Social networking is one of the fastest growing sectors of the Internet, with Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Friendfeed, YouTube and the like being some of the biggest trafficked sites on the Web. All these sites are meant to allow you to make new friends and contacts, as well as keep in touch with those you know in real life. For this to be possible, personal information is required, with your name, age, and location almost essential.

But in Japan, personal information is valued much more highly than in the US, Europe, and elsewhere. Which means social networking is a much more complicated affair. In fact, anonymous social networking is the norm in a country which values privacy much more highly than others.

Yahoo News takes a look at the differences between how us in the west have approached what has become a pillar of the Internet experience with how Japan has done so. While social networks and social media sites are just as popular in Japan, the craze is somewhat different in a society where not everyone wants to be famous.

Mixi is the largest social network in Japan, but most of the 15 million odd users with profiles on the site have chosen to not to reveal any real details about themselves. The reason? Because you’re then flagging yourself as someone special or attractive, rather than just another person living your life.

This difference in mindset has affected different sites in different ways.

The US version of video sharing site YouTube may be full of people trying to stand out of the crowd, but the Japanese version is more likely to be full of pet videos, with the owners nowhere to be seen.

Dating site Match.com has had to diversify its business a little to gain a foothold in Japan. Whereas in the US, almost everyone provides a photo next to their details, fewer than half of the paying customers on the Japanese site choose to display a picture. Therefore, the company has had to become less Web-centric and instead focus on the ‘konkatsu’ movement which pairs people off who are seeking marriage.

Facebook and MySpace are by the biggest social networks around the world, but both have failed to knock the Japanese-developed Mixi off the top spot. Most Japanese users of these social networks are very protective of their identities and will only allow trusted friends or people they have met in real life to even view their profile.

The Web may have made the world a much smaller place but regional differences in attitude and behaviour still exist and are always likely to. The companies that will ultimately succeed in the huge Internet-lead global economy are those that realise these differences in attitude and use them to their advantage.

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Entry was posted on Saturday, September 27th, 2008 at 6:09 pm under Internet, Opinion, Social Media.

Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
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