In Japan, you don’t “like” something on Facebook, you “ii ne” it. But what about the five other “reactions” that Facebook has just added?
social media (Page 6)
At least one minor celebrity has posted an angry rant on social media alleging video game publisher Electronic Arts tried to buy his endorsement of the upcoming Star Wars-themed game.
On the morning of Saturday, November 14, many Japanese Beliebers, along with some Non-Beliebers and Agnobiebers, awoke and checked into Twitter as usual only to find the famous Canadian pop star declaring that he was praying for their souls right alongside those of the people of Paris.
Confused and a little concerned, I—a card-carrying Agnobeiber—showed the above tweet to my coworkers, all of whom were equally baffled as to why Justin Bieber should be praying for them, considering nothing out of the ordinary happened here in Japan.
Here’s something for you, sushi and Twitter lovers the world over!
Earlier this week, a Japanese net user uploaded a free Chrome web extension which converts the Twitter “Like” heart icon into a delicious sushi icon instead. It may not be the most earth-shattering new function to ever pop up on the internet, but hey, it’s the little things in life, right?
The latest social media craze to hit Japan is called “Insta in my Hand,” for which net users share photos which look like they’re holding a transparent version of their Instagram or Twitter homepages in the palm of their hands. The boom was apparently imported from South Korea earlier this month, after Key, a member of K-Pop group SHINee, uploaded his own “Insta in my Hand” picture to his Instagram account. Japanese high school students have since tweaked the trend to include “Twitter in my Hand” shots as well.
Now you too can create your own “Insta in my Hand” images with our handy English guide, right after the jump!
In Japan, mobile and social networking games are a huge market, and have even begun to eclipse console games in recent years. This can perhaps be attributed to their commuting culture, which has made portable gaming a necessity, and the fact that smartphones are more accessible than portable handheld consoles. At any rate, it’s an industry that’s worth big bucks, and generally high quality is expected. Perhaps that’s why some gamers in Japan have been sniggering over this unusual game from China, which cuts corners massively by borrowing the likenesses of western celebrities in place of original content.
It’s no secret that Facebook is having a little bit of trouble in Japan. A recent survey by Aun Consulting showed a drastic decline of almost 11 percent from September 2012 to January this year. But why are Japanese users quitting the incredibly popular global social networking site? Apparently, between all of the selfies showing off your perfect girlfriend, photo albums of that weekend trip to Tahiti and updates on your amazing job, some users are developing an inferiority complex about their lonely, boring and unsatisfying lives.
Something attracting quite a bit of attention on the net at the moment is an incident involving a 25-year-old homeless man in Japan who put himself up for sale as an “item” on the Yahoo! Auctions website. Anyone winning the bid would in theory have been able bring the man into their home and provide him with accommodation.
We’ve all gotten very familiar with the concept of social media to the point that even my grandmother has a vague awareness of it. However, its detractors are quick to point that social networks, microblogs, podcasts, and what have you all amount to an ocean of pointless drivel.
It response to this harsh attack of new media comes a growing trend of web users and developers who are looking to harness the power of the internet for what they call “social good.”
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