Agile Media Network raises $1M

Agile Media Network raised a $1M investment from Ant Capital Partners on March 31st. They use the investment to develop new software systems. Agile Media Network is a Japanese ad-network / blog marketing company for blogs and social media which was established in February 2007. They sell ads of many Japanese top blogs such as… Continue reading Agile Media Network raises $1M

“Refugee Camp” Is Launched For Stray Blog Readers Who Have Lost Their Favorites

You would like to avoid moving your blog to a new platform as far as being satisfied with the one you are currently using. However, your blog platform provider may suddenly shut down its service due to their financial reasons or policy changes. When moving, in order to prevent disengaging your fans, you are truly… Continue reading “Refugee Camp” Is Launched For Stray Blog Readers Who Have Lost Their Favorites

NTT Com Buys Digital Forest For $24M

NTT Communications annouced yesterday to acquire 100% shares of Digital Forest for 2.46 billion yen ($24M). Digital Forest is a company which focuses on Web marketing technology and solutions. They sell an access log analysis tool Visionalist for high-end customers, and also provide web / search engine consulting and solutions service too. NTT Communications is… Continue reading NTT Com Buys Digital Forest For $24M

Mixi holds “mixi Appli Conference” on April 23rd

Mixi holds “mixi Appli Conference 2009” [JP] to promote their new app service on April 23rd in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Speakers are: Kenji Kasahara, CEO of Mixi Inc. Akinori Harada, VP, Mixi Division, of Mixi Inc. Koichiro Tsujino, President of Google Japan. Makoto Asanuma, VP of Namco Bandai Games Inc. Minoru Kimura, Head of Media Technology… Continue reading Mixi holds “mixi Appli Conference” on April 23rd

Shockwave closes, Japan loses one of its biggest casual gaming sites

Japan, the country of Nintendo, Sony and Sega, doesn’t have a decent casual gaming site anymore (Hangame is big but doesn’t really count in this area). That’s what Timo Meyer, fellow German and founder of Tokyo-based gaming portal Wazap, told me recently (Wazap has recently launched their own casual gaming section). The reason: On January 31,… Continue reading Shockwave closes, Japan loses one of its biggest casual gaming sites

Osaka-based Tech Start-up Launches A “Meddlesome” SNS

The Osaka-based tech start-up Qript Inc. launched Friday its eccentric SNS called “Tsutsunuke [J]“, which has several features to avoid its user’s long silence to the service. Note:  “Tsutsunuke” means a situation where the thin wall deprives you of any privacy, and you can hear the tone of your neighbor’s voice in a typical type… Continue reading Osaka-based Tech Start-up Launches A “Meddlesome” SNS

Lang-8 Raises Angel Round Just Under 10M Yen

Lang-8, a multi-lingual social network / language-learning site, has raised 9,570,000 yen ($100K) from prominent angel investors: * Kiyoshi Nishikawa, a founder of ngi group * Takashi Yoshida, ex-CTO of Rakuten * Masahide Nakamura [JP], CEO of Allied Architects * Shuichi Takenaga, CEO of Aucfan [JP] CEO, Youyou Ki, is going to use the investment… Continue reading Lang-8 Raises Angel Round Just Under 10M Yen

Gree says net profit is up 500%, expects yearly sales of 123 million USD

Mobile social networking site Gree [JP] said Friday that their net profit will probably increase by a whopping 500% on a year-by-year basis to 3.5 billion Yen (38.6 million USD, 28.7 million Euros) in the current fiscal year (which ends for GREE on June 30). This is 300 million Yen (3.3 million USD, 2.5 million… Continue reading Gree says net profit is up 500%, expects yearly sales of 123 million USD

Gree and Paperboy stocks trade much above IPO prices

Gree (TSE:3632) and Paperboy (JASDAQ:3633) went public on December 17th and 19th respectively as we reported before. Gree’s IPO price is 3,300yen ($33) per share. On 17th, Gree stock opened with 5,000yen ($50), and closed with 4,800yen ($48). Its market capitalization, 107 billion yen ($1B), is larger than Mixi (TSE:2121). Gree issued 1.2 million new… Continue reading Gree and Paperboy stocks trade much above IPO prices

So-net M3 – a community site for doctors

So-net M3 (TSE:2413) is a very profitable and unique company which is providing a community site ‘m3.com’ exclusively for medical doctors. Doctors are restricted by confidentiality, so they cannot use typical community sites to share information about their professional life or skills. M3 provides them with a bulletin board service. M3 has 390,000 registered medical… Continue reading So-net M3 – a community site for doctors