Grenge [J] has released the communication application “Group Talk” for mixi and Android.  Download is free.
“Group Talk” is a group chat application which allows you to choose your close friends from “My miku” (friends on mixi) and have a chat just with them.  You can enjoy communication secretly with friends across three different platforms: cell phone, smart phone, and on the web.  It is also possible to use it in tandem with the “Where am I now” location service, for sending messages and photos.

mixi version app “Group Talk” [J]
Android version app “Group Talk” [J]

Translation authorized by VsMedia

Tags: Japan by Chiho Komoriya
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On August 31, Mixi announced its new feature, Mixi Page [J].

It is a feature to enable Mixi users to create semi-public web pages under Mixi's domain. The pages have built-in communication system and social-media button Mixi Iine(=Like) is integrated. If you are familiar with Facebook Page, it is the Mixi's version of it. Companies, shops and individual are encouraged to create Mixi pages.

Here is the Asiajin's Mixi page,

You may make Mixi Pages public to the Internet, which is new for Mixi users who enjoy wall-gardened, search-engine-free communications. Comments on Mixi Page are still permitted to the registered Mixi users.

Mixi provides three different views for Mixi Pages, PC, mobile(feature phone) and smartphone.

You can create your Mixi Pages from PC and smartphone versions. You can not make a page from feature phone version of Mixi, though the majority of Mixi users' traffic is from there.

See Also:

Press Release [J]

Tags: Japan, News by Akky Akimoto
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Shibuya-based Mobile web oriented HR agency Sapotant issued a research [J] on what social media buttons Japanese e-commerce websites are displaying to their customers (n=100).

48% of Japanese e-commerce site introduces one or more social media buttons. As shown on the chart, nearly 90% of who do, which is 42% of all, encourages users to tweet their site/products. Facebook Like and Mixi Check buttons follow. Which is not same as the situation in U.S., where Facebook leads and Google +1 is passing Twitter [pdf] (the research counts not only e-commerce websites though).

via Jouhou Kyouyu...Eien no Kadai heno Chousen blog [J]

Tags: Japan by Akky Akimoto
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On June 29, one of Japan's largest social network service Mixi introduced a change on a view of your My Mixi(also called Maimiku, = friends on Mixi). My Mixi list page [J, login required] now shows you your friends' full names in parenthesis under their nick names.

Number of their friends were displayed in the parenthesis before the change.

The full name is not necessarily real name, which Facebook requires. That full name is what the user set on their registration of Mixi. It has been always visible if your friends visit your profile page. (Whether it was displayed to non-friends or friends-of-friends depend on how the profile owner limited its visibility) So it is not something Mixi tried to change the rule around registered name visibility. You could set pseudo name there, which could be same as their nickname.

However, by seeing their friends full names on the friends-list page, Mixi users who did not know that their "full name" was visible to their friends. Some might set there their real name, expecting only the nickname is shown to others. Those users got shocked and are blaming Mixi now.

Mixi turned off footprint function last month, and now made people more conscious of friends' full name instead of nickname. Both changes make Mixi steps closer to its global rival Facebook.

See Also:

Mixi's release [J]

Tags: Japan by Akky Akimoto
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Sankei reports [J] that Kanagawa prefectural police arrested a 19 yo university student in Yokohama on June 16 for attempted rape.

The boy raided a flat of 20 years old victim, an university student, through an non-locked front door around 21:30. Just before waking her up to threat, he used the victim's cellphone, logged-on Mixi and - amazingly carelessly - browsed HIS profile page.

# Many Japanese mobile web services including Mixi provides so-called "Kantan Roguin"("easy log-in"), which authenticates you by your cellphone unique ID so it is doable, unless you lock your phone.

The girl resisted the rape attempt and managed him to run away. Then, the reported police could find this suspect from her Mixi's browsing history.

It has not been reported why he checked Mixi first of all things, or if those two knew each other before.

Tags: Japan, News by Akky Akimoto
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