Mixi

mixi, Inc. (ミクシィ "Mikushī", tyo|2121) is one of several SNS (social networking service) sites in Japan. As of May 2008, mixi had over 10 million users and an 80% share of the social networking market in Japan. Founded by Kenji Kasahara. [ [http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1394023/facebook_still_wants_to_avoid_getting_snatched_up_dealtalk/ Facebook Still Wants to Avoid Getting Snatched Up, RedOrbit.com, May 20, 2008] ]

Overview

The focus of Mixi is "community entertainment", that is, meeting new people by way of common interests. As is typical of social networking sites, users can send and receive messages, write in a diary, read and comment on others' diaries, organize and join communities and invite their friends.

Started in February 2004, there are now more than 10 million members and 1 million communities on mixi, and more than 2 million page views per day as of December 2007.

* Mixi is invitation-only, meaning that one can only join via an invitation from a current member. However, once invited, membership is free and open to anyone over 18.
* It is currently difficult, if not impossible, to join Mixi if you do not live in Japan. As of April 7, 2008, a Japanese cell phone email address is required for virtually all new registrants, effectively restricting new foreign registrations. [ [http://www.tofugu.com/2008/04/22/mixijp-hates-foreigners-now-requiring Mixi.jp now hates foreigners. Requires a (Japanese) mobile email address to join., Tofugu, Apr. 22, 2008] ]
* A community is a place for people to share their opinions through an online forum and a way to express tastes and hobbies.
* A footprint (nihongo|"ashiato"|足あと|) is a function that allows a user to see who has visited their page.
* myMIXI, or MAIMIKU for short means buddy or friend. This is similar to a contact in flickr or zooomr, or friend on Myspace, and involves an approval process. The maximum possible number of myMIXI user allowed to have is 1,000.
*The word Mixi is a combination of mix and I, referring to the idea that the user, "I", "mixes" with other users through the service.
*"Mixi Station" is an application that detects songs being played in iTunes and Windows Media Player and uploads them automatically to a communally accessible list in the "Music" section, and was implemented late in June 2006. By July 2006, support for winamp was implemented via a winamp plugin, which was quickly made official by Mixi.
* Batara Eto was the only developer at the start of the social networking site.
* Mixi heavily uses open source and several hundred MySQL servers.
* "Mixi tsukare（ミクシィ疲れ, Mixi Fatigue）", a psychological state of a Japanese youth experiencing a sense of tiring from using Mixi and voicing a desire to discontinue using Mixi and finally deciding to terminate the Mixi account. [ [http://www.web20asia.com/233 Social network fatigue is clear and present, Web 2.0 Asia, Mar. 7, 2008] ]
*Mixi added the feature to upload your own video content, along with the ability to post content from YouTube

User Growth

mixi has enjoyed a steady growth in its userbase. The following is the number of registered users at different dates, albeit including deleted accounts and multiple accounts.

Up to the date count is available at [http://s.hamachiya.com/mc/]

Terms of Use

In early 2008, Mixi announced a plan to revise their terms of use [http://mixi.jp/rules_sample.pl Mixi 利用規約] . The changes, which were supposed to take effect as of April 1, 2008, included a section that appeared to grant Mixi unrestricted ownership to all user generated content. [ [http://altjapan.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/03/mixi-on-the-roc.html Mixi on the Rocks?, AltJapan, March 4, 2008] ] In particular, the proposed changes to Clause 18 stated:

"By posting information, including diaries and the like, on this service, users grant the service the unrestricted right to use said information (whether in the form of reproduction, publication, distribution, translation, modification or the like) without compensation."

However, the clause was never actually implemented, apparently due to user protests. The relevant portion of the terms of use currently states that "all rights (including copyright and personal-usage rights) for content belong to the user that created it."

References

See also

* List of social networking websites

External links

* [http://mixi.jp/ Mixi website]
* [http://mixi.co.jp/ Mixi corporate website]