Web Money, Inc. [J] has begun the “Web Money Store Card” which corresponds with NFC (Near Field Communication), based on cooperation with Net Alive, Inc. [J], as well as its payment service terminal.

Web Money has appended the “Web Money Store Card,” which until now has been offered as a magnetic card, and has developed a payment terminal and “Web Money Store Card” newly based on the NFC forum method.  From this, not only will it be possible to make speedier transactions, but also it will be possible to develop service to match the popularization of NFC which is expected to expand from here on.  They exhibited a demo machine in the “CASTLES TECHNOLOGY” booth at the “Second NFC & Smart WORLD 2013” [J] held at Tokyo Big Site from March 3rd through the 8th.

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Tags: New Service, VSMedia by Chiho Komoriya
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CyberAgent [J] has released a smartphone based photo SNS Tomodachi Nenkan [J] (Friend Yearbook), for posting photos of friends’ faces and socializing.

“Tomodachi Nenkan” is an SNS for posting and sharing photos taken with friends.  You take face photos of yourself and friends, apply filters and stamps to make a post, and it’s possible to post any number of photos per day.  It automatically arranges friend photos separately, and there are also features such as rating and commenting on other user photos.  Posted photos are laid out in a streaming feed, and it’s also possible to view various photos of friends you follow at one time.  You can log in not only with an Ameba account but also with a Facebook, Twitter, or mixi account, and you can simultaneously post photos you made to external social network services.  At present it’s offered as an iOS app, but an Android version release is also in the works.

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Tags: iOS, New Service, VSMedia by Chiho Komoriya
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CyberAgent, Inc. [J] has opened a beta version of Japan’s first business SNS “intely.” [J]  At the moment it is supported on smartphone browsers and PC (simplified version).

“intely” is an SNS specialized for business users, and to log in it’s necessary to have an account with either mixi, Ameba, Twitter, or Facebook.  Users set up their own profile, make interchange and share information with other users participating in various “networks,” and also they can set up and manage their own network.  In addition, a native application version optimized for use with smartphones is planned to be released in early September.

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Tags: New Service, VSMedia by Chiho Komoriya
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Netmile [J] has released a beta version of the gamification introduction support tool “playground.”  [J]

“playground” offers services through a toolbar and API for necessary components when gamification of an existing site or service is introduced.  According to the user’s actions, it adds points, status, ranking, and badge awarding, and it can also implement functions that promote diffusion of social media information.  You set the optimization rules via the control panel, and it can implement the PDCA cycle by using the report function.  The monthly fee starts from 80,000 yen (initial setup cost not included).  Netmile aims to bring in 100 companies within the year.

Gamification Changes Business [J]


Gamification [J]

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Tags: New Service, Social game, VSMedia by Chiho Komoriya
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My Net Japan [J] has officially opened Social Game Report [J], a new media which aims to “contribute to the healthy development of the world’s social game industry.”

“Social Game Report” will begin original investigation articles, social game business trends and interviews with key persons in the industry, and blog media which will carry out analysis of popular social games.  PC and smartphone browsing are possible, and new information will be posted on Twitter in real time.  Also from July of 2012 they will be distributing in English and begin information service geared for the world.

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Tags: New Service, Social game, VSMedia by Chiho Komoriya
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