[...] Sadly, in some cases, brands that had active customer bases using social technologies were not ready to participate themselves due to culture. Whether is paralysis, legal, or a cultural influence from management, or even location (I did a tour in Japan to find out how social media is growing there). [...]

[...] Cultural and Social Media Observations From Japan [...]

I posted about this piece and added some views about success in social media in Japan. Please see http://sociallyept.blogspot.com/2008/10/are-you-ready-for-relationship.html if you get the time.

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Nice post. Haven’t been to Japan in 16 years (oif) so can’t speak to culture there today. With respect to the compulsion to tip here in the US, I think it’s a combination of two things. First, waitstaff is paid at or below the minimum wage in many areas because the tips are supposed to sustain them; as a result customers feel compelled to tip. The second is more psychological and societal pressures, where there is an expectation to tip and probably an inference about the tipper’s nature depending on the size of the tip. Not surprisingly, restaurants now slap on an 18% “gratuity” on large party bills. Just a thought.

Only in Japan can you find porn in a regular department store, not hidden at all. But the porn is all censored. Again another example of culture backlash against conservatism, but in itself is conservative. The whole concept of “face” is very important in Japan, if not Asia altogether.

It seems that while the country is ripe for social media, it exists in a different form over there. Instead of wide open communication channels, the channels focus more on privacy (very ironic) which is why you see Mixi (the dominant social network in Japan) outperforming Facebook. However, more social sites like Nico Nico Douga where anyone can contribute are wildly popular. Japan is full of these oxymorons in their culture.

If the community is not really comfortable with an open communication channel, how are companies supposed to engage customers? What factors make the Japanese more comfortable with contributing to social media?

Japanese culture works hard, and with great quality and quantity, of course everything comes with a price.

I’ve been following you on twitter. I really believe that one of the causes of Japan’s success is the way they treat clients.

On the other hand I feel they overwork themselves, unless they have some secret to enjoy life at work.

I noticed a lot of group think and consideration for others. The group takes precedence over individuals. I’m in America’s heartland right now (Dallas) it’s interesting to notice the differences.

I find the fact that comments cause seemingly more offence in Japan quite interesting, especially due to the idea of honour. It would also be interesting to see if the treatment of celebrities in the press is different to that in the Western world, particularly the U.S. and UK, as one would generally assume celebrities either become more insulated from criticism over time, or would just make a decision to avoid it…