that sites which depend on users seeing their content to make money, would add something that blocks the user from seeing the site. It makes no sense. If there isn’t a legal requirement, why would they risk impacting their ability to make money?