CyberAgent Acquires 20% Stake In Chinese Android Development Firm mAPPn

The Japanese and Chinese web industries keep getting closer together. Yesterday Tokyo-based Internet behemoth CyberAgent (currently listed at the Tokyo Stock Exchange with a $1 billion market cap) announced it will take a 20% stake in mAPPn, an Android development firm with offices in China, Taiwan and the US (the press release in Japanese is… Continue reading CyberAgent Acquires 20% Stake In Chinese Android Development Firm mAPPn

Japanese Blog Queen Tasted Twitter And Gave Up

Shoko Nakagawa (aka Shokotan), one of the most successful Japanese celebrity bloggers, finally started Twitter (@shokonakagawa) on February 24th with a tweet “I begin to chirp…” [J]. This could have been a milestone for Japanese Twitter to show the centre of the celebrity blogging moving from regular blog to microblog. However, after posting 15 tweets… Continue reading Japanese Blog Queen Tasted Twitter And Gave Up

Naver Japan Starts Another Microblogging Service “Pick”

Naver Japan, a bridgehead of Korean search giant Naver, who is challenging Japanese market second time since 2009, released their new (Tumblr-like) multimedia clipping microblog “Pick” [J]. On Pick, user can post text, image, movie and geolocation. It also encourages users to clip others’ post by 1-click “pick” button so “anyone can join the pick… Continue reading Naver Japan Starts Another Microblogging Service “Pick”

CyberAgent Exports Social Avatar Community To English, Ameba Pico

As pre-announced last November, CyberAgent Inc., a Japanese big web media/advertising company, launched their popular social avatar community, constructed on Flash technology, Ameba Pigu‘s English version Ameba Pico. Based on Ameba Pigu’s avatar cloths-changing, communication chatrooms and casual games, English Pico provided more avatar items for oversea cultures, adds gift and message boards features which… Continue reading CyberAgent Exports Social Avatar Community To English, Ameba Pico

Japan’s CyberAgent Sets Up $22.7 Million Fund For Startups In East Asia

The more you talk with Japanese VCs and entrepreneurs these days, the more you hear “China” as the next target for investing money or establishing a subsidiary. Now Japanese web behemoth CyberAgent (listed at the Tokyo Stock Exchange) says it has set up a fund exclusively focused on web startups in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan… Continue reading Japan’s CyberAgent Sets Up $22.7 Million Fund For Startups In East Asia

Virtual world Ameba Pigg to go English next spring in Americanized version

Tokyo-based (and listed) web juggernaut CyberAgent‘s virtual world Ameba Pigg [JP] has proven to be a veritable success here in Japan since its launch this February. The company says there are now 1.5 million members in the virtual community, with an undisclosed number of those coming from Non-Japanese-speaking countries (the service is Japanese only). But… Continue reading Virtual world Ameba Pigg to go English next spring in Americanized version